Jim Gilchrist: As the echoes fade in a tomb, a jazzy buzz is growing round the Tron

I WAS fortunate enough last month to witness the world-renowned Kronos Quartet playing in possibly its most unorthodox venue, the great sandstone drum of the Hamilton Mausoleum, enshrined in the record books as having the longest natural echo of any building in the world.

The quartet, famous for championing new music and collaborating with other creative spirits as diverse as Tom Waits and Philip Glass, was hosting a weekend of contemporary classical and world music in Glasgow, as part of Glasgow Concert Halls' imaginative contemporary music programme.

They took a diversion to play a concert for a limited audience in the 120ft tall mausoleum where a door slam can echo for 15 seconds (the building's unique acoustic properties were utilised by saxophonist Tommy Smith for his 2001 solo recording Into Silence).

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I caught the quartet during a brief warm up in the mausoleum for the benefit of STV cameras (watch it online on http://video.stv.tv/bc/entertainment-music-20110513-kronos-quartet/) and that was memorable enough. In this astonishing Gothic space, where even a quiet interview can trigger a Greek chorus of ghostly murmuring, the quartet's performance, ringed by candles, had the air of a of musical sance.

The players chose a piece called Tusen Tankar - "A Thousand Thoughts", composed by the Swedish folk trio Triakel, its beautifully melancholy string sound reverberating around and above us, as carved stone cherubs looked down in bemusement.

In Glasgow itself, however, another historic building will resonate to slightly more accustomed sounds later this month as the Scottish Jazz Awards ceremony returns, after last year's hiatus, to the Tron Theatre, the tower of which dates back to the days of the Glasgow tobacco lords and earlier.

The awards were introduced two years ago, when the Tron hosted an exuberant ceremony, attended by so many of Scottish jazz's great and good that the evening's MC, Stephen Duffy of BBC Radio Scotland's Jazz House, was moved to observe that, had a bomb gone off, it would have pretty well eradicated the vibrant Scottish jazz scene.

The award scheme was deemed a success, but failed to materialise last year, owing to a lack of funds, says Cathie Rae, singer and development officer of the Scottish Jazz Federation, which is now running the awards in conjunction with Todd Gordon's Jazz International agency.

"There were no resources last year at all. The Scottish Arts Council was in transition to Creative Scotland and there was no interest.Then what happened was that the Scottish Jazz Federation, for whom I now work, applied for money to run the awards and got it as part of our overall grant from Creative Scotland, to whom we're grateful."

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Unlike the first year of the event, which combined a judging panel with online voting, this year's awards are based entirely on the public's nominations and voting online. That voting process has now finished, but Rae reports that there are still a limited number of tickets available for the ceremony at the Tron on 28 June - the night before the start of the Glasgow Jazz Festival.

Award categories include Best Instrumentalist, Best Singer and Best Band, with further classes covering jazz education, venues, emerging artists and media (for details, visit www.scottishjazzfederation.com).

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The 2009 winners included Carol Kidd for Best CD and Tommy Smith for Best Woodwind, while veteran saxophonist Bobby Wellins received a lifetime recognition award. Once again, the ceremony will be hosted by Duffy, while Brian Kellock Trio returns as "house band", plus guest performers.

An earlier incarnation of the Tron building was apparently burned down in 1793 by members of the Hell Fire Club. The irrepressible Kellock and company may not be quite so destructive but can be guaranteed to raise some dust and rattle a few theatrical ghosts. Rae, meanwhile, promises "a glittering affair", and was last seen shopping around for a red carpet.

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