JAZZ figures less regularly than folk and traditional music on these pages, but a new commission from An Tobar provides a perfect excuse to talk with saxophonist and academic Raymond MacDonald, a staunch champion of the most ‘difficult’ of all jazz’s many genres, free improvisation.

The death of Martyn Bennett has cast a pall over the Scottish folk scene. The brilliant multi-instrumentalist succumbed to the cancer he has been fighting for several years in Edinburgh on 30 January, just as another very successful Celtic Connections event was drawing to a close in Glasgow.

Surely not that time already? (Oh yes it is!). Uh-huh, Christmas is fast approaching, the Panto season is upon us, and apart from that, the arts scene takes a bit of a breather and puts its (metaphorical) feet up for a week or two.

NOVEMBER might see the start of the slide into winter in earnest, but the hard-working editorial team at the Arts Journal have been cheered by the news that the Journal has been nominated as one of the contenders for the Media section of this year’s Scottish Traditional Music Awards.

THE INAUGURAL INVERNESS BOOK FESTIVAL takes pride of place this month. The main festival programme unrolls at Eden Court Theatre, but with other events in bookshops and libraries around the city. HI~Arts are also making their own contribution through the Blethers event – read about the festival in out multi-strand feature.

THE HIGHLAND FESTIVAL has been making the news again of late, and for all the wrong reasons. The resignation of Chairman David Henderson and two more members of the board over major policy disagreements has put the festival back on the news pages, and has emphasised the urgent need for the organisation to put its house in order.

THE FESTIVAL SEASON is still in full swing this month, and the Nairn International Jazz Festival takes pride of place in the opening half of August. Nestled amongst the swathe of folk music festivals and feisean around the Highlands and Islands, Ken Ramage’s festival has provided a focal point for jazz for many years. We will be providing review coverage of the festival, and our profile of Ken is this month’s ‘From the Archive’ feature.

JULY in these parts generally means an even bigger than usual outbreak of traditional music, led by the Hebridean Celtic Festival in the grounds of Lews Castle in Stornoway. If the Lewis event takes the headlines, however, there are no shortage of other contenders in that category, including the Caledonian Canal Ceilidh Trail and Fèis Nan Òran in Skye, as well as individual tours and concerts.

Onward and THE ARTS JOURNAL launched at the beginning of June last year, so we are officially one-year-old this month. We mark the occasion with a redesigned front page and the appointment of a new member of the editorial team, youth editor Andrea Muir, who has worked heroically to ensure that her new remit is fully apparent this month.

JUNE will mark the first anniversary of the launch of the Arts Journal, and while we scratch our heads and wonder where the time went, we have also been brainstorming away at coming up with some exciting new developments to mark the fact.