Jazz At The Merchants House presents Timmy Allan : Water Games

BBC Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year 2024—presents the official launch of his highly anticipated debut album, Water Games
About this Event

The opening concert of our Autumn 2026 programme features a major new album launch from one of Scotland's most compelling young jazz voices.

Guitarist and composer Timmy Allan—winner of the BBC Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year 2024—presents the official launch of his highly anticipated debut album, Water Games.

Taking direct inspiration from 20th-century French composer Maurice Ravel’s impressionistic piano masterpiece Jeux d’eau, the music bridges two distinct sonic encampments. The repertoire sits with one foot firmly in contemporary jazz and the other in ambient post-rock, pairing sharp improvisational playfulness with fluid, water-like textures.

To bring this music to life, Allan has assembled a phenomenal quartet featuring some of Scotland’s most inventive and formidable jazz musicians. Together, they navigate a live landscape that flows effortlessly from intricate contemporary arrangements to expansive, atmospheric soundscapes.

Lineup

• Timmy Allan – Guitar
• Paul Harrison – Piano
• Ali Watson – Double Bass
• Greg Irons – Drums

About Timmy Allan

Hailing from Paisley, Scotland, Timmy Allan grew up in a folk-Americana loving family, pick up the guitar at age nine. Immersed early on in everything from Bob Dylan and Paul Simon to the baroque structures of Bach and Handel, he began his performance career at age 11 in church bands before busking the streets of Glasgow with the folk trio Wandering Sons.

His drive to perform led him deep into the Glasgow scene, joining the western swing outfit Awkward Family Portraits—touring clubs and festivals across the UK and Europe—and later performing with acclaimed soul/jazz vocalist Kitti.

Developing a deep obsession with the historical narrative of jazz, Allan formalised his studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where he won the Phil Miller Guitar Prize 2023, before returning home to complete his tutelage at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 2024 proved a breakout year, sees him winning the BBC Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year title and receiving a 'Rising Star' nomination at the Scottish Jazz Awards. He has since performed alongside Scottish mainstays such as Brian Kellock, Seonaid Aitken, Alyn Cosker, and Fergus McCreadie, as well as UK jazz luminary Joe Webb at the Edinburgh International Festival.