Francis Tulip Quartet @ The Globe & Stu Collingwood Trio @ Charts - August 5

Francis Tulip (guitar); Joel Brown (piano); Michael Dunlop (bass guitar); Matt MacKellar (drums).

(Review by Lance).

Much has been posted on BSH about the above musicians, charting their progress as some of them set out on their way with Jambone at Sage Gateshead, others consolidating their technique at local jam sessions before finally emerging in full bloom as a band to be reckoned with at any level.

The crowded bar at the Jazz Coop HQ took me back maybe 50 years to a time when Newcastle really was a 'jazz town'.

The Beatles may have ousted jazz from The Cavern in Liverpool but, in Newcastle, Jazz North East was about to begin the rollercoaster ride that continues to this day producing jazz across the spectrum from home and abroad. The New Orleans Club was open 6/7 nights a week whilst across town, the Down Beat club gave birth to the Emcee 5 - a modern jazz quintet that, in its short life, achieved legendary status before the musicians moved south to become cult figures in their own right. 

The two clubs also spawned The Animals, the bluesiest of the '60s rock groups and one of the few bands to challenge the then Merseyside dominance. To get an idea of the scene at the time, Abi Lewis' portrayal of the late Keith Crombie and the Jazz Café in her filmed documentary Geordie Jazzman is essential viewing (August 18, Tyneside Cinema).

Over the years, the Emcee 5 has become the yardstick by which northeast bands are judged. With the exception of a few such as the occasionally assembled ACV and the Paul Edis Sextet, most have been found wanting.

All that changed last night at the Globe.

There was a buzz about the place that took me back to those halcyon days. The hot weather outside, the warm beer inside, the cool music on stage. All that was missing was the sometimes pungent aroma of cigarette smoke.

Make no mistake, everything that has been written about the FTQ in these pages is no exaggeration and even though it is a band still in its infancy, that infancy is way way higher than many well-known bands' maturity.

However, like the Emcee 5, this could be an ephemeral moment. Already personnel changes are afoot and, as one of the warmest summers on record draws to a close, so the band members will disperse to their various pursuits both home and abroad and gigs like last night will become a rarity so be sure to catch them when you can or live a life of regret*.

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Prior to the above session, I had a pleasant stroll along Newcastle Quayside enjoying the 'scenery' before calling into Charts for a cooling draught of ale.

The Stu Collingwood Trio were laying down some fine jazz. Advertised as a Jazz Social which is another word for a Jam Session or, as Dave Weisser prefers, a Jazz Workshop, the potential was there for a super Sunday which is a current void in the Tyneside jazz calendar. Over the years, going back to the 1960s, maybe even earlier, Sunday lunchtime sessions pulled the crowds. 

The Bluebell in Felling, The Baracuda Band at one of the bars on Westgate Rd., The Newcastle Big Band, Last Exit, The East Side Torpedoes, the Steve Brown Band - all at the University Theatre (now Newcastle Playhouse), the Ronnie Young Band at the City Vaults in the Bigg Market were just some of the Sunday lunchtime sessions that served as an aperitif to your roast beef and two Yorkshires.
Charts is situated in a prime location. The Quayside market, particularly during the summer months, draws the crowds and with  Stu Collingwood on keys, Russ Morgan on drums and Andy, the still undefeated, Champion, on bass, who could ask for anything more?

 So surely the time is right for a revival.

All it needs is for a horn player or six to drop by and it will escalate.

Plus, no need to miss your Sunday dinner as it's a late afternoon start (4pm-7pm are the advertised times but this is jazz so they may not be exact.)

Well worth a visit or two/three/four etc.

Lance.

(Charts photo by Russell)  

*Stop press: The word is out that the Francis Tulip Quartet has booked some studio time so it looks as though there could be a CD in the offing.