For the past eighteen years we've been updating the world about jazz in the north east of England and updating the north east of England about jazz in the world. WINNER of the Jazz Media Category in the 2018 All Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Contact lanceliddle@gmail.com
August
Sat 29: Brian Jackson @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 8:30pm (doors). £32.00.
Sun 30: Musicians Unlimited @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Tango Jazz Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Mon 31: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
September.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 03: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 03: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Feat. Ian Bosworth (guitar); Ron Hampton (guitar); Riche Emmerson (tenor sax); Dan Johnson (tenor sax, alto sax); Garry Hadfield (keyboards); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Mark Hawkins (drums).
Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: FUNK: new musicians collective @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.00. Line-up inc. Chris Caygill & Daniel Chandler.
Fri 04: The Upside + Lagos to Longbenton @ Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £8.00. Ska, funk, Afro-fusion & more.
Bill was no follower of fashion, it was fashion that followed him. He lived for the moment, didn't suffer fools gladly and often showed them the error of their ways.
As a drummer he was sympathetic to his surroundings irrespective of the genre.
He was a unique person who, once you'd met him, you knew you'd been met and you never forgot it.
It seems as though there were quite a few obstacles to overcome before the concert actually got underway.
I guess the end result was worth it.
Thank you Peter for this memory of the past. Lance
Dolly Parton may not have been a jazz singer but she was unsurpassable in her own field (country music). Her songs were well written, the lyrics meaningful and the voice one to have you sashaying down to your nearest barn dance.
Her career was astronomical. World tours including Newcastle in 2014. Upon the announcement of her death Dolly's charitable work was acknowledged on our local tv station. Thousands of songs, covered by many but never eclipsed nor, God forbid, reimagined.
Even at 80 I felt she'd eventually get her man back from that Jolene.
Rest In Peace.
Lance
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| © John Lyons Photography |
Newcastle jazz band Knats became the first act to sell out following the announcement of their 2026 Mercury Prize nomination, adding to growing excitement around the three-day festival, which takes place across Durham City from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October.
Knats are among 12 artists shortlisted for the prestigious award, with their album A Great Day In Newcastle competing alongside releases from major names including Olivia Dean, Paul McCartney and RAYE.
Following widespread coverage of the nomination, tickets for the band's Durham Jazz Festival appearance at Fabio's Bar on Saturday 24 October sold out. The performance comes just two days after the Mercury Prize winner is announced at Newcastle's Utilita Arena.
Hi Lance, cast your mind back to 1988 and the Newcastle Jazz Festival. I'm sure you probably attended it. One of the shows was a concert called Woody's Winners with Ray Chester's big band. We played a full programme of Woody Herman arrangements. Here are a couple of links with more details. https://jimsgarage007.weebly.com/newcastle-jazz-fest.html
I would love to hear the recording. I remember the saxophone section was Matty Hutchinson (lead alto/clarinet)/ Bill Smith (tenor/alto); Syd Warren (1st tenor); Mark Toomey (tenor); Stan Coates (baritone). I, Mark Toomey, am the only surviving member of the section!
A delightful duo album by two sisters that, to my eternal shame, has lain unplayed in my in-tray for too long. But that's way it goes when you're targeted by the unrelenting army of P.R. hustlers out there.
Still class will out and justice finally prevailed.
Dynasty is very much Fuller family related. Whether it be an original by themselves or pieces by Sam Rivers, Freddie Hubbard or Horace Silver all are inspired by family members past and present.
Drummer Chuck Redd didn't like it when the Kennedy Center added President Donald Trump's name to the building.
He registered his disapproval by cancelling his band's annual Christmas Eve concert at the Kennedy Center - a gig he has played and hosted for the past two decades. The center took legal action against Redd but the Judge dismissed the case awarding Redd legal costs of over $250,000.
The center is appealing the decision. Trump's name has since been removed.
Like Wilson's previous album, Solemn Moments released in 2023, Wilson's Way is another joyful mix of originals, standards, Latin and bebop all played in Wilson's way - pardon the pun.
Years ago another Wilson, Teddy, was invariably described as elegant as indeed his playing always was. With the passage of time elegance became a lesser-used adjective in jazz circles - until now that is. Thanks to Christopher Lucas Wilson, if this album is anything to go by, elegance is very much back in fashion.
