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For the past sixteen 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
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September
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ BAA Fest, Brownrigg Lodges, Bellingham. 2:40pm.
Sun 08: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 08: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Tue 10: ???
Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:30pm. £4.00. ‘A Great Day in Harlem’.
Thu 12: The Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Pete Tanton & co.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Donna Hewitt, Bill Watson, Dave Archbold, Adrian Beadnell, Mark Hawkins.
Fri 13: Jeff Barnhart & Neville Dickie @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Two pianos, two pianists! SOLD OUT!
Fri 13: Noel Dennis Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Dilutey Juice @ Old Coal Yard, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.00. adv..
Fri 13: Ray Stubbs R & B All-stars @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Classic blues.
Sat 14: Jeff Barnhart’s Silent Film Fest @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 14: Customs House Big Band w. Ruth Lambert @ St Paul’s Centre, St Paul’s Gardens, Spennymoor DL16 7LR. 7:00pm (6:45pm doors). Tickets £10.00. from the venue or tel: 01388 813404. A ‘BYOB’ event.
Sat 14: Emma Wilson @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. £12.00. Acoustic blues.
Sat 14: Rat Pack - Swingin’ at the Sands @ Billingham Forum. 7:30pm.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Willie Payne - a Guitarist's Guitarist .
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- Schmazz @ The Cluny: More on Troyka & Corey Mwamba...
- Slice of Troyka followed by a cool glass of Mwamba...
- Whitley Bay Jazz Festival Reminder.
- Stan Martin Funeral Details.
- Sarah Ellen Hughes @ The Cherry Tree Restaurant. A...
- Alter Ego - Splinter @ The Bridge
- Tomorrow at the Cherry Tree.
- Troyka on 3 and at the Cluny.
- Wynton Marsalis & the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestr...
- Jazz At The Fell - John Hallam with The Dream Band.
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- Farewell Alan Plater O.B.E.
- Mo Scott Trio @ Blaydon.
- R.I.P. Stan Martin
- Rosier than ever at Rosie's with the Maine Street ...
- The Hot 8 Brass Band
- Jazz Returns to the British Legion Club in West Je...
- Ned Kelly Rides Again - Colin Aitchison
- Update on Mike Carr
- Chuck Chucks It!
- Willie Payne - a Guitarist's Guitarist .
- ACV - Splinter @ The Bridge
- Tonight's Big Gig - Splinter @ The Bridge - ACV
- Tal Farlow on KRML
- Customs House Big Band with Ruth Lambert @ Saville...
- Review: The New Couriers - Brazilian Thoroughfare.
- Paul Towndrow's Newology @ the Corner House
- Further Trials of a Trainee Jazz Singer. (If there...
- When It's Sleepy Time (not) Down South Shields
- More on the Great Whittington Jazz Picnic
- Tomorrow at the Corner House
- South Africa Comes to England
- Nigel Kennedy on BBC 1 Tonight.
- From Bev Getz (on Facebook)
- Some People by Sarah Ellen Hughes
- ALEXANDER STEWART MAKES PIZZA EXPRESS DEBUT
- Drums? Bass? - who needs them? Saxophonics and the...
- Next Time You're Down in Texas
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- The Book of Pepper - Jazz Library, Radio 3
- Honoured.
- Report from the Jersey Shore
- John Hallam @ Blaydon Jazz Club
- Marcin Wasilewski Trio @ The Sage. June 9th.
- Maine Street Jazzmen @ Rosie's (Rosie Malone's, So...
- Archival Items from Don Armstrong.
- Update on New Century Ragtime Orchestra
- Blame it on my Youth - Sarah Ellen Hughes
- The Blaydon Aces - Roly Veitch (guitar & vocals) &...
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- In (and out) of Town Tonight
- Michael Garrick says...
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- It IS possible to Love a Banjo Player! (of course ...
- Jan Kopinski's Reflektor @ The Sage. June 6th
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- Tell 'em you're allergic to Andrew Lloyd Webber Liz.
- The Customs House Big Band & Ruth Lambert @ New Cr...
- Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Corner House. May 31st.
- Martin Taylor on TV tomorrow morning.
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11 comments :
Yes, it was a real treat to have him playing on Tyneside.
I remember bassist Derek Dixon raving about how he could imply chord cycles, with total control, in his improvisations - he had a very advanced sense of harmony and his Wes styled playing was quite something. I remember his playing from the Syd Warren Quintet's Tuesday Corner House residency.
I do remember he was an Ibanez endorser - there were occasional large b/w photos of Willie advertising Ibanez guitars in Crescendo Magazine. I heard he came over from West Indies as an accompanist with pianist Winifred Atwell and settled in London then came up to Newcastle.
I have very happy memories of those times and had great admiration for his playing.
Roly
Scott (Adair) first met Willie in Trinidad. Scott's parents lived there and he went on holiday, where he met Willie who was playing at the Hilton Hotel. This was c.1959-60.
In 1962 we were walking down Northumberland St and guess who was walking towards us - Willie carrying his guitar case!
He was working with Winnie Atwell for a while (they both came from Trinidad) but I believe it was when he sat in with the EMCEE 5 that his career took off.
He played with the Sid Warren Quintet and did loads of work at the Corner House.
His playing was awesome, he admired Wes Montgomery and the like, although he was short on reading. Willie was the most gentle guy I ever knew.
He set up home with vocalist Peggy Shaw and their life became 'the days of wine and roses' if you catch my drift! Peggy was a sweet person and adored him.
Before that he came to live with Scott and myself for a while - he had lost his driving licence and could no longer do gigs so we 'adopted' him.
He eventually got the dreaded day job at the Ministry, Longbenton, and hated it. Willie's playing became very erratic due to a drink problem and it was difficult to book him then Peggy died suddenly and Willie was on his own.
I had a business in Jesmond and one of my customers let slip that she was keeping an eye on this chap from Trinidad who was ill and not eating - yes it was Willie. She put him on a plane to go home to Trinidad and his family and not long after I heard he had died. This was 1994.
Willie was the only man I cut my nails for - he was teaching me guitar!!
Anne
Willie and I played together in the 60s and much later on, at that time he was an outstanding Player very much in the Wes Montgomary style and he worked with me at La Dolce Vita in Newcastle and had he stayed off the booze he could have been a great player. The last time he played was on a tour with me and Kenny Clarke on drums and he didn't play so well as he had a secret Whisky problem. Maurice Summerfield I think gave him a guitar for the gig, I can't be sure if it was a free gift. He also did some European gigs in Germany and Belgium I think with my trio and also worked with me at Ronnie Scott's Club with Irene Reid the New York vocalist who was Count Basie's singer in the early '60s.
He worked in Newcastle at the large pensions department for possibly 20 years and when he left to return to his roots in the West Indies, I heard a rumour that he passed on but I can not tell you the date.
He was Winifred Atwell's guitarist probably in the '50s touring Australia and also working with her here.It was this time that I met him.
That's the best that I can tell you right now.
Mike
I worked with Willie very early in my career...& one of the gigs was a defining moment..... It was a trio gig Organ, Guitar (Willie) & drums (The late Ron Studholme)
It was a ballad, not sure what, but I played a solo & it was the first time I felt a true jazz connection with the piece... Afterwards Willie leant over & said " Great solo man " I felt on top of the world.. I was about 17....Someone as good as Willie thought I played good....He still is one of the best guitarist I have ever heard or played with.... the essence of what Jazz is or should be..... Sad to hear he passed away.... Mal Maddock
I have fond memories of hearing Wilie play with Sid Warren and other great players, like Bill Harper. Actually, when the Willie Payne Quintet played support for Slim Gaillard at the Corner House in Heaton (12 December 1982), I was doing the sound mixing for the gig and Willie graciously invited me to join them on trumpet, and we played "Games" by Nat Adderley. Earlier the quintet had played Jimmy Heath's "The Voice Of The Saxophone", and unfortunately these two are the only ones I have recordings of. The Slim gig was recorded in its entirety. Dave The Rave
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What site is that?
In 1967 I played guitar (badly) with the resident band in the infamous BirdCage Club in Stowell Street. Willy Payne used to come in late on & would sometimes listen to us from the bar. I first recognised him from his appearances on Tyne-Tees TV where they would put in a local musician as a continuity filler around the news time.
I did have pretensions to playing a jazz guitar style & Willy kindly offered to take me under his wing for tuition. By then, however, I had decided that I really wanted to go to university & declined his offer. Eventually, I spent most of my working life in Academia but often wonder what might have happened, had I accepted Willy's offer of help?
Really sorry to learn of his decline, he was quite a nice guy to talk to. I had long wondered what became of him before I chanced upon this thread.
I'm pleased to see that Willie Payne is so well respected and remebered.
I first watched Willie on TTT where he used to sit in the canteen with his guitar until an announcement said “willie to Studio?”
He would go to the studio and play solo jazz as long as needed. This was in the days of unedited TV.
The saddest thing I heard him say was, when he was in the resident band at the Sands Club, Whitley Bay he was thinking of swopping his jazz guitar for “one of those electric things” so he could fit into the band better. Hope he never did.
My other local hero was Charlie Smith. I took over studio guitar after Charlie [with Ken Maddison}]
Charlie told me he was a banjo player but got a gig on guitar so he pawned his banjo and tuned the guitar like his banjo. He thought afterwards, there must be more to the guitar than this and a long term love started.
I met Willie in Auckland New Zealand when he was playing with Winifred Atwell. I was 17 years old and totally enamoured with Winifred’s style of music. She and her band played on contract for 6 months in a cafe restaurant off Queens Street Auckland.
I became a fan and every Friday would sit for hours listening to them. Eventually the Kiwi kid was invited backstage to meet Winifred and her band. I was star struck and totally amazed at the talent of Winifred and her guitarist/drummer Willie Payne. I was a constant Friday night listener and friend and went out with Willie for the 6 months they were in NZ. He was a gentle and lovely man. Winifred offered to fly me to London as in those days entertainers could not take their earners out of NZ. I was so tempted but at 17 knew my parents would be horrified. Willie wrote to me for sometime afterwards and I was so happy his career took off. I was a privilege to meet them all. Pauline Crowley, Zieltjes NZ
I heard Willie Payne just once at the Birch Hall Oldham with Mike Carr and Kenny Clarke and he made a lasting impression on me. He had the sound I love to hear on guitar.
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