June
Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).
Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.
1 comment :
Sometimes the reviewers on this blog express concern about the age of the audiences for jazz gigs and query where the young fans are. However they need not worry, for as I got into my place at the Cherrytree I had to squeeze past a sweet young child who was no more than two or three. The fact that he was lying stretched out asleep on the bench seat and remained so throughout the two sets by the Lewis Watson Quartet is surely a minor point. At least he was there!
This recalled a time I and my accompanist arrived in New York off a long flight from London and I insisted on heading straight down to Greenwich Village. Don Pullen was playing in the Village Vanguard (I think) with a ferocious young woman drummer and they were building up a storm. We got a seat in the front row and despite her best efforts, my accompanist started to nod off after the first few numbers. Fortunately, the band seemed to think the closed eyes indicated deep listening concentration and we survived.
The last time I was at the Cherrytree the musicians were straight from the GIJF. This time three of them were from the even more venerable Lit &Phil and had just received the accolade of last week's 'gig of the year'. Although they were playing slightly less philosophical music in this venue, their musical empathy and effortless rapport shone through and the fourth member of the group, Paul Susans, fitted in perfectly. This is such a good quartet with both Lewis Watson and Paul Edis constructing sparkling improvisations and Rob Walker creating a infinite variety of effects on drums with his hands, brushes and sticks. The tone from Watson's tenor, whether playing fast or slow, is just beautiful.
As has been mentioned there were not a lot of announcements, however at the end of the second set LW decided to introduce the band. By this stage what had been a good crowd was reduced to a handful of enthusiasts. I was reminded of similar circumstances at the end of a gig early in the career of the famous Irish traditional band, Planxty, where Donal Lunny introduced the band members to the sparse audience and when he had finished said, 'And what are your names?'
This is a great quartet that should be playing more often and, when they do, they are not to be missed. Definitely this week's 'gig of the year'!
JC
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