April
Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: More Jam Festival Special @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: Swing Dance workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free (registration required). A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox: The '10' Tour @ Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £41.30 to £76.50.
Sun 28: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: Andrew McCormack Trio w. Kyle Eastwood @ Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.00. JNE.
Sun 28: Jerron Paxton @ The Cluny, Newcastle. Blues, jazz etc.
Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 29: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30-8:30pm. Free. ‘Opus de Funk’ (a tribute to Horace Silver).
Tue 30: Celebrate with Newcastle Jazz Co-op. 5:30-7:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Swing Manouche @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. A Coquetdale Jazz event.
Tue 30: Clark Tracey Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
May
Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: The Eight Words - A Jazz Suite @ Newcastle Cathedral, St Nicholas Square, Newcastle NE1 1PF. Tel: 0191 232 1939. 7:30pm. £20.00. (£17.00. student/under 18). Tim Boniface Quartet & Malcolm Guite (poet). Jazz & poetry: The Eight Words (St John Passion).
Thu 02: Funky Drummer @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guest band: Mark Toomey (alto sax); Jeremy McMurray (keys) Alan Rudd (bass); Paul Smith (drums)
Fri 03: Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle. 1:00pm. 8:00pm.
Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Jake Leg Jug Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Front Porch Blues Band @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: TBC @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blind Pig Blues Club.
Fri 03: Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm. £5.00.
Sat 04: Jeff Barnhart’s Mr Men @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Bradley Johnston.
Sat 04: Jeff Barnhart @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. Barnstorming solo piano!
Sat 04: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free (donations).
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 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
Post a Comment