Dave Rae’s New Orleans Quartet @ Jazz at the Fell. January 31

Dave Rae (banjo & vocals), Brian Carrick (clarinet, tenor saxophone & vocals), Jim Blenkin (trombone & vocals) & John Robinson (double bass)

(Review by Russell)

Jazz at the Fell at Gateshead British Legion. The cricket club, surely? No, it was at Gateshead Fell (Jazz at ‘the Fell’) Cricket Club, now the regulars, rather, some of them, have made the journey to Coatsworth Road, Bensham. The British Legion is the place to be on a Friday night to hear New Orleans/Dixieland jazz. The last day of January brought rain sweeping across the Tyne. Audience numbers were small, it’s been this way for some time.

The large concert room with its large dance floor imposed a barrier, seemingly as wide as the Mississippi, between the musicians on the stage and the audience huddled together on the fringe of the Terpsichorean domain. That the few were, for the most part, ‘huddled together’ suggests that it wasn’t too warm in the upstairs room at the Legion. Dave Rae’s New Orleans Quartet warmed up by blowing on their hands, so cold it was. The music warmed the heart. Bandleader Rae’s special guest for the evening - Brian Carrick - had many a tale to tell of New Orleans evoking images of the Big Easy, the European architecture, a paddle steamer, street musicians, red beans and rice, the heat of the Deep South. Yes, Carrick, the inveterate traveller, knows the French Quarter better than streets of Bensham!

The quartet kicked off with Carrick’s frozen clarinet way out of key. A frown, a tap and a twist of the liquorice stick, a further frown, tap and twist and we were off, up and a way with Red Wing. Carrick joked that he was always a ‘crappy starter’. Dave Rae and John Robinson know their stuff and provided faultless rhythmic support throughout. Jim Blenkin’s robust Jim Robinson trombone style complimented the clarinet. In between numbers Carrick had a tale to tell, tales of George Lewis (many years ago the legendary clarinettist gave one of his instruments to Carrick), Punch Miller (in Carrick’s estimation the equal of Louis), the Barbarin family and others. Bourbon Street (the all-weather brolly dollies did their thing), Basin Street, Old Fashioned Love, some gospel, all made for an entertaining evening.

Carrick’s plaintive vocal style is as good as it gets, often taking a chord and singing an intro. This alone is worth the admission money. Brian Carrick said he had been talking to a friend the other day in New Orleans and believe it or not this Big Easy citizen had seen snow for the first time in his life. If it’s snowing in New Orleans then Tynesiders have little excuse. Jazz at the Fell is a fixture on the scene, show your support by turning out in numbers, whatever the weather.       

Russell.