This year's Newcastle Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place over four days in August (13-16). It could be Britain will still be in lockdown but positive thinking never did anyone any harm so here's hoping the second annual event goes ahead! Festival organisers have released details of musicians and venues and it has all the makings of a memorable few days.
The Strictly Smokin' Big Band's regular rehearsal night at the Bridge Hotel acts as the festival curtainraiser. As usual the night (Thursday 13, 7:00pm) will be free admission although for this one a ticket is required. As a stand alone gig this promises to be an unmissable occasion. On the Friday night (August 14) head to Newcastle Civic Centre for a rare Tyneside appearance by Jay Phelps. The British resident Canadian trumpeter first hit the headlines as a member of Empirical. The first floor Pandon Room just off Ceremonial Way plays host to Phelps' quartet. Tickets £10 & £8.
Saturday (August 15) sees the return of the all day event at the Tyne Bank Brewery. Last year proved to be an unqualified success as a full house (see photo) enjoyed a day of top class jazz with Tyne Bank beers flowing and street food vendors doing a roaring trade in burgers, pizzas, wraps and more. This year the line-up (with one band still to be confirmed) looks like this: Dennis Rollins Velocity Trio, Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski, Jasmine (a Leeds-based band led by alto saxophonist Jasmine Whalley), Mick Shoulder's Swing Manouche and the Sue Ferris Quartet. Tickets £15 - book now!
Sunday (August 16) won't cost you a bean (now there's a bargain!). The action includes the trumpet-guitar pairing of Pete 'Strictly Smokin'' Tanton and Lloyd Wright (venue TBC) and at the Tyneside Cinema a screening (free of charge, ticket required) of Abi Lewis' award-winning documentary film Geordie Jazz Man (6:00pm) about Keith Crombie, the man who ran the Jazz Cafe on Pink Lane for twenty years and more. The weekend draws to a close with Emma Fisk and James Birkett entertaining cinema-goers.
It's anyone's guess how the world will look like four months from now but one thing you can do right now is book your tickets to show support for a mid-summer jazz party which is definitely something to look forward to!
Russell
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3 comments :
Thank you Russell! Our fingers are firmly crossed...
Anyone purchasing tickets can do so in the knowledge that if Covid wreaks havoc, everything is fully refundable!
Yeah! Let’s try and stay optimistic ...... keep on keeping up!
While I'm quite happy sitting at home surrounded by piles of books, CDs and DVDs; like the next wo/man, I like a few beers down the local with Fen; preferably with some live music. If restrictions are lifted sooner,do we have a venue and a couple of bands ready to go?
Perhaps the way forward is to book larger venues but sell fewer tickets, not generally a problem with jazz. Mrs T thought this may cause problems in terms of providing adequate cleaning.
Big Bands should maybe be a little more concerned but, on the positive side, remember what happened the last time the Big Bands went down.
In the meantime, I'll be purchasing tickets for this come payday and remain - as they say - cautiously optimistic.
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