This
item from the Evening Chronicle archives may spark a few memories amongst our
older readers as well introducing younger ones to a legendary Newcastle jazz
club that sparkled briefly and brightly over 60 years ago.
As the article reveals, the Downbeat Club was the brainchild of the late Malcolm Cecil who went on to achieve fame not just as a top bass player but also as a record producer and an innovative electronics engineer who revolutionised synthesizers and their possibilities forever - he was a genius.
However, back in those Downbeat days Cecil's claim to fame was as a member of Newcastle's first hard bop band the EmCee Five. It is probable that his initials provided the band's name although some may argue that it was pianist, and later Hammond B3 maestro, Mike Carr who inspired the name.
I spent many happy nights at the club listening to, not only the EmCee Five - Ian Carr (trumpet); Gary Cox (tenor sax); Mike Carr (piano/vibes); Malcolm Cecil (bass); Ronnie Stephenson (drums) - but also legends such as Tubby Hayes, Joe Harriott, Phil Seaman and many others. Little did I realise at the time that the Emcee Five and it's personnel would themselves become legends!
The writer of the article, Scott Dobson, was also to become a legend as the author of books such as Larn Yersel Geordie, Geordie Palaver and many others. As well as writing Dobson was heavily involved in the local art world as both a painter and the curator of several Tyneside galleries. Needless to say, he also loved jazz - Lance
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