The Alan Barnes Octet brings the jazzy ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future to The Black Swan at Newcastle Arts Centre on Saturday 10th December.
Having performed most recently in the North East with Strictly Smokin' Big Band, Paul Edis Trio and Gaz Hughes Sextet, we're pleased to see Alan return to Newcastle, this time in the fine company of his own octet: Bruce Adams (trumpet and flugelhorn), Mark Nightingale (trombone), Robert Fowler (saxophones and clarinet), Karen Sharp (saxophones and clarinet), David Newton (piano), Simon Thorpe (bass) and Clark Tracey (drums).
This suite of pieces takes the audience through the characters and scenes of ‘A Christmas Carol'. Readings from the original Dickens novella tell the story, with eight virtuoso musicians bringing the characters and scenes to life - switching audiences from hilarity to pathos with a skill that would have done credit to Dickens himself!
It's a family night out that's also a treat for the jazz connoisseur; delighting anyone who loves music or literature – or just Christmas!
Tickets available now from www.newcastle-arts-
2 comments :
Alan Barnes is coming to Town
Alan Barnes is coming to Town
A-lan Ba-a-a-arnes is co-o-o-o-ming to To-o-own
I first saw Alan Barnes in a duo with the immaculately coiffed Dave Newton in a bar on Scarborough sea front that felt like it was underground but wasn’t. I last saw him in a duo with the still immaculately coiffed Dave Newton in a village hall in Northumberland, on a hill, high above the sea.
In between Alan Barnes laid claim to being the hardest working man in show business, running through a series of projects, both recorded and played live, running his Woodville Records label, occasionally turning up in other peoples’ groups and orchestras and compering the Scarborough Jazz Festival every year.
One of the highlights was his suite Songs for Unsung Heroes co-written with playwright Alan Plater which paid tribute to, and pricked the pomposity (Miles Davis especially) of some of the stars of this music we love so much.
It is the A Jazz Christmas Carol that brings him up here this time. Recorded in a probably not very wintry September 2015 it was toured at the time with a local date at Ushaw College, Durham
The album cover shows Mr Barnes in a less than flattering nightshirt, as elegant as the average tarpaulin, that fits where it touches. For this Saturday’s gig Mr Barnes has assembled the same team that appeared on the album, (see above), with no substitutes and no one on the bench, which is no mean feat in itself. The CD runs to about 50 minutes but I expect that it will be extended by some of that improvisation we hear so much about. There will, of course, also be some of Mr Barnes’ Christmas cracker quality jokes.
I shall be at this one and will do a Terry ‘n’ Bob and try and avoid the England score until I get home and can watch the recording.
Dave Sayer
The Likely Lads didn't have to contend with the mobile phone. At the Black Swan on Saturday evening you could hear the muffled cry/cries of 'Get in'! Conversely, if you don't hear anything, it'll be a case of 'Vive la France'!
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