The Matthew Forster Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury - Nov.12

Matthew Forster (tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (keyboards); John Pope (double bass); Adam Stapleford (drums).

My 1952 'King's England' book on Northumberland (purchased in Barter Books in Alnwick recently) says about Rothbury that 'This little health resort has been called the capital of Coquetdale'.  Having been in Rothbury a number of times over the years, I would said this is a fair description of a very pleasant town which also has an excellent butcher's shop that sells fine ham and pease pudding sandwiches.

This time we were here for the latest event organised by Coquetdale Jazz, a new grouping that has been bringing the best of the region's jazz musicians to Rothbury for over a year now. Definitely a healthy pursuit and it is obviously the capital of jazz in Coquetdale.

Lingering over an expresso in the local Italian restaurant prior to the gig, my companion queried if the jazz would really start at 7.30pm as advertised, pointing out that most jazz events I had encouraged her to attend often started quite a while after the advertised time. I suggested that perhaps as this wasn't an actual jazz club different rules might apply.

We eventually arrived at the gig about 15 mins after the start time. The place was jammed and the band was in full swing. The organisers were very welcoming with one giving up his seat to my companion. I casually asked one of the organisers if the session had begun at 7.30pm. He said 'yes' so I lightly joked that this was a bit of an 'unjazz' thing to do. 'Maybe so', he replied, 'but this is Rothbury'. The word 'Jake', although unspoken, hung in the air at the end of his sentence.

Shortly after we were able to settle down at the back of the room, borrowing a stool off the band's photographer as he plied his trade further up the room.

While the sound of the band was excellent in our position the unamplified announcements were harder to hear. However the bursts of laughter from the audience nearer the stage suggested that Matthew Forster was developing a good rapport with the audience.

What about the music then? Well, my companion who is easily put off by too much squeaking or noodling during jazz pieces found the whole concert totally engaging. This was, of course, due to the quality of the musicians. I hadn't heard Matthew Forster before but he is technically excellent and the lyrical character of his playing, particularly in the first set was wonderful to hear.

John Pope on bass is a true original producing magical moments to light up the numbers.

Ben Lawrence on piano is a fine player and Adam Stapleford produced a variety of percussive instruments to add to his excellence on the drums.

As I wasn't able to catch the song titles, our new acquaintance, the photographer, kindly offered to get me a set list at the end. My understanding is that all the pieces played were Forster originals and very good they were too.

As one of the organisers was thanking Forster and the band he said that they had a full house of 66 people in the audience, which I later calculated was over 3% of the local population. Name me any other jazz club or venue that manages the same!

Rothbury already has a longstanding musical reputation, but for traditonal music rather than jazz. The last time I was at anything musical in Rothbury was over 40 years ago when we went to a concert in the local village hall to raise money to replace the hall's roof. A teenage Katherine Tickell was performing, as were the legendary 'Shepherds' - Joe Hutton (Northumbrian pipes), Willy Taylor (fiddle) and Will Atkinson (harmonica or 'moothie') - named because they actually were shepherds - (and Alistair Anderson, of course).

Let's hope that Coquetdale Jazz can create a similar tradition. It has certainly made a very good start and it looks like they plan to continue it as the next gig features The Zoe Gilby Quintet on Tuesday  January 14, 2025.

Keep an eye on the Coquetdale Jazz facebook page for more details. (Make sure to get there on time, Jake). JC

Slate Mill; Go On, Son; Gino; Lucky One; Maiden; Mindful; Black Shiraz; Cats in the Coffee; Hoping for Deja Vu; All Bets Are Off.