This & Next weeks gigs
This
& Next
weeks gigs
THE
NECKS
Chris Abrahams (keyboards); Lloyd Swanton
(bass); Tony Buck (drums)
Monday 12th May | 8.00pm
The Sage | Gateshead
Tickets £7.00 - £16.50 from 0191 443 4661
“Not strictly jazz, nor entirely avant-garde, nor minimalist, nor ambient,” says
the Sage website about this cult Australian trio, and that’s about right. But
all three musicians are steeped in jazz and improvisation, and together they
produce fascinating music that typically grows over lengthy pieces (sometimes up
to an hour) from a simple groove to a multi-layered complexity that keeps you
right on the edge of your seat. Great stuff.
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North
East Jazz Collective presents
EXTREME MEASURES + Jam Session
Monday 12th May | 8.00pm
Side Café | The Side | Newcastle
Admission £5.00 | £3.00 concessions & Collective
members
Extreme Measures are now turning up so often that it’s difficult to find
anything new to say. But working together frequently is one of the elements that
can turn good bands into great bands: EXM are certainly the former, and have the
potential to become the latter.
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NO
AWARENESS + Jam Session
Tuesday 13th May | 8.30pm
Cumberland Arms | Ouseburn | Newcastle
Admission £5.00 on the door
The astonishing explosion of new talent continues with a group of young players
who offer “a hair-raising ride of tight turns and flat out straights”! In
addition to the three named musicians, gig organizer Ben Gilbert promises “some
mystery guests on percussion, a glockenspiel, and who knows what else”. You
won’t know unless you go!
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JOOLS HOLLAND’S RHYTHM & BLUES ORCHESTRA
Wednesday 14th May | 8.00pm
Middlesbrough Town Hall | Middlesbrough
Tickets £29.50 from 01642 729729
As Tommy Handley used to say, “It’s that man again!”. (Apologies to all readers
under the age of 70 for this obscure cultural reference.)
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Take
It To The Bridge presents
ALAN GLEN
TRIO + Jam Session
Alan Glen (keyboards); Laurence Blackadder
(bass); David Carnegie (drums)
Wednesday 14th May | 9.00pm
The Chillingham | Chillingham Road | Newcastle
Admission £1.00 on the door
For years Dave Weisser’s Wednesday night jam sessions have had an air of
organized chaos about them, as Dave marshaled whatever musicians had turned up,
scattering instrumental parts around the stage like a demented tickertape
parade. So the fact that the Alan Glen Trio is committed to a regular slot every
four weeks seems like a change of policy – and one that's welcome, if only
because these are three excellent musicians. And connoisseurs of the Weisser
experience needn't worry . . . there should still be plenty of chaos when the
jam session starts.
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MAINE STREET JAZZMEN
Wednesday 14th May | 8.30pm
The Iona Club | Station Road | Hebburn
Free admission
The start of a provisional weekly booking for the New Orleans favourites.
Apparently the club management have suggested a try-out for a month or so, at
which point they’ll make a decision about the longer term.
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GERRY RICHARDSON & GARRY LINSLEY
Thursday 15th May | 7.00 pm
Treehouse Restaurant | Alnwick Garden
Dinner Reservations from 01665 511852
Regular sparring partners Gerry on keyboards and Garry on sax deliver a mix of
standards and originals as an accompaniment to the dining experience.
Incidentally, I have been reminded by Jazz Alert's academic correspondent that
Gerry Richardson and guitarist Rod Sinclair have both been awarded PhDs in Jazz
Studies & Composition (or something like that) by the University of Newcastle.
Apparently they’re now available as a duo called Dr Gerry and Mr Slide.
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CHRISTINE TOBIN BAND
Thursday
15th May | 8.00pm
The Sage | Gateshead
Tickets £7.00 & £13.50 from 0191 443 4661
For some years I resisted the appeal of Christine Tobin as being too folky, too
Celtic for me (and her penchant for Leonard Cohen dirges didn’t help). She still
has a very individual take on jazz singing, but that now seems to me to be an
admirable quality, bringing constantly intriguing interpretations to whatever
she tackles. She works with great musicians, too – I don’t know the full line-up
for this gig, but it certainly includes Partisans guitarist Phil Robson, pianist
Liam Noble, and Thebe Lipere on percussion.
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Jazz
at the Fell presents
RAE BROTHERS NEW ORLEANS JAZZ BAND
Friday 16th May | 8.30pm
Gateshead Fell Cricket Club
Information from 0191 262 3735
How’s this for longevity? This is the 700th jazz night at the Fell since the
club launched in July 1994, and it’s appropriate that the Rae Brothers – regular
favourites over most of that time – should be there to help the celebrations.
Expect a bit of a party!
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EDUARDO NIEBLA
Friday 16th May | 7.30pm
Alnwick Playhouse
Tickets £9.00 | £8.00 from 01665 510785
Niebla’s guitar duo, with Carl Herring, is billed as ‘Flamenco Jazz’, which
tells you just about all you need to know.
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TEESDALE JAZZ QUINTET
with ALAN BARNES
The
Rural Jazz Suite
Alan Barnes (reeds); Terry Willitts (trumpet &
flugelhorn); John Pickering (guitar); Andy Honeybone (piano); Jason Reeve
(bass); David Richardson (drums)
Saturday 17th May 2008 | 7.30pm
The Witham | Horsemarket | Barnard Castle
Tickets £8.00 in advance from 01833 631107 |
£9.00 on the door
A second night of jazz at the Witham this month (they had the Omar Puente –
Robert Mitchell duo there on the 3rd). This time the Teesdale Jazz Quintet is
joined by the ubiquitous Alan Barnes (“They seek him here, they seek him there,
he turns up simply everywhere”) for the premiere of Andy Honeybone’s ‘Rural Jazz
Suite’, inspired by the way in which jazz itself grew – in part at least – from
the rural plantations of the American South. The first half of the evening will
feature the new suite, with the second half consisting of numbers by Bill Evans,
John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Kenny Garrett and others.
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MILESTONES WORKSHOPS
Sunday 18th May | 6.30-8.00
Georgian Theatre | Green Dragon Yard |
Stockton-on-Tees
Admission £3.00
Milestones Jazz Club presents
MICK
SHOULDER QUINTET
Mick Shoulder (bass); Graeme Wilson (tenor sax);
Graham Hardy (trumpet & flugelhorn); Paul Edis (piano); Adrian Tilbrook (drums)
Sunday 18th May | 8.00pm
Georgian Theatre | Green Dragon Yard |
Stockton-on-Tees
Admission £5.00 on the door | Free to workshop
participants
The regular Milestones format, with the 6.30pm workshops led by the members of
the evening’s featured band. A cracking band too, with an assortment of the
region’s leading younger musicians being driven along by the drumming
father-figure of North East jazz.
NEXT WEEK’S GIGS
In some jazz quarters a recommendation from me is regarded like the Today
Programme’s racing tips – the kiss of death. So I’m almost reluctant to say it,
but . . . the Jason Moran concert at the Sage on Wednesday stands out from this
week’s gigs like Boston Stump in the flatlands of Lincolnshire.
That’s not to say that there isn’t some decent other music on offer through the
week (the Lincolnshire flatlands are ecologically very interesting, especially
if you’re fond of eels), but Moran’s the Man.
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North
East Jazz Collective presents
STU
COLLINGWOOD TRIO
+ Jam Session
Stu Collingwood (keyboards); Tony Abel (bass);
Steve Wall (drums)
Monday 19th May | 8.00pm
Side Café | The Side | Newcastle
Admission £5.00 | £3.00 concessions & Collective
members
Paul Edis’ regular threesome step aside for a different piano trio, led by Stu
Collingwood, who – in his posh manifestation as Stuart – turns up regularly in
the Alnwick Treehouse (bassist Tony Abel leads an even posher double life as an
occasional member of the Northern Sinfonia). One of the encouraging things about
most of the NEJC bands has been the development of original compositions, so
it’s slightly disappointing that this is advertised as a night of standards, but
the quality of the playing should be some compensation.
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JASON
MORAN
In My
Mind: Monk at Town Hall 1959
Jason Moran (piano); Denys Baptiste, Jason Yarde
(reeds); Byron Wallen (trumpet); Fayyaz Virji (trombone); Andy Grappy (tuba);
Tarus Mateen (bass); Nasheet Waits (drums)
Wednesday 21st May | 8.00pm
The Sage | Gateshead
Tickets £7.00 - £16.50 from 0191 443 4661
This is stunning. Jason Moran is certainly amongst the most exciting pianists to
emerge from the US in a long time – deeply engaged with the tradition, but
giving it an unmistakably personal and original stamp. Tarus Mateen and Nasheet
Waits have been his trio partners for almost a decade and have developed a
breathtaking empathy with him. And the contingent of Baptiste, Yarde, Wallen,
Virji and Grappy are amongst the absolute cream of younger British jazz talent.
This gig uses Monk’s celebrated New York Town Hall concert (with a 10-piece
band) as a starting point for an enquiry into the whole nature of Monk’s music
and the development of piano jazz. In eight days time the Sage will present
McCoy Tyner, one of the key figures in that development – but if you want to
know where jazz is today, this is the more important gig.
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Bishop Auckland Jazz Record Society
NOT THE TRIO
Wednesday 21st May | 8.00pm
Ship Inn | Middlestone Village | Bishop Auckland
Free admission
An evening dedicated to recordings from the late Bill Evans in contexts other
than his own acclaimed trio.
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ROBBEN FORD
Wednesday 21st May
| 7.00pm
Carling Academy |
Westgate Road | Newcastle
Tickets £17.50 from 0191
260 2020
Guitarist Robben Ford has done a fair amount of jazz work over the years,
including a brief stint with Miles Davis, but most of it has leaned towards
various forms of fusion, and has been generally fairly undistinguished. His more
straightahead blues playing is much better, and this is what’s on offer at the
Academy tonight.
But be warned. Although the doors open at 7.00pm, Ford himself is not scheduled
to come on stage until 8.45pm, and you may have to sit through some fairly
turgid support material.
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RUTH LAMBERT & PAUL EDIS
Thursday 22nd May | 7.00 pm
Treehouse Restaurant | Alnwick Garden
Dinner Reservations from 01665 511852
When the Edinburgh-base trio NeWt played the Cluny recently, one of the first
questions they asked me was “Is Ruth Lambert still on Tyneside?”. Scotland’s
loss has been our gain, and it’s always a treat to hear her superb jazz singing,
whether with her own quintet or, as here, with just keyboards as acoompaniment.
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Jazz
at the Fell presents
MIKE PIGGOTT & THE HOT CLUB TRIO
Friday 23rd May | 8.30pm
Gateshead Fell Cricket Club
Information from 0191 262 3735
Described in the New York Jazz Times as “one of the best swing jazz fiddle
players active anywhere”, Mike Piggott began his musical career – primarily as a
guitarist - on the London blues/soul scene of the 1970s, and has subsequently
dipped his bow into almost any genre you can think of, from reggae to society
dance bands. But these days he concentrates mainly on what he loves most and
does best, the swing jazz associated with Joe Venuti, Stuff Smith, and most of
all Stéphane Grappelli, so it’s appropriate that he guests here with Keith
Stephen’s accomplished Hot Club Trio.
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THE
BLACKBYRDS
Friday 23rd May | 8.00pm
The Cluny | 36 Lime Street | Newcastle
Tickets £12.00 from 0191 230 4474
Hmmm! By the time trumpeter Donald Byrd formed the original Blackbyrds in 1974
he had already traveled a great distance from his orthodox jazz roots into a
jazz-funk idiom that no longer had much jazz in it . . . and the music got
increasingly bland as the years went by. Ironic that this gig is part of the
‘Evolution’ Festival when it’s actually got more to do with regression into the
dark days of disco.
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RAY
CHESTER BIG BAND
with MIA WEBB & the FENNER SISTERS
Friday 23rd May | 7.30pm
Customs House | South Shields
Tickets £10.00 | £8.00 concessions from 0191 454
1234
An all Gershwin programme from this well-drilled orchestra, with transcriptions
of arrangements by the likes of Miller, Ted Heath and John Dankworth, as well as
original settings by leader Ray Chester (one of the finest big band arrangers
currently working in the UK). Vocals come from Mia Webb, and from the Fenner
Sisters, who draw their inspiration both visually and vocally from 1940s
favourites the Andrews Sisters.
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KEITH STEPHEN’S HOT CLUB TRIO with MIKE PIGGOTT & CAROLINE IRWIN
Saturday 24th May | 12.30pm
Arts Centre | Vane Terrace | Darlington
Tickets £8.00 from 01325 486555
En route from Gateshead Fell last night, it’s Keith Stephen’s name that has
edged above fiddler Mike Piggott to the top of the billing, and vocalist
Caroline Irwin has joined the fray.
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SNAKE DAVIS
Saturday 24th May | 8.00pm
Arts Centre | Vane Terrace | Darlington
Tickets £12.00 from 01325 486555
I have tried. Honestly, I have tried . . . to find something positive to say
about Snake Davis. But life’s too short.
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NICK ROSS
ORCHESTRA
‘Sounds of the Glenn Miller
Era’
Sunday 25th May | 3.00pm
Alnwick Playhouse
Tickets £16.50 | £15.50 from 01665 510785
Elvis may occasionally turn up in your local chippie, but he’s nowhere near as
ubiquitous as Glenn Miller. Enough, already!!!
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An
illustrated version of 'Jazz Alert' may be found on the JazzAction website
www.jazzaction.co.uk, but any actionable comments ("Show
me your writ, Snake!") remain solely the reponsibility of compiler Paul Bream.
The 'Jazz Alert' is derived from my
database of forthcoming gigs, which is itself put together from information
received from musicians and promoters. It really doesn't matter how far ahead
people let me know about their planned events (I already have details of gigs as
far away as December) - in fact it's helpful to have the information well in
advance so that I have time to do a bit of background research. So if you're a
musician who's just been booked for a gig in August, or a promoter who's got a
programme of future gigs set up, send me an email with the details. Do it now,
before you forget!