THIS WEEK'S GIGS
Schmazz @ the Cluny presents
HUMAN EQUIVALENT
Leah Gough-Cooper (sax); David Preston (guitar); Alan Benzie (keyboards); Kevin Glasgow (electric bass); Laurie Lowe (drums)
Tuesday 27th July | 8.30pm
The Cluny | 36 Lime Street | Newcastle
Tickets £7.00 | £5.00 concessions | £3.00 students from 0191 230 4474
I’m frequently in Scotland, and around five years ago I started to hear a buzz about Dumfries-based saxophonist Leah Gough-Cooper, then still in her early teens. The word clearly got around, because at 16 she won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and has now moved on to do a Masters course at the New England Conservatory.
None of this means that there’s anything at all academic about her playing (in fact the very opposite is true, as her debut CD ‘Future Pop’ demonstrated), but it does mean that she’s only back home during College vacations, and doesn’t play very many UK gigs. Schmazz caught her last August as part of drummer Patrick Kunka’s quartet, and it’s great that they’re bringing her back with her own exciting quintet – which includes another rising Scottish star, and fellow Berklee student, in pianist Alan Benzie. Like so many young players today, Leah is at home with many styles of music, and her compositions touch on any number of bases – but at heart this is indisputably jazz of the highest quality.
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Take It To The Bridge presents
ALAN GLEN TRIO + Jam Session
Alan Glen (keyboards); John Pope (bass); David Carnegie (drums)
Wednesday 28th July | 9.00pm
The Chillingham | Chillingham Road | Newcastle
Admission £1.00 on the door
I hear that years of playing have started to take their toll on the flexibility of Alan Glen’s wrists, and that he’s having to ration the number of gigs that he undertakes. I have to say that, hearing the continuing fluency of his playing, you’d never suspect that he has problems, but it’s all the more reason to get along to this, his monthly session at the Chillingham.
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Jazz at the Fell presents
THE DREAM BAND
Friday 30th July | 8.30pm
Gateshead Fell Cricket Club | Eastwood Gardens | Low Fell NE9 6JS
Information from 0191 262 3735
Trumpeter Alan Smith leads what is by all accounts a high quality trad outfit.
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TEES VALLEY JAZZMEN
With THE FENNER SISTERS
1940s Day
Saturday 31st July | 11.00am – 3.00pm
Newgate Street Shopping Centre | Bishop Auckland
Free
I am constantly baffled as to why anybody would want to celebrate the 1940s, a decade of which the first half was marked by war, and the second by severe austerity. If the Shopping Centre really wishes to recreate the authentic atmosphere, then there should be virtually nothing in the shops and what there is should be strictly rationed, although dodgy looking characters will offer to get you whatever you want “at a price”.
If nothing else, it would then provide a foretaste of life under Cameron & Clegg.
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Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival and JazzAction present
MILESTONES SHOWCASE
12.00 Noon: BUDVIVAR
1.00pm: LEGOHEAD
2.00pm: MILES AHEAD
3.00pm: HCW
4.00pm: HORN DOGS
5.00pm: CLAUDE WERNER QUARTET
6.00pm: ACV
7.00pm: ALTER EGO
8.00pm FUNK REGULATORS
Sunday 1st August | 12.00 – 9.00pm
Georgian Theatre | Green Dragon Yard | Stockton TS18 1AE
Admission free
What a treat! Nine hours of great jazz, and it needn’t cost you a penny. Most of these bands will be familiar to ‘Jazz Alert’ readers from their appearances at the Newcastle ‘Splinter’ sessions, but there are a couple in the list – Miles Ahead and Funk Regulators – which have evolved from the regular workshops/jam sessions held in Stockton under the Milestones banner. It’s also true that every one of these bands has come together in the last three years, an indication of just how vibrant is the current jazz scene in the North East. A great way to spend Sunday – get along and enjoy.
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FLAUTIST AVAILABLE
There was a time when any North East musicians hoping to make a living from their art tended to head south, where the streets of London were paved with gold, and every pub had jazz seven nights a week (actually that’s not quite how I recall it, but never mind).
Now the traffic is often in the other direction, with London players moving to Tyneside. Latest arrival is flute player Sylvie Heath, who tells me that she enjoys playing “many different styles, apart from trad”, and is looking for opportunities both as a performer and a teacher. Anybody who thinks they might have a rôle for a flautist can get in touch with Sylvie at <sylvieheath@hotmail.com>.
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NEXT WEEK'S GIGS
Before summarising next week’s gigs, I really have to comment on the enormous success of Jazz North East’s tribute concert for Chris Yates, which packed the Corner House throughout last Sunday afternoon. There’s a comprehensive review of the event on Lance Liddle’s blog http://lance-bebopspokenhere.blogspot.com, and I can only echo Lance’s enthusiasm for what was a superb five hours of music before a packed and enthusiastic crowd. I know that Chris’s family would like to thank everybody – musicians and audience alike – who made it a fitting tribute to a great servant of jazz.
Looking forward . . . well, if you’re a fan of classic jazz (that’s “trad” to you and me), there’s plenty on offer, with the Maine Street Jazzmen in particular bidding to overtake the Vieux Carré in ubiquity. For the rest of us it’s largely a case of settling in an armchair with the CD collection, although Zoë Gilby (at the Cherry Tree on Monday) is always worth catching. And if you’re down Teesside way, then a reminder of this Sunday’s Milestones extravaganza is as good a way as any to start the listings . . .
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Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival and JazzAction present
MILESTONES SHOWCASE
12.00 Noon: BUDVIVAR
1.00pm: LEGOHEAD
2.00pm: MILES AHEAD
3.00pm: HCW
4.00pm: HORN DOGS
5.00: CLAUDE WERNER QUARTET
6.00pm: ACV
7.00pm: ALTER EGO
8.00pm FUNK REGULATORS
Sunday 1st August | 12.00 – 9.00pm
Georgian Theatre | Green Dragon Yard | Stockton TS18 1AE
Admission free
Quantity and quality. Nine hours of music from a hugely varied range of bands, from the relatively straightahead (hard) bop of Budvivar and Alter Ego through the contemporary approach of ACV to the funk & fusion of Legohead and Funk Regulators. Aural proof of the vibrancy of the region’s new, young jazz scene.
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ZOE GILBY
Monday 2nd August | 6.00pm | music starts 7.45pm
Cherry Tree Restaurant | 9 Osborne Road | Newcastle NE2 2AE
Reservations from 0191 239 9924
I’m told that, quite early in her career, somebody suggested that vocalist Zoë Gilby be invited to guest with one of Tyneside’s longest established trad bands - in order to avoid embarrassment I shall name no names. The idea was turned down by the band’s then leader on the grounds that “she probably sings in lots of strange keys”.
I’m not sure who’s in her band for this Cherry Tree gig, but I don’t suppose it’ll be the Vieux Carré (Oh bugger! Have I let the cat out of the bag?). And I don’t know which keys she’ll be singing in. But one thing’s for sure – it’ll be a great night.
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MAINE STREET JAZZMEN
Tuesday 3rd August | 8.30pm
Royal British Legion Club | West Jesmond Avenue | Newcastle NE2 3EX
Admission £3.00
I mentioned a while back that the Maine Street guys had started what seemed to be regular fortnightly gigs at the Legion Club. Well, they’ve clearly been a success, because it’s now become a weekly event, with a change of day from Thursday to Tuesday. This is the first.
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Ashington Jazz Club presents
KEITH STEPHEN’S HOT CLUB TRIO with CAROLINE IRWIN
Keith Stephen & Roly Veitch (guitars); Bruce Rollo (bass); Caroline Irwin (vocals)
Wednesday 4th August | 8.30pm
The Elephant | Newbiggin Road | Ashington NE63 0SZ
Admission £3.00
I think it’s around four or five years since Keith Stephen formed the Hot Club Trio, and it seems to be ever more popular , and understandably so. Keith, Roly and Bruce are three of the best exponents of small group swing you could hope to find, and with vocalist Caroline Irwin now a regular part of the package you get entertainment and quality in equal measures.
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MAINE STREET JAZZMEN
Thursday 5th August | 8.30pm
St Joseph’s CMS Club | Birtley Lane | Birtley DH3 1LJ
Admission £3.00 | £2.00 members
As they say at Prime Minister’s Questions, “I refer you to the answer I gave previously”.
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Saltburn Jazz presents
SAVANNAH JAZZ BAND
Friday 6th August | 7.30pm
Saltburn Community Hall | Albion Terrace | Saltburn TS12 1NN
Tickets £7.00 from 01287 624622
I thought I’d check the Savannah’s website before writing this preview. The good news is that they’ve entered the age of enlightenment and are no longer selling ladies’ knickers emblazoned with the band logo. The bad news is that their Home Page is dominated by a plug for Saga Holidays, which must say something about their target audience.
Still, the Savannah's reputation in the trad world is very high, and they tour extensively from their West Yorkshire base, so the Saltburn audience should be in for a good time regardless of their age profile or the nature of their underwear.
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Jazz at the Fell presents
MAINE STREET JAZZMEN
Friday 6th August | 8.30pm
Gateshead Fell Cricket Club | Eastwood Gardens | Low Fell NE9 6JS
Information from 0191 262 3735
And again.
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VIEUX CARRE JAZZMEN
1920s Prohibition Party
Friday 6th August | 7.30pm
Boardwalk Café | Watts Slope | Whitley Bay NE26 1BQ
Reservations £12.00 (including hot buffet) from 0191 251 1988
“Return to the glamour and the hedonism of the roaring twenties” says the VC’s publicity for this. It raises the interesting conundrum: did the music thrive on the back of the illicit drinks trade, or were people driven to drink by the music?
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The Great Whittington Jazz Picnic presents
VICTORY ‘V’ JAZZMEN
John Cowan (trumpet), Jim McBriarty (clarinet & sax), Herbie Hudson (trombone), Brian Bennett (banjo), Fred Thompson (drums), Peter Shenton (bass) and Ray Shenton (piano). Guest appearance by Joe Shenton (washboard).
Sunday 8th August | 12.00 – 3.00pm
Village Hall | Great Whittington | Northumberland NE19 ???
Admission £5.00 | Children free
Apparently this is the 15th edition of the Great Whittington event, which is described by my informant as “a good day out” (he also advises taking your own picnic, so clearly the organisers don’t themselves lay on a spread). All proceeds go to the Tynedale Hospice.
The name of the band is new to me, but the players certainly aren’t, being drawn from Tyneside’s trad establishment – in fact Herbie Hudson and the two Shentons go all the way back to the establishment of the River City Jazzmen in 1955. So these are all guys who know their way round the classic jazz repertoire, and even if this is a scratch band for the occasion, it should deliver the goods.
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LITTLE MO SCOTT BAND
Sunday 8th August | 4.00pm
Magnesia Bank | Camden Street | North Shields NE30 1NH
Free admission
Four in the afternoon seems a strange time to start a gig – possibly a ruse to keep the lunchtime drinkers in the pub for a little longer, If so, they’ll be royally entertained by vocalist Mo Scott, with her repertoire running from Bessie Smith style blues to standards from the Great American Songbook.
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COREY MWAMBA
When vibraphone whizz Corey Mwamba played a Schmazz gig at the end of June, he took the organisers completely by surprise by telling the audience that “you can all have a recording of tonight’s performance”.
Well, It’s taken a little while to organise, but the recording (made by regular Schmazz sound genius Charlie McGovern) is now available as a free download from Corey’s website. And brilliant stuff it is too – I’m listening to it as a write this - although perhaps you have to have been there to grasp the full impact of his extraordinary performance.
The address for the download is:
<http://www.coreymwamba.co.uk/extras/>
You’ll be asked for a Username and a Password, both of which are “extra”. So download, listen, and enjoy.
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HARRY BECKETT
I suppose I’ve reached that age when it’s inevitable that I seem to be losing more and more of the great musicians who were part of my formative jazz education. In recent months outstanding players as diverse as Hank Jones, Benny Powell, Bill Dixon, Fred Anderson and Willem Breuker have all handed in their instruments.
The latest death, and one that particularly saddens me, is that of trumpeter Harry Beckett, one of the undersung greats of UK and European jazz for around 50 years. The last few times I heard Harry it was clear that his lip wasn’t in good shape, and he played very sparingly (not that he was ever a flashy performer). But his timing, and his innate sense of the right note at the right moment, meant that he still squeezed every ounce from his diminished technical resources, and he remained a delight to hear.
Harry rang me a couple of months ago to discuss the possibility of a Tyneside gig. Sadly, that won’t now happen. But his gentleness as a person, and his superbly thoughtful playing in all sorts of jazz contexts, remain an abiding memory. Thanks Harry – it was a pleasure to know you.
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Jazz Alert is grateful for financial assistance from the regional jazz development agency JazzAction, but responsibility for the content is entirely that
of the 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!
Paul Bream