WELCOME TO THE FEAST

Do you have a taste for great jazz? Then the concerts we’ve cooked up for the coming months will surely whet your appetite. A lot of the goodies are packed into the Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music, an independent event with which we’re happy to be cooperating. Over the course of just three days in early October there’s a chance to hear such iconic international figures as Peter Brötzmann, Nate Wooley and Joe McPhee, as well as some of the finest players from the North East and further afield in the UK. In only its second year, this is as exciting and adventurous a Festival as you’ll find anywhere in the country.

But the goodies don’t stop with the Festival. You’ll barely have had time to digest the weekend’s offerings when it’s time to head to the Globe to savour the all-star David Lyttle Trio, a gig which is our contribution to this year’s Tyneside Irish Festival. And that’s followed by a return to the Jazz Café for bassist Olie Brice, best known to us as a free improviser, but here leading a mouth-wateringly tasty quintet which showcases his exquisite compositional skills.

That’s all in October, but the courses keep coming in November, with the early part of the month focussing on our widely acclaimed ‘Women Make Music’ series. A variety of flavours runs from the witty free improv of Glasgow’s Cliona Cassidy to the rhythmic virtuosity of drummer Lorraine Baker, paying tribute to her hero Ed Blackwell.

In fact, with Jazz North East, you should never starve for great jazz - just keep an eye on our menu and you’ll surely find something to take your fancy!

COMING SOON

5th October @ the Lit & Phil
Nikki Iles & Stan Sulzmann
Long established piano & sax duo give an original twist to favourite standards.

5th October @ the Jazz Café
Graeme Wilson Quartet
Popular Scottish saxophonist and his quartet launch their eagerly awaited second album.

6th October @ the Jazz Café
Enchanted Tales + Ceitidh Mac
Improvised accompaniment to early film versions of fairy tales, plus a set from Northumbrian folk-jazz trio.

6th October @ the Lit & Phil
Full Blast + Pak Yan Lau & Chris Corsano + Candlesnuffer
Free jazz legend Peter Brötzmann and his trio headline a triple bill, with Belgian/American duo Lau & Corsano, and Australian experimentalist Candlesnuffer.

7th October @ the Bridge Hotel
HTrio & Nate Wooley + Joe McPhee & Chris Corsano
Brilliant double bill featuring radical American trumpeter Nate Wooley and veteran free jazz pioneer Joe McPhee.

13th October @ The Globe
David Lyttle Trio
Extraordinarily versatile Irish drummer leads his outstanding trio, with pianist Steve Hamilton and bassist Michael Janisch.

18th October @ the Jazz Café
Olie Brice Quintet
Bassist Brice leads his quintet in a wonderful mix of catchy compositions and imaginative improvisation.

4th November @ the Bridge Hotel
Bitches Brew
Scottish bassist Emma Smith curates a triple bill highlighting the creative diversity of young female improvising musicians.

11th November @ the Bridge Hotel
Lorraine Baker Quartet
Immensely musical drummer presents her ‘Eden’ project, in tribute to the late, great Ed Blackwell.

For full details of each of these gigs, click on the band name.