October jazz highlights in the North East

Wolter Wierbos 13 October

From Russell Corbett

October started with a bang in the North East with two festivals. The third edition of the Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music ran from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th at several city centre venues all with big audiences .The fabulously named Charkie Parlour featured violinist John Garner leading an all-star band at the Lit & Phil, Evan Parker played a long-since sold out gig in the Victoria Tunnel and then stayed on to share a Sunday evening Lit & Phil double bill with pianist Alexander Hawkins, Yazz Ahmed made her Newcastle debut at Gosforth Civic Theatre and pianist Richard Michaels presented his History of Jazz Piano at the Jazz Co-op. Berwick Maltings also staged its annual Jazz Weekend the same weekend with Laura Macdonald giving two concerts and a talk on women in jazz.

Later in the month on Sunday 13 at the Bridge Hotel  Trombonist Wolter Wierbos makes his Tyneside debut, indeed, twenty four hours earlier in Marsden the Dutchman will give his first solo performance in Britain. The following day (Monday 14) Richard Bona and Alfredo Rodriguez appear at Sage Gateshead. No doubt the region’s bass players will be out in force. Dave O’Higgins and Rob Luft bring their Coltrane project to Great Broughton Village Hall (Oct 18) and at the end of the month tenor saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos returns to play three gigs with the Paul Edis Trio in Darlington (Oct 25), Crook (26) and a Sunday lunchtime date at the Black Bull, Blaydon on October 27.  

Oct 9 Dulcie May Moreno & Stephen Bridgland Jazz Café, Newcastle NE1 1SG*   

Oct 11 Riviera Quartet Gala Theatre, Durham DH1 1WA*

Oct 12 Hamish McGregor’s Jazzmen St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Newcastle NE3 3BD*

Oct 13 Wollo’s World Bridge Hotel, Newcastle NE1 1RQ

Oct 14 Richard Bona & Alfredo Rodriguez Sage Gateshead NE8 2JR

Oct 18 Dave O’Higgins & Rob Luft Great Broughton Village Hall TS9 7ER

Oct 20 Mark Williams Trio + Jeff Herr Corporation Bridge Hotel, Newcastle NE1 1RQ

Oct 25 Hand to Mouth Merry Monk, Bishop Auckland DL14 7NP*

Oct 25 Vasilis Xenopoulos w Paul Edis Trio Traveller’s Rest, Darlington DL3 9ER

Oct 26 Vasilis Xenopoulos w Paul Edis Trio St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook DL15 9ND

Oct 27 Vasilis Xenopoulos w Paul Edis Trio Black Bull, Blaydon NE21 4JJ*

Oct 27 Scottish National Jazz Orchestra Middlesbrough Town Hall TS1 2QJ