Concerts start 8.30pm (8.15 for XMas & Summer concerts) through to 11pm.

Picture below - new season launch concert. The Custom House Big Band + Ruth Lambert (vcls).



2012 CONCERTS

Thurs 3rd May - 8.30 start - adm. £5.00
Mark Toomey Quartet
Mark is renowned as a Charlie Parker devotee but these days is a bop saxophonist of much wider range embracing the likes of Richie Cole, Cannonball Adderley, Phil Woods, Art Pepper and Paul Desmond. He is playing fantastic alto at the top of his game. The quartet also features the great Jeremy McMurray on piano, Pete Ayton bass and Kevin O'Neil drms.

Thurs 7th Jun - Blaydon Races Festival - 8.30 start - adm. £6.00
John Hallam (sax/clnt) with Paul Edis Trio
John is respected throughout the UK as a fine, versatile multi reed player (Mulliganesque baritone, Getzish tenor, Goodman style clarinet). With the acclaimed Paul Edis Trio featuring the leader's thoughtful, Bill Evans inspired, piano.

Thurs 5th Jul - SUMMER CONCERT - 8.15 start - adm. £5.00 (includes buffet - as is our custom, please bring some small food contribution)
James Birkett/Graeme Wilson Quintet - James gtr, Graeme Wilson tnr sax, Jeremy McMurray pno, Mick Shoulder bass, Adam Sinclair drms.
A great band of top NE players put together by James for this concert.

Aug - No Session

Autumn Dates - PROVISIONAL

Thurs Sep 6th - 8.30 start - Adm. £6.00
Vasilis Xenopoulos(wonderful Greek tenor saxophonist) with Paul Edis Trio and featuring the leader's thoughtful, Bill Evans inspired, piano.
Vas is a sensational player, a 50s/60s style warm toned tenor sax player who has absorbed the whole jazz saxophone tradition into his playing.

Thurs 4th Oct - 8.30 start - adm. £5.00
Steve Andrews (sax/clnt) with The Blaydon Jazz Trio featuring Jeremy McMurray pno (bass/drms tba)
Steve's great playing embodies the 30s/40s swing style tenor sax of Hawkins, Young, Webster, Berry - a master player of that idiom and a wonderful, distinctive clarinetist too.

Thurs Nov 1st - 8.30 start - Adm. £5.00
Paul Edis Sextet
Paul's acclaimed NE sextet playing superb arrangements of standards plus a few originals. The sextet is made up of Paul's fine trio plus trumpet/trombone/saxophone front line. The cream of young NE jazz talent.

Thurs Nov 15th - 8.30 start
The Ray Chester Big Band with singer Mia Webb.
Following a absolutely delightful concert last year we had to bring them back. Ray's award winning full sixteen piece big band with superb singer Mia Webb.

Thurs Dec 6th - CHRISTMAS CONCERT - 8.15 start - adm. £6.00 (includes buffet - as is our custom, please bring some small food contribution)
Frank Brooker + James Birkett Quartet
Frank tnr sax/clnt, James gtr, Jeremy McMurray pno, Mick Shoulder bass and Adam Sinclair drms.
Once again we've booked Frank with James' Quartet after a lovely concert last year.

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BlaydonJazz - Our venue is Blaydon & District Club & Institute (CIU), Garden Street, Blaydon NE21 4AG Tel 0191-4142335. Its down at the bottom of the lane (Garden St), just round to the right, with ample parking just at the door and easy access into the building. The place looks none too pretty from the outside but is nice inside has a very nice concert room, with a nice stage and good acoustics. We set it out jazz club style - tables/chairs informally laid out.
DIRECTIONS - take the A695 to the big roundabout at Blaydon, next to the railway station/shopping precinct. Turn into Blaydon at the sign 'to Blaydon Centre', which brings you immediately onto a mini roundabout in front of St Cuthbert's Church (with clock tower). Here turn right up the steep bank (Blaydon Bank) signed for Winlaton. Only about 30 yards up the bank turn first right into Whitmore Road. About 50 yards along, just past the care home, turn right into the access lane(Garden Street) which leads down to the club at the bottom of the lane, just round to the right leads to the concreted car park.

BlaydonJazz Policy - we usually feature jazz artists who work in the mainstream of the music.
From from Goodman to Getz you might say, although neither of them has headlined at the club.
As it happens, Artie Shaw rang us for a gig just last week but we had to apologise and say we didn't have any vacant dates just now.
We sometimes have a resident rhythm section - BlaydonJazz Quartet/Trio with a guest soloist - occasionally we feature another local band. Unfortunately we don't have the funds to feature complete bands from further afield.

We sometimes feature some of the great young players emerging on the NE jazz scene. They are the future of local jazz - please give them every support and encouragement.

The repertoire is based mostly on Great American Songbook 'standards' - the great songs of Kern, Gershwin, Rogers & Hart, Arlen, Ellington, Berlin, Van Heusen, etc.

There are other great local clubs/venues promoting modern jazz/free jazz/contemporary improvised music and also traditional jazz and we see our niche as more or less in the middle ground, but with an open mind. All Blaydon concerts are on a Thursday evening, usually an 8.30 start (XMas/Summer concerts 8.15) and 'pay at the door'.
We usually have one concert a month. We take a winter break Jan/Feb.
We don't do concessionary admission prices - we try to keep our flat entrance charge as low as possible but enough to cover costs (a continual struggle!) and feel this is fairest to everyone.
The photos below are -
left - the original quartet with guests George Evans and Digby Fairweather - left to right Bill Smith, George, Clem, Digby, Roly & Marshall.
right - a club anniversary - guest George Evans and the best ever landlady Pauline. George was a world renowned band leader/arranger who was with Geraldo before forming his own band, many of whom became part of Ted Heath's famous big band.

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