Tuesday, 8 June 2010

1431 Jazz on a Summer's day

Jazz on an English Summer's afternoon became an amazing experience which will be long remembered. The day commenced with a disturbing dream which was of being rejected, the details of which I vaguely remember but will not attempt to recapture the detail. This is only significant in terms of the subsequent acceptance.

After waking and getting up and did some writing I prepared for the arrival of a local builder and household repairer at 10 am. He arrived early as I was finishing coffee after two slices of toast. I had attempted to open the garage doors and they had continued without stopping so I continued to have a problem and decided to leave them as they were, finding the hand winding tool just in case.

Not only did the builder immediately identify the problem causing the rain penetration on to my work space area but the solution was provided immediately. There was also time to fix the bathroom cold water tap which involved the collapse of the valve and the a return visit was promised for later in the week to sort out the light fixture and clear the guttering which would need someone else to hold the ladder. I was well pleased with the work and the cost and given that it was sorted by 11 and the sun was shining I decided to go to Tynemouth for the mouth of the River festival and the three concerts by bands participating in the Whitley Bay Jazz festival. The atmosphere of my day had changed within the space of one hour.

I prepared two ham and cheese sandwiches, a banana and a flask of coffee and one of cold still water., also a notebook and pens, my hat and rain top and the coloured red umbrella which I thought could be used as walking stick to lean on if I could to find a seat. I decided against the camera as the rucksack was already weighty. It was only 11.30 when I left the house and walked to the ferry landing, finding that a ferry had arrived, the passengers disembarked and already filling up but fortunately there was a small queue which enabled me to become the last person on board as the vessel immediately set off. There was no available seat on the entry deck so I had to go upstairs, decided to begin my notes, felt like a drink of cold water but only had the first small cupful when I realised we had already reached the other side. There was a small queue formed for the bus which when it arrived was the North Tyneside and back bus and the driver mistakenly or massively said there was no special bus so I stayed on but a couple with whom I had spoken pressed him and they got off. I should have followed them for as we set off the number 2 special bus to from the Ferry to Tynemouth arrived. I guess the competing bus company was upset about the loss of trade with everyone heading for Tynemouth.

The bus terminal is nearby the Metro station and having missed the location of the Tynemouth Metro station on my previous visit I thought this was a good opportunity to find its location and was rewarded with a bonus. For on Saturdays there is a station market with over 100 stalls I would guess packed onto both platforms, selling records, including jazz records and books antiques and nick knacks, I had a quick look but as midday had arrived I was anxious to see if there was a seat for the first jazz band concert.

The fine weather only lasted till then as the clouds commenced to gather overhead as I made my way passed the Tynemouth School which is opposite the station and then turning right into the main road which leads to the Tynemouth High Street, a wide thoroughfare where car can usually park at the dividing central areas. It is a road full of bars and bistros, antiques shops and boutiques. A delightful place to visit on any day. A little way along the road is closed to traffic where there is a performance area which was already busy with visitors and events getting underway. The Jazz stage is set back on a small green against the Gibraltar Rock Inn where two meals are available for £6.75 every day and children eat free. There are railings to one side, good for leaning against, separating the green from the roadway and green entrance to the ruins of Tynemouth Castle and priory. On the nearest side to the main road from the Metro Station there are seats facing on the road but if you are nimble you can sit reverse or get a side view to the stage. Not only was I able to find one seat but within half an hour able to move to the end of the seat and where there was a gap on the green. This meant that I could put by umbrella and haversack down but have access as well as face onto the green and stage.

The first band was from Milan Italy called the Chicago Stompers, a ten piece band of hot Chicago instrumentalists aged between 16 and mid twenties with a singer who had the looks and style similar to Thursday night called Elena Paynes and she was sometimes joined by Veronica Sangagostina Baldi who in addition to vocal support played the Tenor Sax, Clarinet and Ukulele. In addition to the usual make up of drums, piano, trumpet Trombone, Alto sax and Clarinet individual musicians doubled with Alto, Cornet, Guitar and Violin. Given that they had flown over just for the weekend festival, funding their performances justified a good amount from my month's council tax. It occurred that this was well spent Council tax money, albeit by North Tyneside.

As a challenge to the weather the band played on the sunny side of the street. Their performance of Minnie the Moocher which the Humph band was fond of playing can be found on You Tube and there is a video on their own site www.chicagostompers.it. It was while they were playing I was joined by a couple just younger than me and then their friends who have been passionate followers of traditional jazz since their on youth but have remained stalwart of the local jazz club, had been New Orleans and attended both the Edinburgh Jazz festival for over a decade as well as that at Whitely Bay. Their friends had been to the Benny Goodman show on the Thursday so were able to show joint amazement when the player of the vibes was one of the star turns in MaMa and the Kids from Switzerland. MaMa is a joke because the oldest member is Papa and his son is the main vibes player and they have a MySpace site.

Raymond Grasier is an extraordinary musician and performer who at the Sage was very sedate playing authentic Lionel Hampton who let himself go only with a piano duet but this afternoon he was mainly on the drums and provided the vocals as well as joining in on the vibes but the highlights was when he took to the washboard with tin hat and his antics delighted the younger members of the audience. However those listening as well as watching noted that even here he was a brilliant musician. There are four numbers on MySpace.

Then it really rained but were we downhearted no and I felt sorry for the final band of Local Traditional Jazz players the Vieux Carre Jazzmen as the passing by spectators commenced to dwindle. I also stayed for only the first set however not before having two experiences which added to the day. First the couple who I had met at the Ferry bus stop came over for a chat and their daughter worked as a nurse at the District General. Then a female voice said don't move your umbrella away and someone two if not three decades younger than me snuggled up under the umbrella, although she was accompanied by her husband I would add who stayed in the rain, which they subsequently admitted they did not mind having remained passionate campers throughout their lives which left to another chat about camping horror stories when I met them again at the bus stop back to the ferry landing although they were going in a different direction.
Earlier I had been tempted to join the conversation between a local couple and local man, a widower who had sat on the grass a few feet away and marvelled at the extent to which experiences of people living on their own are similar from the gratitude at waking up each day to the enjoyment of going out and about to the small practicalities such as getting up after getting down. During the afternoon I was to talk about the free bus travel experiences and pass on information about special travel lodge offers so I felt I was contributing something.

Staying at the Jazz stage meant that I only saw something of the rest of the festival as individual performers came by. There was a group of giant figures four males with musical instruments forming party of their heads followed by two female head figures and led by a normal size person playing two wailing clarinet type instruments. They moved in slow procession into the main performance area behind the Castle and back into main street three times and were a great attraction for the children. There were three dragon form figures, also two person size being chastened by a wicked witch from the north figure. There was also a human size bee and a woman in a machine collecting honey. There was also a screeching mechanical called Paka the Fire Horse made out an old electric wheel chair.

We were able to watch the Castle and Priory site prepared for the evening concert, paid ticket affair hence the army of stewards arriving before the sad looking audience given the weather conditions. The concert was to begin as I was leaving at 5 with Beverley Knight the main headliner at 8. There did not appear to be many at the earlier time.

Back home I enjoyed two Bream fishes after a glass of red and some peanuts followed by delicious fresh strawberries without sugar. The weather was taking effect with several sniffs so I enjoyed a whisky, put on the central heating, started to write and look up performers on the internet before a coffee. There was also an interest and moving film from China Seventeen and the end of the third day of the Lord's Test but again this will be left to another day. I could hear the sound of fireworks despite the damp conditions and that it had just stopped raining but I thought having got warm its was sensible to stay in and plan for the morrow.

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