The life of well-known Newcastle character Keith Crombie, the late proprietor of Newcastle’s legendary Jazz Café, will be celebrated with a screening of filmmaker Abi Lewis’ affectionate documentary on his life.
The event takes place at Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema on Friday.
It features a Q&A session with Abi, special guests, live music and a late-night after-party.
Until his death in 2012, Keith Crombie was the internationally-renowned ‘Geordie Jazz Man’ – a contrary, mysterious figure who spent decades refusing to bow to musical tides, and presiding over one of the city’s premiere dives - a home away from home for travelling musicians and generations of Geordie misfits.
A mystery to many of his Jazz Cafe patrons, whether he was recognised from his exhaustive leafleting of the city’s` universities or from his tough door policies, Keith was at the epicentre of creativity in Newcastle.
His closest friends and confidantes included local, national and internationally renowned musicians and actors - with Pink Lane’s Jazz Café the pride of the Newcastle jazz and live music scene.
When Keith died, his funeral was attended by hundreds of people, and the procession, which moved from the Jazz Café in Pink Lane to the Haymarket’s Church of St Thomas The Martyr, stopped traffic across the city.
Abi, Keith’s God-daughter, started work on the documentary before his death.
She said: “I was driven to make the film as, like Keith himself, the jazz cafe was becoming old and worn, and my gut feeling told me it was time someone documented Keith and the history of the venue before it was too late.
“Keith had always been part of my life. On the day I was born he captured the first ever pictures taken of my family and me. Years later I would film his final interview only weeks prior to his death.
“What I didn’t quite expect when making this film was to unearth so much more about Keith’s character and lively past, which placed him right at the heart of one of the most exciting periods in musical history in the North East.
“It’s a story that reflects the social history of the UK and its emerging music scenes over the years.
“Since his sudden death the story has become ever so more poignant and is real tribute to Keith and all he stood for.”
Abi completed the film in 2016 and, after a year of taking the film to over eight international film and music festivals around the world, she’s ready to tell Keith’s story to the people of his home city via this special screening.
Abi said: “It’s an incredible story. Aside from running an eccentric battered Jazz club, Keith’s past included going to school with two of The Shadows, a brief career as a getaway driver, dealings with the Krays, and choosing to book the Rolling Stones over The Beatles.
“Keith was admired around the world and we were able to interview stalwarts like Eric Burdon, Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick Jnr for the film.”
The event, dubbed Keith’s Party, takes place at the Tyneside Cinema this Friday, July 27, at 8.30pm.
The Q&A will be led by Chris Phipps, author of Forget Carter - The Definitive History of Tyneside On Screen.
After the screening, the Tyneside becomes home to an ‘after-hours’ party with live music from many of the musicians who performed at the Jazz Café during Keith’s life.
Audiences can find out more about the film at www.geordiejazzman.com
Tickets for the screening and after-party are priced £12/£10 and available from the Tyneside Cinema at www.tynesidecinema.co.uk or by calling the cinema’s Box Office on 0191 227 5520.
