The Jazz Man of Newcastle

Written for http://www.woodencauliflower.com/

Link: http://www.woodencauliflowerblog.com/2009/02/jazz-man-of-newcastle.html

By Ryan Pilot

A unique venue, ran by a unique character, Keith’s Cromby’s Jazz Cafe on Pink Lane is a jewel amongst the soulless pubs and bars of Newcastle City Centre.

Cromby is known affectionately as The Jazz Man by locals. He can be seen flyering around the universities everyday to attract the “decent people” of Newcastle as he puts it.

“We don’t let the shit in,” explains Keith, sitting behind his empty soup bowl. In front of him is the small, modest main room of the cafe. There is a bar to the left. Tables line the edges of the room, adorned with oil lamps. There is a small stage area towards the rear beside an upright piano. It is intimate and homely. The place is dim because all of the curtains are closed, which is a tactic to deter undesirables.

“The only criteria here is they’ve got to be reasonable people…no trouble causers…there’s the odd one that gets through the net. But not many,” says Keith. And there is a good mix of reasonable people that visit the venue each evening when it opens around eight. They come to enjoy the live Jazz, the intimate atmosphere, conversation and a relaxing drink.

The Jazz Man speaks and moves slowly, he has a long, white beard. He is now 68 years old, “I know you thought I was older,” he says.

Cromby worked in Jazz Cafes in the 1960s when he was in his twenties, including Newcastle’s Downbeat. Downbeat’s then owner Mike Geoffreys opened The Donkey Club in 1963 in Paris, which at the time was a haven for African-Americans who wanted to flee the discrimination and horrors of pre-civil rights America. Black Jazz musicians were in all the Parisian Cafes, including Louis Armstrong and Miles Davies. “What a time ey?” Keith wistfully says, with the most enthusiasm expressed during the interview.

The Jazz cafe is popular among students. The Jazz Man is often at Newcastle University for his lunch, he clearly enjoys their company and custom at his cafe, but, as with all people, he has strong opinions on some of them.

“I would say the students are not as sophisticated as what they were. They’re sophisticated in one way, in regards to bloody cocktails, funny drinks…they’ve got no depth. Scratch the surface and there’s not much underneath,” Keith says. “There are some bright kids that come in here mind…witty, bright clever lads and clever girls.”

The Jazz Man is a strong-minded, independent character. He can appear blunt and even rude, but in conversation he is warm, kind and friendly. Keith has worked as a mechanic, fixing old Jaguars and has been a second hand dealer. “I’ve never made any money, but on the other hand I’ve always enjoyed doing what I was doing,” he reflects.

The Jazz Cafe is very much a product of Cromby. It makes little money and runs up a lot of debt. But it’s what he wants to do and is perhaps the only place of its kind left in Newcastle. It is Cromby’s disregard for profit which keeps it going and which makes it so special.

Keith is now winding down and does not intend to continue to run the cafe for much longer. “I’m getting too old. I’m getting too decrepit. The old bones y’know,” he says.“It’s a funny little place this. Like a drug. There’s nowhere like it in the world, I’ve been assured by people who’ve been further than I have,” says Keith, who then pauses before laughing and adding: “But it doesn’t seem to be what people want.”