MIDWEEK COLUMN WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE 2025
- STEVE COOKE AATA
- Jun 4
- 8 min read
previews, reviews, interviews, and recommendations with Steve Cooke
MIDWEEK COLUMN WEDNESDAY 04 JUNE 2025
Courtney Pine – House of Legends
Preview by Steve Cooke
Band on the Wall presents Courtney Pine in the Exchange Series - renowned artists in the round at the Royal Exchange Theatre.
Courtney Pine marks his 60th birthday year with a special edition of his award winning project House of Legends that celebrates the influence and contributions to the UK from the many varied people of the Caribbean and re-release of his ground breaking debut album Journey To The Urge Within.
No musician more embodies the dramatic transformation in the British jazz scene over the past thirty years than saxophonist Courtney Pine. The ground breaking, multi- instrumentalist has led a generation of exciting and innovative players who have broadened their styles to take jazz out to a wider audience.
In the 80’s he was one of the first black British jazz artists to make a serious mark on the jazz scene when his first album, Journey to the Urge Within, recently re-released charted and some 37 years on (now with an OBE and CBE for services to music) he continues to break new ground with a string of highly acclaimed recordings and numerous prestigious Industry awards. In April 2014 he joined Herbie Hancock and a dazzling line-up of Jazz all-stars for UNESCO’S globally televised concert in Osaka to celebrate International Jazz Day and his name regularly appears on the UK’s list of Most Influential Black Britons.
He continues to sell out shows across the UK, US and Canada and mainstage performances at Bestival, Love Supreme and The London Jazz Festival with his award winning critically acclaimed 15th studio album House of Legends which he plans to reboot with a new 2024 flavour to celebrate the year of his 60th birthday.
Deeply steeped in the traditions of the Caribbean, this very personal project sees Courtney on top form, bringing together musicians from Africa, the Caribbean and Europe for vibrant exchanges that tell tales of life from a truly multi-cultural view point. Expect an exhilarating mix of Merengue, Ska, Mento and Calypso as played through the lens (saxophone) of a UK born artist with strong, proud Afro-Caribbean roots.
In 1986 a 22 year old Courtney Pine appeared on the front cover of the iconic British music publication NME, he is the only Black British jazz artist to do so – the last quote in a two page interview read “You know I’m doing this for a reason” –now soon to be 60, you better believe he still is…
House of Legends celebrates the influence and contributions to the UK from the many varied people of the Caribbean and re-release of his ground breaking debut album Journey To The Urge Within.
The ground breaking, multi-instrumentalist has led a generation of exciting and innovative players who have broadened their styles to take jazz out to a wider audience. Now with an OBE and CBE for services to music he continues to break new ground and numerous prestigious Industry awards.
From £28.00
Sat 7 Jun 2025 Doors 7pm. Starts 8pm. Curfew 11pm.
Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester M2 7DH
ORTOA Celebrity Recitals at the Rochdale Town Hall Organ - A beacon for the Town of Culture
Review by Dr Joe Dawson
ORTOA (Oldham, Rochdale & Tameside Organists’ Association est.1908) are back at the newly renovated town hall presenting top performers at the JJ Binns organ. A new time for this set of recitals was Tuesday at one pm. This gives lucky concert goers the opportunity to explore the magnificent, restored building and enjoy a tasty brunch in the Martlet restaurant beforehand.
ORTOA presented a great exponent: the exuberant and charismatic virtuoso Keith Hearnshaw with his gift for making music accessible.
Part of the skill set of a top-notch organist is the ability to adapt to many different, individual instruments and deal with whatever idiosyncrasies, quirks and foibles they may present. Keith knows the Rochdale Binns instrument well. However, even he was surprised when he arrived for his pre-recital day’s practice and part of it sounded as soon as he switched on … and it stayed sounding. (For techies, the Swell 16 reed slider stuck on, due to humidity). But have no fear, Hearnshaw’s here; with his cool head and tons of experience, plus a visit from the specialists, disaster was averted.
The audience were oblivious of these problems, but it does highlight the need to keep our Rolls Royce instrument in fine fettle. Keith referred to it as ‘a Grade 1-listed building with a Grade 1-listed organ’. This recital placed it firmly as a beacon at the centre of Rochdale as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture 2025-26.
Prize winning Keith Hearnshaw was born in West Bromwich and began learning the organ at the age of thirteen. He gained ARCM and ARCO whilst studying at the Birmingham Conservatoire and has held several organist and choral conducting posts. In July 1997 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and from September 1997-98 was organ scholar at Liverpool Cathedral under Professor Ian Tracey.
As a recitalist, Keith is much in demand and has performed throughout this country and Europe. He has made several radio and TV appearances and has several recordings available on CD. Twice a year, Keith produces the recordings for the aural tests for the Royal College of Organists.
This concert was dedicated to the memory of his friend and long-standing ORTOA committee member, David Birch who sadly died last year.
His varied programme began with a beguiling and sonorous presentation of the well-loved favourite, Dvorak’s Largo from the New World Symphony adapted by the late, great Carlo Curley (the ‘Pavarotti of the organ’ with whom Keith collaborated several times).
In contrast, Guilmant’s take on Handel was a bright and stirring number and A Fancy by John Stanley harked back to a simpler time.
Another popular favourite, JS Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D minor made full use of the instrument. Keith’s fresh approach brought out the improvisatory qualities of the piece and he revelled in the crescendos and full passages in the Great Hall.
Hymn to the Fallen by John Williams from Saving Private Ryan was atmospheric and a fine example of moving screen organ accompaniment of which Keith is a keen exponent.
Barber’s Adagio for Strings is another classical piece often used in films and this adaptation for organ by Strickland demonstrated why. The sustained build-up of sonorities over a period of time is transcendental, deeply moving and quite unique.
Keith. In his inimitable way, described Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance No 4 in G, as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. So, by the same token perhaps the same composer’s Salut d’Amour is a romantic tryst in the Malvern hills. Beautifully played on an ideal instrument for Elgar’s Edwardian sound world.
Finale from Symphonie No 1 by Vierne was a meaty masterwork to show off the Binns instrument to the full and continue Keith's aim to promote the art of organ playing and help establish it in its rightful place as 'The King of Instruments'.
ORTOA 2025 further recitals on Tuesdays at One!
Tuesday June 17th at 1 pm EDWARD TAYLOR (from Carlisle Cathedral)
Tuesday July 15th at 1 pm LEE LONGDEN Cinema Organist
Tuesday Sept 16th at 1 pm ALEX FISHBURN (from Liverpool Cathedral)
Admission £10 (concessions £8) concerts last one hour. Card or cash at the door or visit www.rochdaletownhall.co.uk/events or iao.org.uk/ortoa.
ROCHDALE MUSIC SOCIETY CONCERT - The Portrait Players
Review by Graham Marshall
It was a “delightfully different” occasion, as one of the Rochdale Music Society’s regulars said as he left this concert. And indeed, it was just that.’ Delightful’, as an experience of music making by the three performers who make up The Portrait Players. ‘Different’, in that it brought to the audience some sounds of music from the past which can still entrance the ear and open the mind to the experience of striking beauty no longer looked for by most people in the clamour of the twenty-first century.
The lovely, finely tuned and controlled soprano voice of Claire Watt held together perfectly the musical web of vocal and instrumental sonority woven from settings of poems from stage plays of the seventeenth century. Authors ranged from Shakespeare to Suckling (the inventor of card game Cribbage), composers from Henry Lawes to Henry Purcell. Their lyrical outpourings, sometimes subdued, sometimes uninhibited, makes for music which demanded wide-ranging technical and artistic demands on those who transmitted it to its original audiences. This remains the case today, and together with Claire were the nimble fingered Kristina Watt with her theorbo and lute and the equally agile though more sedate Miriam Nolh with her cello and viola da gamba - instruments adding colourful authenticity to the artistic impact of the ensemble as a whole.
I think it’s worth adding that, while this concert was enlivening the artistic atmosphere of a mere handful of people in the modest surroundings of the parish church of St. Michael, Bamford, the Eurovision Song Contest was apparently overwhelming its live audience in Basel and the many millions of watchers and listeners around the world with the most expensive and spectacular soon-to-be-forgotten production montages. A very different soprano voice was being successfully featured there. But it reminds us that it used to be the male castrati who dominated the vocal and operatic scene when some of the finest late medieval music was being written and performed for the first time!
RECOMMENDED
Wednesday 11 June 2025
Toad Lane Concerts - Rochdale's Weekly Music at Lunchtime
This week we have - Telemann Baroque Ensemble: Alfred Pollard oboe, Elaine da Costa Sarah Snape violins, John Goodstadt viola, Roger Bisby cello & Peter Collier harpsichord
The concert series has been held at St Mary’s since 2001 and was granted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2020.
Running every Wednesday, Music at Lunchtime is a weekly live classical music concert series that has been going since the 1960s. The sessions were initially run at the old Rochdale Art Gallery by the local authority, but since May 2001 have been run by volunteer-enthusiasts and artistic director, Dr Joe Dawson.
Thursday 12 June 2025
Visit Fireground Museum
Join us at Fireground this week to discover Greater Manchester's firefighting story.
Fire museum attractions are on show inside the museum including our collection of historic firefighting artefacts from the 18th century to present day, plus home-made refreshments in the new Fireground Café, and souvenirs from our fantastic new gift shop! We have a wide choice ranging from toddler to collector.
Under 4s Free, Children (aged 4-15) £6, Seniors £6, Students £6, Adults £8, Family (4 people) £24.
Phone: Fireground 01706 341219
Open Thursday, Friday & Saturday from 10am - 4pm
Fireground, Maclure Road, Rochdale OL11 1DN
Thursday 12 June 2025
Pennines in Bloom - Wardle Library
A large floral display.
2nd Thursday, every month from March–October. A local community volunteer group who plan and plant up community areas in Wardle, Littleborough and Smithy Bridge for the benefit of those communities.
from £8
Free
10am - 12pm
Wardle Library, 448 Birch Road, Wardle, Rochdale OL12 9LH
Thursday 12 June 2025
Pennines in Bloom - Wardle Library
A large floral display.
2nd Thursday, every month from March–October. A local community volunteer group who plan and plant up community areas in Wardle, Littleborough and Smithy Bridge for the benefit of those communities.
from £8
Free
10am - 12pm
Wardle Library, 448 Birch Road, Wardle, Rochdale OL12 9LH
Friday 13 June 2025
Stax of Soul
Following another sold-out performance in 2024, Stax of Soul is back at Middleton Arena, kicking off their Embracing the Journey Tour 2025! From their Manchester roots in 1983 to over 42 years of delivering powerhouse soul, the band’s journey continues, celebrating the music, the memories, and the fans that made it all possible.
Get ready for an electrifying evening as this legendary nine-piece band honours soul’s greatest sounds, backed by their renowned brass section and dynamic stage energy. Stax of Soul brings you timeless hits from Stax, Atlantic, Motown, and Northern Soul, saluting icons like James Brown and The Blues Brothers.
Don’t miss this unforgettable celebration! Secure your tickets for Stax of Soul’s Embracing the Journey Tour 2025 at Middleton Arena. Tickets are expected to sell out, so book early to be part of the legacy!
Featuring over 30 classic soul anthems: Get Ready, Higher and Higher, Tenderness, My Girl, Stand By Me, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Give Me Just A Little More Time, The Snake, Gimme Some Lovin’, Minnie The Moocher, Shake a Tail Feather, Hold On, I’m Comin’, Soul Man, I Got You (I Feel Good), Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, In the Midnight Hour, It’s The Same Old Song, Stop Her On Sight and many more.
2h 20m
From £21.00
Middleton Arena LCpl Joel Halliwell VC Way, Middleton, Greater Manchester M24 1AGrs
celebrating creative arts and artists - an oasis of positivity supporting individual and community wellbeing.
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