Friday 27th July 2018
Documentary
English
Well known internationally as The Geordie Jazz Man, Keith Crombie was a mystery to many of his Jazz Cafe patrons in Newcastle upon Tyne and, like King Canute, refused to bow to the changing musical tides or even the aging process. A man who would refuse you entry on a whim, a hard man feared from his past though a lover of women - he was the epicenter of a band of similar brothers, musicians, thespians, and alcoholics - the pride of Newcastle Jazz from the 1950's to now. 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 get away driver, dealings with the Krays and choosing to book the Rolling Stones over the Beatles. Eric Burdon, Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Junior and Prince Charles all feature. For decades he refused to be filmed, granting me access because I'm his goddaughter. This film celebrates the man, the Jazz movement but mainly a never say die contrary spirit that Keith Crombie took to his.