Harry Christelis Quartet Bring Preserving Fictions to The Globe, Newcastle

Harry Christelis brings his quartet to The Globe in Newcastle on Sunday 11 October 2026, with a set centred on his album Preserving Fictions. Doors open at 7pm ahead of the advertised 8pm performance. Presented by Jazz.Coop and Jazz North East, the date is a chance to hear a quartet that places electronics and open-ended improvisation alongside the familiar sounds of guitar, saxophone, bass and drums.

Christelis is a guitarist and composer whose latest album explores how music can hold on to the moments and impressions that make up everyday experience. On Preserving Fictions, he draws on jazz and folk as well as ambient textures, drones and subtle electronic sounds. Rather than building every passage around a conventional sequence of solos, the quartet works together to develop the music in the moment. That approach gives the players space to shape the atmosphere as well as the rhythm.

The Newcastle line-up is Harry Christelis on guitar and electronics, George Crowley on saxophone and electronics, Andrea Di Biase on double bass and Dave Storey on drums. Crowley’s saxophone and electronic contributions sit alongside Christelis’s guitar, while double bass and drums provide the group with an acoustic core. The blend is an important part of this show’s appeal: the instruments associated with a jazz quartet remain present, but the music can move into more spacious and textural territory.

Listeners familiar with more straight-ahead jazz at The Globe will find a different angle here. The album moves between delicate, restrained passages and larger bursts of energy, while its improvisation depends on how all four musicians respond to one another. That makes a live performance particularly interesting, because the quartet can develop the music differently from the recorded versions without leaving the underlying compositions behind. You don’t need to know the record in advance to follow the contrast between its quieter sections and more forceful moments.

Advance tickets are £12, with admission at £14 on the door and a £7 rate for people aged 25 and under. The Globe has unreserved seating, and ticket-holders’ names are kept on the door rather than physical tickets being sent out. For availability, access arrangements and the latest show information, use The Globe’s official Harry Christelis Quartet booking page before travelling.