The famous vintage big band grew out of the Dud Clews Orchestra, in the Coventry/Rugby area in the early 1980s, led by the late trombonist Paul Munnery. The band gained fame, playing all over the UK and on the continent. They were most notably the original band for the theatre show “A NIGHT AT THE COTTON CLUB” Paul Munnery sadly passed away in 2019, and had told his friend and fellow trombonist Bob Hunt, that he could “have” the band. The Lockdown gave Bob the opportunity to think about this, and together with original Harlem lead alto and arranger Zoltan Sagi, they reformed the band. Using many of the original arrangements by Zoltan, together with arrangements by Bob from his highly successful “Duke Ellington Orchestra” and the “Charleston Chasers”, Harlem lives and breathes once more! Adding an extra dimension to the band, Ellington scholar Michael Kilpatrick has contributed to the repertoire with exact copies of Ellington hits from 1928 – 1938, taken from the original handwritten scores and parts from the Smithsonian Institute in D.C. The band features: Trumpets: Enrico Tomaso, Wil Robinson, Charlie Manning Trombones: Bob Hunt, Graham Woodhouse Clarinets/saxes: Zoltan Sagi (ss, as), Michael Kilpatrick (as, bs), Richard Exall (ts) Piano: Art Toper, Banjo/guitar: Rachel Hayward, John Irwin Bass: Graham Read Drums: Richard Pite. Superb vocals and narration by the one, the only…….Sarah Spencer
