Diary

The Shooting Stars were formed in 2008 from a nucleus of musicians from the Big Chris Barber Band. Collectively they share a love and respect of
all forms of jazz but have their roots firmly planted in the vintage, golden period of jazz history.

The band benefits from it's unique position of being a relatively young group of musicians with an extremely deep and varied wealth of  experience, who between them, have probably played at every major concert venue and jazz festival in Europe.

The Shooting Stars are as at home playing the beautiful melodies and stomping jazz from the 20's 30's and 40's as they are playing mainstream jazz, swing and jump jive, where they exploit the band's virtuosity with exciting solos and tight ensemble passages.

Hot Fingers welcomes you to an eclectic mix of vintage acoustic music. As well as the red hot jazz of 1920’s New York, there will be sophisticated 1930’s Swing. The band re-create the ‘French Coffee House’ sound of the king of gypsy swing Django Reinhardt, the blues guitars of Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson, and the syncopated Latin rhythms of Argentinean Oscar Aleman, this is mixed with vocals from the song-writing greats, crooners such as Bing Crosby and Al Bowlly, and hokem from the likes of Cliff ‘Ukulele Ike’ Edwards. From Jump-Jive to swing, from the Charleston to Bossa-Nova, Hot Finger’s wide range of styles and rhythms makes them popular with both sit-down audiences and dancers alike. The band comprises Spats Langham (banjo, guitar, ukulele), Danny Blyth (bass clarinet, guitar) and Malcolm Sked (sousaphone, double bass). They will be joined by the superb vocalist Emily Campbell who adds a touch of class with her plaintive vocals, drawing inspiration from the likes of Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald.

Kevin Grenfell is back with his Jazz Friends! All of Kevin’s fine musicians have appeared at our jazz club over the years in different bands and under several names, this time they come together and appear with his Jazz Friends, of whom they are! No name, no pack drill applies! The Jazz Friends play a mixture of Traditional & Mainstream Jazz with a hint of Blues so there’s going to be something for everyone – this is definitely a session not to be missed!

On a gig with the Harlem Jazz Orchestra, Zoltan and Sarah were talking and Zoltan said that he wanted to play a New Orleans Revival-style gig with himself and Sarah. Inspired, Sarah has formed a band of some of the best musicians in the UK who play in that idiom. She decided to highlight the 2-reed front line and go without a trumpet player but, instead, have Mike Owen join them, which makes the band about as authentic in the New Orleans dance hall style as possible.

Sarah Spencer - reeds, Zoltan Sagi - reeds, Mike Owen - trombone, Tom ‘Spats’ Langham - banjo/guitar, Jim Swinnerton - string bass, Graham Smith – drums