Swing Band and Jazz Band Reviews
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - Katy & Matt's Wedding
National Railway Museum, York - New Year's Eve 2012
What a great way to bring in the new year!
Katy and Matt had chosen the beautiful surroundings of the National Railway Museum in York for their wedding ceremony and reception. Over 100 friends and family were there to join in the celebrations.
The Yorkshire swing band went down very well with the well-dressed guests as you can see (thank you to Brian Harte Photography)....
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - Pocklington War Ball
East Yorkshire - Saturday 2nd July 2011
What a great event Mr Swing attended at the weekend. Pocklington School had gone for a wartime theme for their end of year bash and they'd pulled out all the stops.
The old station hall at Pocklington Station (now the school's gym!) had been transformed into a scene straight out of the 40s. There were union flags as far as the eye could see, patriotic bunting, parachutes hanging from the ceiling and even a Battle of Britain dogfight going on overhead courtesy of the art department. All the waiting staff were decked out in camouflage and the loos were air raid shelters stacked up with sandbags.
The 300 guests had also gone to town on their costumes, with people in forces uniforms, landgirl outfits, nurses, even a sheik! And an authentic air raid warning siren called them to dinner.
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra took to the camouflage-netted stage just after 10pm and kept the dancefloor jam-packed til well after midnight, playing a mixture of swing band classics with a generous helping of 40s tunes thrown in for good measure.
All in all the Yorkshire swing band had a tremendous evening and hope to play for this audience many times in the future.
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - End of season awards
Centenary Pavilion, Leeds United - Sat 30th Apr 2011
We were very excited to be invited back to the amazing Centenary Pavilion at Leeds United for their end of season awards evening.
The whole squad were there, signing autographs for the 960 guests as they arrived. The manager, Simon Grayson, and chairman, Ken Bates, made speeches during dinner before the players' awards ceremony began to constant standing ovations.
Finally it was Mr Swing's turn to entertain.
Due to the extraordinary number of people to fit in for dinner, Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra was some way from the dancefloor but we managed to get our swing and big band classics across through the melee. The Tom Jones trilogy went down a storm and Leeds swing band fans danced the night away!
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - Karen Coates' 40th Birthday
Blackwell Grange Hotel, Darlington - Sat 5th Feb 2011
Karen's husband Jon, a cameraman for the BBC, had organised a superb evening for nigh on 200 family and friends up in the North East.
Once they had booked Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra it occurred to them that, to do it justice, they should learn a few ballroom dance moves. So they and a few dozen of their friends dutifully attended dance classes leading up to the big day.
On the night itself I was informed they'd learnt a foxtrot, quickstep, jive and cha cha so I chose one example of each from the Mr Swing setlist and the band played the 'Strictly Come Dancing' theme tune to introduce a mass dance off on each occasion.
This was a first for Mr Swing. Never before had we had an audience so dedicated to the cause! Needless to say, the band went down a storm and its members really appreciated the immensely positive response from the guests.
Donations were invited on the night to Darlington Breast Cancer Care - a charity close to Karen's heart.
Jon descibed Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra as the best swing band in the North East!
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - Elior Awards Dinner
Manchester Monastery - Thursday 3rd February 2011
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra was very honoured indeed to be invited to play at this national awards dinner in the majestic Manchester Monastery. What an amazing venue!
Six big screens had been erected to show live pictures from around the huge venue and an extraordinary number of moving lights made the whole event very similar to the Oscars.
Fiona Bruce hosted the evening and the hundreds of guests were entertained by the Manchester Citadel Choir between courses before the four glitzy girls of Siren electric string quartet took to the stage amidst backing tracks and pirotechnics.
Finally, at 11:30pm, with the crowd chomping at the bit, it was time to let them get up and dance to Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra. And dance they did. Solidly for ninety minutes, as if they didn't see many swing bands in Manchester!
We don't seem to be able to do a gig these days without somebody in the band being propositioned. This time it was the turn of lead tenor player Owen Newby but, being the laid back character he is, he took it all in his stride.
Take a look at the setting (surely one of the best for a North West swing band)......
Mr Swing - Katie & Lucy's Civil Partnership Reception
Amadeus Centre, London - Saturday 4th December 2010
There had been so much snow up in Yorkshire during the week that I was worried the swing band wouldn't make it down for Katie and Lucy's big day but make it we did and I'm so glad.
What a brilliant event! The hospitality of the staff and caterers was second to none and the lighting technician did an amazing job lighting the London swing band venue and the band itself.
The dancefloor was packed from the first dance to the last. One of Mr Swing's members even appeared on the floor at one point having been whisked off his feet by a guest during the final smooch of the evening 'Moonlight Serenade'!
The highlight for me, though, was seeing dozens of party-goers with roses in their mouths, tangoing to 'La Cumparsita' a la Jack Lemmon and 'Oswald' dance from 'Some Like It Hot' while Tony Curtis seduced Marilyn Monroe on Oswald's yacht. Classic!
All in all well worth the weather-related stress, the early morning start and the 5:30am return - we'd even had time to visit the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Beautiful.
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - Centenary Pavilion
Leeds United FC - Wednesday 10th November 2010
Well, where do I start?? Mr Swing had been invited to perform at the prestigious opening evening of Yorkshire's largest conference and events venue and it really lives up to its billing. It can seat up to 1400 people to dinner and truly is a rather swish facility and a truly amazing West Yorkshire swing band venue. For the official write-up go to http://www.leedsunited.com/news/20101111/a-great-asset-is-officially-opened_2247585_2216036
Anyway, on to the gig itself.
Important bods from all across the county and beyond had been invited and well over 200 companies were represented. Mr Swing took centre stage (quite literally as there were three of them!) and was performing in a genuine twenty foot square boxing ring! No joke. Another potential use of the venue it seems.
The guests were entertained during the meal by an up and coming young (10!) comedian, Jack Carroll, who has already appeared on The One Show with Jason Manford. Tenors Unlimited followed each course (stage right), singing popular operatic toons with a bit of Mickey Bubbles thrown in for good measure.
Then it happened.
Some members of Mr Swing are still undergoing counselling.
The Globe Girls arrived.....
A burlesque dance troop made up of five very trim young ladies........until you looked a bit closer. Suffice it to say that I really can't go into more details on this website.
Mr Swing took over for dancing for the last hour; its musicians shellshocked.....
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - Chris & Gill's Wedding
Ilkley, West Yorkshire - Saturday 11th September 2010
What an amazing venue! With amazing views! And such a welcoming crowd.
I arrived early in the day to get set up in the marquee behind a 'reveal' curtain as Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra was to be a surprise to the guests immediately after the speeches. The big reveal worked well and after the swing band's customary opening of 'Sing Sing Sing', Chris and Gill's first dance, 'Can't take my eyes off you', had the camera bulbs flashing away.
I had noticed various bekilted gentlemen in attendance so slotted 'The Gay Gordons' into the second set, much to the appreciation of the scottish contingent. We had to time its inclusion to coincide with the BBC's coverage of the last night of the Proms switching from BBC2 to BBC1 as it's an instrumental number which gave our BBC employed singer the four minutes he needed on his laptop to ensure the Middlesbrough region made the switch successfully!
Who says swing bands in Yorkshire can't multi-task?!
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - Picnic Concert
Thorp Perrow Arboretum - Saturday 31st July 2010
What a wonderful evening we had at Thorp Perrow Arboretum on Saturday. It was our fourth year of this outdoor event and a friendly and responsive audience tucked into their picnics as Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra entertained them with classic swing band favourites.
As dusk descended and wine flowed the crowd got to their feet to swing their hips and dance the night away. By the end of the third set everybody was singing along to the North Yorkshire swing band's renditions of 'The Candy Man' and 'Things'.
These really are great evenings and we hope to see you all again next year. If you haven't been before, keep an eye on the Public Events page for next year's date.
Mr Swing plus disco - Barnaby's 21st
Foston, East Yorkshire - Saturday 17th July 2010
What a great night we had!
Lots of family and friends in attendance to witness the birthday boy himself joining the ranks of Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra on 3rd trombone. Unfortunately Barnaby was rather too inebriated to remember how to play the damned thing and complained that the music was 'all fuzzy'!
And what we saw when the kilted man was rowing around the dancefloor to 'Hawaii 5-0' will haunt me forever!
East Yorkshire swing band fans know how to party!
Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra - Guy & Karen's Wedding
York Maze - Saturday 22nd May 2010
Guy and Karen enjoyed wonderful weather for their wedding last weekend along with a great venue for York swing bands in York Maze.
When I arrived to set up, guests had just finished their meal and were engaged in a cricket match in the glorious sunshine whilst the children (and a few adults it must be said) played on a giant inflatable pillow - just one of the attractions York Maze has to offer.
The venue itself is a good sized room with an excellent high and spacious stage, perfect for Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra. Guy and Karen had chosen 'It Had To Be You' as their first dance and we followed this up with a specially rehearsed arrangement of 'My Funny Valentine' for Karen's mum, Anne.
A now customary 'battle of the families' rendition of the Tom Jones classic 'Delilah' was won hands-down by Guy's family and friends, responding to Karen's team's 'My my my Delilah' with a frankly deafening 'Why why why Delilah?'
All the best to the happy couple from all at Mr Swing.
Mr Swing & Fortissimo - Sam & Stefan's Wedding
York Rugby & Cricket Club - Friday 26th March 2010
When Mr Swing recorded a CD back in 2002, the producer for the week was Alex Browne. This was Alex's sister Sam's wedding and she and her fiancé, Stefan, had gone for a gangster theme.
All the ladies were decked out as gangster's molls or flapper girls, while the gents donned suits and trilbies. There were even a few tommy guns in evidence!
Julie from Fortissimo entertained the guests as they arrived and during the meal before Mr Swing's Dance Orchestra invited Sam and Stefan onto the floor for their first dance, 'We have all the time in the World'. To fit in with the occasion much was made of the gangster-themed 'Bad Bad Leroy Brown' and 'Mack the Knife'. In fact Phil managed to slip in a good many gangster-related comments throughout the evening.
The swing band's three sets ended in traditional style with the bride and groom circled by their friends for 'New York, New York' before leading two congas around the room to 'Amarillo'. The two lines of guests were eventually led out of the venue to wave off the happy couple as they were whisked away to an unknown location in a waiting limo.
What a great night......and the new numbers went down a treat too!
Mr Swing & Ab Fab Disco – York & Ainsty (North) Hunt Ball
Gt Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate – Sat 27th Feb 2010
Having played before for York & Ainsty (South), members of Mr Swing were looking forward to an appreciative audience at the ‘Northern’ annual ball and weren’t disappointed.
It was rather a late start in the end with the Harrogate swing band playing one long ninety minute set instead of the usual two. After a meal and various formalities and presentations, guests at these events are often itching to get up and dance and this was no exception.
It was very noticeable that some ‘southern’ members had infiltrated the ranks when the customary chant of ‘Mr Bojangles’ was heard ringing out between numbers early on. Thanks for the support guys!
With Ab Fab Disco taking the reins through ‘til 2am, the dance-floor was packed solidly for three hours.
Mr Swing’s Dance Orchestra – New Year’s Eve 2009
Bridlington Spa, East Yorkshire
Mr Swing’s Dance Orchestra was booked to support the legendary Joe Loss Orchestra for their annual New Year visit to Bridlington Spa (a famous venue for swing bands in the North East, North West and North, South, East and West Yorkshire).
An enormous venue with a huge crowd of Joe Loss fans – over 700 strong!
With Mr Swing’s Dance Orchestra being the largest band to play alongside Joe Loss at the event over the years, stage management was going to be of paramount importance and to this end I liaised at length with Todd Miller, leader of the Joe Loss Orchestra since Joe’s passing twenty years ago.
Great fella Todd, consummate professional, and we had the changeovers down to five or ten minutes throughout the evening.
Mr Swing took to the stage at 8:00pm and had the not insubstantial dance-floor full within 32 bars! After an hour of swing band and big band classics, it was very pleasing to be approached by a group of Todd’s regular followers and told we were by far the best support they’d seen on New Year’s Eve in all the many years they’d been attending.
Todd and the gang then kept the floor full throughout a 90 minute set including anything and everything as Mr Swing members enjoyed themselves on the balcony with some formation tomfoolery.
After two and a half hours of non-stop dancing, the audience was understandably flagging and Mr Swing’s second set was more of a concert with guests singing along, conserving their energy and refuelling ready to bring in the New Year with Todd Miller and the Joe Loss Orchestra.
All in all a great evening and an event we’d love to play again.
