SIMPLY BIG BAND
The stunning evening of music and moves from the golden age of Big Band returns!
Tickets are now on sale for a further six dates of SIMPLY BIG BAND, a dazzling roller-coaster ride of a show featuring the very best in American big band music, which continues on its UK tour this February, visiting Cambridge, Sheffield and Cardiff. The show will also make stops in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh during the latter stages of the tour in July.
Following SIMPLY BIG BAND will take the audience back to when music meant magical songs, larger-than-life performers and legendary venues. From the raging razzmatazz of Harlem's Cotton Club in the 20s, the halcyon post-war days of swing and Sinatra’s bobby-sox girls - to the glamorous glitz of Las Vegas in the swinging 60s. You’ve seen Strictly Come Dancing on TV - now witness your favourite dances first hand on stage, take the chance to Jive, Salsa, Lindy Hop, Tap and Foxtrot along in the aisles to some of the most memorable music in history.
Compéreing the evening is Matthew Ford, who is widely regarded as the finest big band singer in the UK. In 2005 he was voted 'Best UK Male Big Band Vocalist', and was nominated alongside Jamie Cullum in the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Awards (Best UK Male Vocalist category). Matthew sang at the wedding of Liverpool and England footballer Steven Gerrard and has performed for HRH Duchess of York and the Malaysian royal family. In 2009 Matthew made his ‘Friday Night is Music Night’ debut and broadcast with the BBC Big Band for the 30th Anniversary of BBC Radio 2’s ‘Big Band Special’ programme. Matthew’s album recordings have aired across the UK on Radio 2, Jazz FM and BBC Local Radio.
The heartbeat of the night will be the wonderful big band itself, an electrifying 26-piece orchestra comprising some of the finest musicians in the land, the perfect complement for spine-tingling performances by a roster of top guest singers.
Featuring a selection of classic songs including ‘Take The ‘A’ Train’, ‘Georgia’, ‘Minnie The Moocher’, ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing’, ‘God Bless The Child’, ‘Sing Sing Sing’, ‘Manteca’,’ Let The Good Times Roll’, ‘Night Train’ and ‘Stardust’. SIMPLY BIG BAND is the show that puts the ‘show’ into showbiz.
Backed by a tasty cocktail of tango, salsa, tap, foxtrot, lindy hop and jive dance routines from the ballroom, glittering costumes as sharp as a needle, factory and classic archive big-screen footage from some of the most famous venues of the time, SIMPLY BIG BAND is the show that brings this truly golden era back to glorious life. The audience will be transported back to a pulsating musical period when immortals such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles ruled the boards, and legendary big band leaders such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones were the musical masters of their generation.
SIMPLY BIG BAND will have you clicking your fingers from the first beat, bopping in your seat by the interval and dancing in the aisles by the final encore. Make sure you don’t miss it – it’s the perfect night out for all of the family.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Cambridge - Corn Exchange
Sat 12 February 2011, 7.30pm
Tickets: £22.50, £26.00, £28.50
How to Book: In person at the Corn Exchange box office 3 Parsons Court, Wheeler Street,
Cambridge, CB2 3QE. Alternatively; call 01223 357 851 or click www.cornex.co.uk
Cardiff – St David’s Hall
Sun 13 February 2011, 7.30pm
Tickets: £24.50, £26.50 & £28.50
How to Book: In person at the St David’s Hall box office The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1SH. Alternatively; call 0292 087 8444 or click www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk
Sheffield – City Hall
Sat 27 February 2011, 7.30pm
Tickets: £24.50 & £28.50
How to Book: In person at the City Hall box office Barkers Pool, Sheffield, S1 2JA. Alternatively; call 0114 2789 789 or click www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk
Aberdeen – Music Hall
Fri 1 July 2011, 7.30pm
Tickets: £25.50 & £28.50
How to Book: In person at the Music Hall box office, Union Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1QS. Alternatively; call 01224 641122 or click www.boxofficeaberdeen.com
Glasgow – Royal Concert Hall
Sat 2 July 2011, 7.30pm
Tickets: £25.50 & £28.50
How to Book: In person at the Royal Concert Hall box office, 2 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow,
G2 3NY. Alternatively; call 0141 353 8000 or click www.glasgowconcerthalls.com
Edinburgh – Usher Hall
Sat 30 July 2011, 7.30pm Part of Edinburgh Jazz Festival.
Tickets: £24.50, £26.50 & £28.50
How to Book; In person from the Usher Hall box office, Lothian Road,
Edinburgh, EH1 2EA. Alternatively, call
0131 228 1155 or click
www.usherhall.co.uk
