We had our annual pilgrimage to Chester-le-street for the Great North Big Band Jazz Festival in March. Met old friends, played to an appreciative audience and got some nice comments from the Judges.
What a lotta trumpets! Pre show limbering up.
So nice to be invited back to Royal Quays Marina for their now annual summer event entertaining the yotties and boaters of North Shields.
Turned out nice and sunny for a lovely jazzy afternoon. Thanks to David and his team at the marina for making us so welcome.
We rounded off a busy summer with the now traditional TVBB curry night at Saathis one of our favourite haunts
Here we see our MD wearing the traditional headwear of a trumpeter finding himself with a serviette in front of of him.
The fine players of TVBB, well some of them, amid curry.
What a fantastic night being part of Chopwell Community Centres series of anniversary events to commemorate 100 years since the Miners Lockout.
Some interesting lighting and a programme covering a century of music from early Ragtime to Teenage Dirtbag!
It was poignant to play ‘Gresford’, the Miners Hymn, in memory of the Miners of Chopwell and their struggles.
We were so honoured to be invited to perform as part of the renowned Durham Brass Festival playing at Bishop Auckland Town Hall Tea Dance, the first event of the festival.
Bit of a change having to play to strict tempos to suit the dancers but we had a great time.
Only had one near miss playing ‘Blue Skies’ at 170 bpm not 120 bpm but apart from that all went swimmingly.
We need to get our MD a snazzier jacket!
Great to be back playing this year opening up the Saturday night entertainment at this fantastic gig.
What an enthusiastic ‘New York, New York’ audience as always.
It was great to be back playing at Haydon Bridge Festival. This was one of our very first gigs when we first formed so some good memories!
No mud this year! Made change to be able to walk around without wellies. On the flip side the blustery wind proved challenging at times but hey ho, that’s Jazz.
Always a great day out we have been attending this fabulous annual event since we first formed the band!
This year we got a nice late afternoon slot giving us time to eye up the other bands.
Many thanks to the organisers and adjudicators who put in so much time and effort to make this such a successful event.
We got some nice adjudicator comments and a great write up from Russell at Bebop Spoken Here.
The tenth and final band of the day featured the mighty Tyne Valley Big Band (MD, Dave Hignett). In excess of twenty musicians on stage, the TVBB doesn’t do things by halves. Dave Connolly‘s arrangement of Hoyt Curtin’s much-loved theme tune The Flintstones kick-started the set (Tom Cantwell, guitar, Niall Armstrong, tenor sax). The TVBB marked the 30th anniversary of the global touring phenomenon Riverdance in typical style – all sections giving it some. And to close, local hero Sam Fender’s People Watching was given the big band treatment, vocalist Barbara Hignett giving it her all alongside MD – and trumpet ace – Dave Hignett blowing the roof off the place. If you’re listening to the Tyne Valley Big Band you cant be having anything other than a Yabba-dabba doo time!
It is tradition to avail ourselves of a curry at the end of a busy term. The lovely Valley restaurant in Corbridge being a band favourite.
The proprietor Daraz always looks after us with our own special room, to keep us out of the way?
Here we see the handing over of the Whisky to the band MD ceremony
