The Big Band assembled at the Holst Hall at James Allen’s Girls’ School on Friday for the Dulwich Helpline Jazz night. Alongside groups from Dulwich College, JAGs, Kingsdale and Charter School, Dulwich Prep London were, by far, the most junior band in terms of age. The boys were placed sixth in the running order and entertained the audience from the outset for ten glorious minutes in their ‘by memory’ music set. This was an impressive treat for both eyes and ears and far ahead of time in comparison to previous years.
Playing Rose Royce’s ‘Car Wash’ they soon had the ‘joint jumpin’ to the predominant funk beat with improvised solos from Teddy on Alto Sax and Kian on Trombone. Kian then led the band into the slower and more melodic ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ by Joseph Zawinul. Bruno got the solo section off to a flying start with his fine improvisation and this paved the way for William to serenade the tables to the amusement and appreciation of the seated audience! The Band then segued into ‘Louie, Louie’ recorded originally by the Kingsman, for their finale. By now the Band were really rocking down the home straight and confident solos were offered from James (Euphonium), Ned (Tenor Sax), Ollie (Baritone Sax), Oliver (keyboard), Freddie (Drums) and Francisco (Congas). The audience clapped along in sync really enjoying every moment of this confident, assured performance: the Band simply blew them away. If ever there was an example of boys working together as a team with style and finesse then this was it, and with bags of swagger to boot, a hugely enjoyable night for all boys who took part which sets the bar high for the rest of this School year.