London City Big Band rides again!
02/07/21 10:14
I had an incredible time on Wednesday evening performing with the London City Big Band at Ronnie Scott's. It was so great to be in front of a live (albeit socially distanced) audience and perform the incredible music of Count Basie et al alongside this collection of fine musicians. We were like a coiled spring that had finally sprung, it was such a joy to be back together making music!
Singer Sara Dowling was our featured vocalist who sounded absolutely world class, she is an extreme talent and tells the story of a song in such a genuine way!
Below are some photos from the performance. As you can tell, I'm still buzzing!
Or on instagram, if you're that kind of cool kid;
https://instagram.com/p/CQw6HqqLqKP/
Let's hope this marks the opening up and easing of restrictions as we move back to what I affectionately call 'the beforefore times' as more gigs come through!
I've also been busy rehearsing some new original compositions of mine with the Urban Big Band and I can't wait to premier some of them when they have their first live performance back on August 8th at Loughton Jazz Club, more information about that coming soon!
Stay safe!
Singer Sara Dowling was our featured vocalist who sounded absolutely world class, she is an extreme talent and tells the story of a song in such a genuine way!
Below are some photos from the performance. As you can tell, I'm still buzzing!
Or on instagram, if you're that kind of cool kid;
https://instagram.com/p/CQw6HqqLqKP/
Let's hope this marks the opening up and easing of restrictions as we move back to what I affectionately call 'the beforefore times' as more gigs come through!
I've also been busy rehearsing some new original compositions of mine with the Urban Big Band and I can't wait to premier some of them when they have their first live performance back on August 8th at Loughton Jazz Club, more information about that coming soon!
Stay safe!
ALJO 22nd June Postponed
15/06/21 11:09
It is my sad news to announce the Andrew Linham Jazz Orchestra performance at Queen's Theatre Hornchurch on Thursday 22nd July 2021 is again postponed as QTH are keeping social distancing in place throughout the whole of July, which is understandable considering the current continuing pandemic.
It is now rescheduled for Wednesday 6th October 2021.
Do join me at Ronnie Scott's with London City Big Band on Wednesday 30th June though, as it is going to be joyously Basie infested!
Andrew
It is now rescheduled for Wednesday 6th October 2021.
Do join me at Ronnie Scott's with London City Big Band on Wednesday 30th June though, as it is going to be joyously Basie infested!
Andrew
LCBB - June 2021
10/06/21 14:22
London City Big Band are coming back to Ronnie Scott's!
After two sell out shows pre-COVID the big band are back playing traditional big band repertoire from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Thad Jones, Bill Holman and more!
Wednesday 30th June 2021 - two shows!
"As a Count Basie fan for nearly 60 years your sound is the closest to The Count I have ever heard" - Audience Member from LCBB's last Ronnie Scott's performance.
Book your tickets here
They have been in residence at The Spice Of Life in Soho for close to ten years keeping big band alive and this opportunity to see them back together for the first time since February 2020 will be very exciting!
After two sell out shows pre-COVID the big band are back playing traditional big band repertoire from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Thad Jones, Bill Holman and more!
Wednesday 30th June 2021 - two shows!
"As a Count Basie fan for nearly 60 years your sound is the closest to The Count I have ever heard" - Audience Member from LCBB's last Ronnie Scott's performance.
Book your tickets here
They have been in residence at The Spice Of Life in Soho for close to ten years keeping big band alive and this opportunity to see them back together for the first time since February 2020 will be very exciting!
May 2021
28/05/21 14:10
The slow opening and return to live performance is coming as we have moved through May which is very exciting! I even have a few gigs to announce;
London City Big Band - Wednesday 30th June 2021 @ Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club (evening)
Andrew Linham Jazz Orchestra - Thursday 22nd July 2021 @ Queen's Theatre Hornchurch (evening)
Urban Big Band - Sunday 8th August 2021 @ Loughton Jazz Club (afternoon)
I cannot tell you how excited I am to be performing again!
May 2021 has seen the completion of over 30 livestreams for Queen's Theatre Hornchurch which is incredible, I can't believe that many people have joined me in their living rooms to sing and lift their voices together over the last 15 months. My particular favourite livestream was this one below from Thursday 6th May working through my favourite Ethel Merman song "Everything's Coming Up Roses".
We've also been putting some final touches to the next new musical 'Never Never' which is now scheduled for 2022, it's going to be a massive show and such a celebration of the young people of Havering that I can't wait to get into rehearsals, whenever that might be!
Throughout June I'm working on some new writing for Ardleigh Green Learning Federation to create a new collection of original inspirational songs for educational environments ready to launch together when we are finally allowed to sing comfortably in the same room. Education and community outreach work has really suffered without the songs and the human interaction so I'm hoping to build this back up through the rest of 2021, but who knows what the future holds!
Stay safe everyone!
Andrew
London City Big Band - Wednesday 30th June 2021 @ Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club (evening)
Andrew Linham Jazz Orchestra - Thursday 22nd July 2021 @ Queen's Theatre Hornchurch (evening)
Urban Big Band - Sunday 8th August 2021 @ Loughton Jazz Club (afternoon)
I cannot tell you how excited I am to be performing again!
May 2021 has seen the completion of over 30 livestreams for Queen's Theatre Hornchurch which is incredible, I can't believe that many people have joined me in their living rooms to sing and lift their voices together over the last 15 months. My particular favourite livestream was this one below from Thursday 6th May working through my favourite Ethel Merman song "Everything's Coming Up Roses".
We've also been putting some final touches to the next new musical 'Never Never' which is now scheduled for 2022, it's going to be a massive show and such a celebration of the young people of Havering that I can't wait to get into rehearsals, whenever that might be!
Throughout June I'm working on some new writing for Ardleigh Green Learning Federation to create a new collection of original inspirational songs for educational environments ready to launch together when we are finally allowed to sing comfortably in the same room. Education and community outreach work has really suffered without the songs and the human interaction so I'm hoping to build this back up through the rest of 2021, but who knows what the future holds!
Stay safe everyone!
Andrew
Spring 2021
24/04/21 10:26
It has been a quietly busy few months thus far working on a wide range of projects, even though we've been in various stages of Lockdown. The Royal Ballet School's 'Primary Steps' programme has been up and running via Zoom which is always an incredible project as I love to accompany the dancing and support RBS in finding their future ballet stars through workshops in schools in Barking and Dagenham.
I've been live-streaming on Facebook for Ardleigh Green Learning Federation and for Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and I'm currently on Week 3 of 6 with regular Thursday morning 11am singalongs supported by Clarion Futures. The singalongs are always such fun! This week was Music Hall week working through the classic 1892 hit 'Daisy Bell'. It was a proper cockney knees up!
I was very excited to play a livestream gig at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with Big Band Metheny on Sunday 21st March. It was so exciting to be back in the room with actual in person musicians and play that fantastic pad of music. I'm told it was one of the most watched streams which is very cool! I can't tell you how lovely it was to be back making music again. The best news is that you can watch it below!
My work on LyricLand has been expanding exponentially through the pandemic and there are now over 100 videos exploring primary school education which is something a year ago I would never have anticipated in my wildest dreams. It is now a fully functioning resource used across multiple schools and organisations in Havering with lots of free resources available on my Youtube Channel. Many of these videos are aimed at the Early Years students who I'm currently not in a bubble with that teach the traditional Nursery Rhymes as students generally don't come to school knowing these songs anymore! By the Summer this set of 'Not-So-Nursery' Rhymes will be a set of videos to last one a week for the whole school year, which is something I never expected to have created!
Over Easter there was a lot more time for writing for the Big Band which was truly joyful; I set a few days aside to really set to and see what new adventures I could create. The joy of writing for the ensemble is the only restriction is that it must be sight-readable as there is never enough time for proper rehearsals. Working within that one restriction and knowing the talent of my musicians and friends means that generally you can write anything (if you make it clear enough!). After the few days of working I was really able to find a creative flow and completed two new compositions; 'The Watermelon Man Goes Out Of Business' and 'Mrs Nesbitt's Awful Tea Party'. I can't wait to share this new music with you at our next gig which is set for Thursday 22nd July at Queen's Theatre Hornchurch. More details for that coming soon to get your tickets booked!
I was also lucky enough to be featured on the brilliant Tommy Andrew's SoundSpring Podcast talking about my original big band piece 'Big Bertha's Quarter To Two's' from our 2017 album 'Weapons of Mass Distraction' - Downbeat Editor's Choice! Below is the link to our conversation about my approach to composition and music more widely (and wildly) in general and it was an absolute pleasure to discuss all things musical with him.
My new youth theatre musical 'Never Never' has been postponed again until 2022 as it is impractical to get large groups of young people from different schools and organisations together on a stage within current restrictions but I'm quietly optimistic that next year we will finally be able to premier my new production. It is such an exciting retelling of J.M Barrie's 'Peter Pan' and I'm quietly proud of the score as it is a level of pastiche without parody that I've never previously achieved as a composer. Often when I am pastiching a musical style it is to kindly poke fun and parody it, or exemplify everything it is (or could be) in a specific way, so this project is different in that the search for the genuine heart and truth within the various musical styles has been a big adventure.
So as the UK slowly opens up lets hope that we can get more gigs in the diary but for now bring on Thursday 22nd July 2021 at QTH when my big band, like a naughty phoenix, will rise again! That sounds like a song title… leave it with me!
Andrew
'This 17 piece contemporary big band is one of the boldest - and most eccentric - large jazz ensembles performing today.'
Ed Enright, Downbeat Review (Editor's Pick) December 2017
'There are more than enough reasons to catch him again. Very soon.'
Jon Newey, Jazzwise 2011
'If you haven't heard it - you should.'
Ian Maund, Sandybrown Jazz 2018
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