About The Roaring Twenties “Swinging Satchmo Centenary” Jazz Concert & Battle Of The Bands Ball
The afternoon “The Roaring Twenties ‘Swinging Satchmo Centenary’ Jazz Concert And Dance” and the evening “The Roaring Twenties ‘Swinging Satchmo Centenary’ Battle Of The Bands Ball” are two Savoy Ballroom “Battle Of The Bands” inspired 1920’s style hot jazz music and dancing extravaganzas (run by the same organiser who ran the very highly acclaimed “Roaring Twenties Balmain Battle Of The Bands Ball” in November 2015 and 2016 and “Roaring Twenties Darktown Strutters’ Ball” in November 2017 and 2018), featuring 21 of Sydney’s and the Central Coast’s top vintage jazz musicians, including no less than five jazz trumpeters. These exuberant musical and dance events will pay tribute to the pioneering classic jazz recordings made by the world-famous Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (aka “Dippermouth” and “Gatemouth”) during the Roaring Twenties Jazz Age, alternating with other great jazz “standards” from that era. Jan O’Shea, dance colleague of Savoy Ballroom “Lindy Hop” legend Frankie Manning and main judge for the “best dancers” awards at the last four “Roaring Twenties” balls (see above) run by the same organiser as this event, which featured many of the same musicians playing this year, described those events as follows: “The musicians were fantastic and I enjoyed every minute of it: it was jazz ecstasy!”
As a special bonus for patrons of the evening “The Roaring Twenties ‘Swinging Satchmo Centenary’ Battle Of The Bands Ball”, there will be two short professional dance routines, performed by Margarita and Guy from Tango Embrace Australia to a famous Louis Armstrong recording (the tango being a very popular dance style during the Roaring Twenties) and also by the Sydney Swing Katz, who will be performing a dynamic Roaring Twenties inspired swing dance routine.
These two events are intended to be for the benefit of the war-torn people of Ukraine, the intention being to both audio and video record both events in their entirety and then post them on-line (in a synchronised manner) to provide some happiness and good cheer to the people of Ukraine, in the same way that classic jazz music lifted the spirits of people in the West after both WW1 (putting the “Roar” into the “Roaring Twenties”) and WW2 (putting much of the “Fabulous” into the “Fabulous Fifties”), with any remaining profit from these events being donated to a Ukrainian humanitarian organisation.
Other important points to note about both events include the following:
(1). Owing to the number of people who are expected to attend both events and the size of the hall, no reserved seats will be available. Seating will be on a “first come, first served” basis in a “tables and chairs” arrangement, so sharing of tables with people who are not from your own group of patrons will almost certainly be required.
(2). This event is not being fully catered for with either food or drinks, so please BYO food and drinks. However, there will be free hot coffee, tea and biscuits during the band breaks. There are also some take-away food and restaurant venues nearby, about a 10-minute walk away down the New Canterbury Road (turn left out of the Town Hall and then right at the traffic lights), or alternatively about a 5-minute walk away at the Petersham RSL Club (which has several dining options) at 301 Trafalgar Street, Petersham (turn right out of the Town Hall and then left at Trafalgar Street towards Petersham Station).
(3). There is on-street parking in the surrounding streets around the Petersham Town Hall, but it may not all be equally close by. Alternatively, Petersham Train Station is only a five-minute walk away.
(4). The venue is very large, so it is possible that in the middle of winter on 22/6/2024 it may become cooler than is comfortable. It is therefore advised that patrons bring some additional warm clothing if desired, especially those attending the evening ball and/ or those who will be sitting and listening rather than dancing for most or all of the time.
Following are the individual descriptions for the two separate events:
THE AFTERNOON “THE ROARING TWENTIES ‘SWINGING SATCHMO CENTENARY’ JAZZ CONCERT AND DANCE”:
Venue: Petersham Town Hall, 107 Crystal Street, Petersham NSW 2049.
Date and Time: Saturday, 22nd June 2024 from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Bands That Will Be Playing At This Event:
The fabulous line-up of bands that will be playing at this spectacular not-to-be-missed event, celebrating a “Century of Swinging Satchmo”, consists of:
(1). “Geoff Power’s Paramount Jazz Band”: Geoff Power (trumpet), Lachlan Power (second trumpet), David Saxon (trombone), Jack Wiard (clarinet), Paul Baker (banjo), Dennis Quinlan (second banjo), Rachel Hamilton (piano), Craig Goeldner (sousaphone), and Lawrie Thompson (drums).
(2). “The Virtuoso Jazz Duo”: A short set featuring the two wonderful Sydney jazz virtuosos Jack Wiard (clarinet) and Paul Baker (banjo).
(3). “Bridge City Jazz Band” Plus One: Greg Englert (trumpet), Al Davey (second trumpet), Mike Hallam (trombone), Jack Wiard (clarinet), Dennis Quinlan (banjo), Paul Baker (second banjo), Bradley Newman (piano), Colin Davies (double bass), and Lawrie Thompson (drums).
(4). “Pianos At Ten Paces: The Duelling Pianos”: A short set of hot 1920’s style jazz piano solos and duets, inspired by the famous 1920’s “rent party cutting contests”, in which jazz pianists would try to outplay each other, featuring well-known jazz pianists Robbie Mann and Brad Newman (two pianos).
(5). “Geoff Bull’s Olympia Revival Jazz Band” Plus One: Geoff Bull (trumpet), Al Davey (second trumpet), Eric Gibbons (trombone), Paul Furniss (clarinet), Chris Gildersleeve (banjo), Robbie Mann (piano), Stan Valacos (double bass), and Lawrie Thompson (drums).
Please note that the event organiser reserves the right to make substitutions for the above band line-ups in the event of illness / misadventure befalling individual musicians just prior to the event.
Dress Code:
Minimum of neat casual or evening suit, with 1920’s formal attire optional for those inspired to dress up!
Ticket Types Available:
(1) “Early Bird” (Adult 18+ years): $50: available until midnight on 20/6/2024. This includes a special concession discount category (for Newcastle Jazz Club members and the partners of the musicians: a special coupon code will need to be entered to buy these tickets) for $45: available until midnight on 20/6/2024.
(2). “Child” (10 to 17 years): $35: available until midnight on 20/6/2024. Please note: Children under 10 years of age will be admitted free if accompanied by at least one parent / guardian, and they must share a seat with that parent / guardian, i.e. all other seats will be sold to paying patrons.
(3). “Adult” (18+ years): $55: available until midnight on 21/6/2024. Please note: this will be the only on-line ticket category available from 20/6/2024 onwards, so if you miss out on buying a ticket from one of the other ticket categories (i.e. (1), (2), (4) and (5)), you will need to purchase one of these tickets. Alternatively, you can purchase your ticket for cash at the door: see option (5) below.
(4). “All Day Pass”: $100: available until midnight on 20/6/2024. This allows entry to both the afternoon “Jazz Concert And Dance” and the evening “Battle Of The Bands Ball”.
(5). “Cash At The Door”: $60. This option will only be available on the day itself, and only if the online tickets have not been sold out already: please have the correct money available, as available change will be limited. Separate tickets will be required for both the afternoon “Jazz Concert And Dance” and the evening “Battle Of The Bands Ball”, should you wish to attend both events.
THE EVENING “THE ROARING TWENTIES ‘SWINGING SATCHMO CENTENARY’ BATTLE OF THE BANDS BALL”:
Venue: Petersham Town Hall, 107 Crystal Street, Petersham NSW 2049.
Date and Time: Saturday, 22nd June 2024 from 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight.
Bands That Will Be Playing At This Event:
The fabulous line-up of bands that will be playing at this spectacular not-to-be-missed event, celebrating a “Century of Swinging Satchmo”, consists of:
(1). “Geoff Bull’s Olympia Revival Jazz Band” Plus One: Geoff Bull (trumpet), Geoff Power (second trumpet), Eric Gibbons (trombone), Paul Furniss (clarinet), Chris Gildersleeve (banjo), Robbie Mann (piano), Stan Valacos (double bass), and Graham Hilgendorf (drums).
(2). “Geoff Power’s Paramount Jazz Band”: Geoff Power (trumpet), Lachlan Power (second trumpet), David Saxon (trombone), Paul Furniss (clarinet), Jack Ray (banjo), Rachel Hamilton (piano), Craig Goeldner (sousaphone), and Graham Hilgendorf (drums).
(3). “Pianos At Ten Paces: The Duelling Pianos”: A short set of hot 1920’s style jazz piano solos and duets, inspired by the famous 1920’s “rent party cutting contests”, in which jazz pianists would try to outplay each other, featuring well-known jazz pianists Robbie Mann and Brad Newman (two pianos).
(4). “Bridge City Jazz Band” Plus One: Greg Englert (trumpet), Al Davey (second trumpet), Mike Hallam (trombone), Jack Wiard (clarinet), Dennis Quinlan (banjo), Bradley Newman (piano), Colin Davies (double bass), and Graham Hilgendorf (drums).
Please note that the event organiser reserves the right to make substitutions for the above band line-ups in the event of illness / misadventure befalling individual musicians just prior to the event.
In addition to the above line-up of great bands, as mentioned above there will also be two short professional dance routines, performed by Margarita and Guy from Tango Embrace Australia to a famous Louis Armstrong recording (the tango being a very popular dance style during the Roaring Twenties) and also by the Sydney Swing Katz, who will be performing a dynamic Roaring Twenties inspired swing dance routine.
There will also be great prizes (including free tickets to the organiser’s next event) for the “best dressed” people (man, woman and couple), as well as for the “best dancers” (man, woman and couple). The “best dancers” will be judged during one of the 15-minute breaks in between the various live band performances, when various hot jazz tunes recorded by Louis Armstrong during “The Roaring Twenties” will be played. There is no need to dance for the entire 15 minutes, but dancers will be judged on both the length / stamina of their dances and on their dancing skills! The judges for the “best dancers” will be well-known and highly respected swing dancers and instructors Trudi Pickering & Dean Robert from The Wriggle Room!
Dress Code:
As this is a formal dress-up event, the dress code for it will be a minimum of evening suit, with 1920’s formal attire optional (but highly recommended) for those inspired to dress up! Alternatively, you may wish to dress up in the formal attire styles from the 1930’s to the 1950’s, in keeping with the “glamorous vintage” theme of the evening.
Ticket Types Available:
(1) “Early Bird” (Adult 18+ years): $55: available until midnight on 20/6/2024.
(2). “Adult” (18+ years): $60: available until midnight on 21/6/2024. Please note: this will be the only on-line ticket category available from 20/6/2024 onwards, so if you miss out on buying a ticket from one of the other ticket categories (i.e. (1) and (3)), you will need to purchase one of these tickets. Alternatively, you can purchase your ticket for cash at the door: see option (4) below.
(3). “All Day Pass”: $100: available until midnight on 20/6/2024. This allows entry to both the afternoon “Jazz Concert And Dance” and the evening “Battle Of The Bands Ball”.
(4). “Cash At The Door”: $65. This option will only be available on the day itself, and only if the online tickets have not been sold out already: please have the correct money available, as available change will be limited. Separate tickets will be required for both the afternoon “Jazz Concert And Dance” and the evening “Battle Of The Bands Ball”, should you wish to attend both events.
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