Page 181 - Palace Theatre News

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The Redditch Standard Archives – 20 November 2015

Palace the venue for Five Star Swing’s Big Band at Christmas sound -
2015

THE Palace Theatre will be swinging along to the sounds of Five Star Swing and ‘The Big
Band at Christmas’ on Thursday (November 26) as part of their national Poppy Appeal tour.
Five Star Swing are promising an evening of all the Christmas favourites and giving them the
Big Band treatment.
Look out for jazzed-up Jingle Bells and Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’, all performed by Five
Star Swing’s multi-instrumentalists and singers, as seen on BBC TV Children in Need and
Dame Vera Lynn’s Charity Ball.
The show is led by bandleader Chris Smith Jr, composer and arranger for the BBC Radio Big
Band and a former composer for the Herb Miller Big Band – (Glenn Miller’s brother).
Along with Tony Bennett’s trombonists also featured is vocalist and saxophonist Simone,
who was taught to play alto sax in the 1970s by the famous bandleader Ivy Benson, whom
she subsequently performed with.
Simone has recorded with Paul Weller, the Paul Merton TV Show and the Russell Harty show.
The band’s local drummer player, David Waller said: “Fans have enjoyed this feel-good music
for generations and following our extensive UK tour I’m excited to be bringing the sound of
our big band brass, saxes, rhythm and vocalists back home.”
Tickets cost £17.75 in person from the box office, on 01527 65203 or visit
http://www.redditchpalacetheatre.co.uk/ .

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