SWING IS THE THING

WE catch up with Band Leader and Trumpeter KEVIN CUNNINGHAM to chat to him about The Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular which is heading out on a major UK tour this spring.

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Q) Kevin. Tell us a little about The Glenn Miller and Big Band Spectacular and what audiences can expect.

KC says) Our audiences can expect a fun, energetic wall of sound from a 13 piece American style Big Band playing the numbers that everyone knows and loves – In The Mood, Pennsylvania 65000 and One O’Clock Jump together with a few unexpected ones as well as tracks made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Of course, with our name we have to play Moonlight Serenade!

Q) What’s the name of one track audiences might not expect to hear?

Sing, Sing, Sing – a fabulous drum feature for our female drummer Jenny Pearson-Walinetski. The band leave the stage at one point to let her solo and it always brings the house down.

Q) The show is certainly a trip down Memory Lane for some of your audience, so is Swing just for an older generation?

Not at all! Swing is for everyone as proven by the huge popularity of Strictly Come Dancing, Peaky Blinders and the many Blitz Balls that are held every year. Keeping the music alive for new listeners to discover and come to love is important to me and I hope that comes across in our shows.

Swing attracts all generations but in different ways – our theatre shows often have audiences who come for the nostalgia and, if there is room, may dance but increasingly we are seeing a younger generation also embracing Swing. When we appear at wartime events, we always see many people in their 20s and 30s who want to dance the night away. There is always a lot of Lindy Hopping and Jitterbugging but also a surprising amount of Quickstep, Foxtrot and Tango happening.

Q) When did you first come across Swing and why is it so special to you?

I first picked up a trumpet when I was 11 years old and heard my first Glenn Miller record when I was eleven and a half. I was blown away by the sound and I still remember having my Walkman stolen by the playground bully who told everyone about my music tastes which didn’t do much for my popularity!

In my younger days I was often asked by my bewildered peers what it was that t I found
so good about ‘old people’s music’. They could have understood if I had been involved in a brass band, after all I am a Yorkshireman, but Swing was beyond them – it didn’t fit in with being a child of the 1970s and ‘80s.

I couldn’t explain to them (at least not without being kicked around the village for being a weirdo) that Swing music hits something deep inside me, the rhythms and cadences are exciting and evocative and even for someone with three left feet the tunes make you want to dance.

Swing evokes a certain ambience and era that I wish I had been part of. I can see myself jamming in the clubs of Harlem after hours with all the greats or just drinking in the sounds.

Q) Give us the history of the Moonlight Serenade Orchestra in a nutshell.

We started rehearsing in a disused swimming baths in Hillsborough, Sheffield (great acoustics!) with a few local musicians from the Yorkshire area, however, they didn’t want to travel out of the Yorkshire area and I wanted to make the band something to be proud of on a par with Ted Heath and Syd Lawrence. This meant the Orchestra had to evolve into a professional band and we now use some of the best musicians in the UK and are now about to embark on our 10th nationwide theatre tour.

Q) What have been your highlights as a bandleader over the years you have been on the road?

There have been so many but stand-outs are selling out at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival three years running, playing to a packed audience for the Royal British Legion’s 90th anniversary at the Sands Theatre Carlisle, playing under the wing of a bomber at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, being the headline act for the 1940s weekend in Whitby, performing at the National Railway Museum in York twice in two months and playing in the middle of muddy fields for the Battle of Britain show in Taunton. I also love spending time after shows with members of the audience and listening to their memories or answering younger people’s question about swing music and life as a musician.

Q) Who is your favourite bandleader from the swing era, and why?

Benny Goodman. His band included three of my all-time favourite musicians; Benny Goodman, Harry James and Gene Krupa – for me that’s an all-star cast.

Q) What’s next for the Moonlight Serenade Orchestra?

Our new show is in the making – The Rat Pack Legacy which will be the only Rat Pack Show in the country to be backed by a full swing band. We will also be back at Parr Street Studios to record our next album and we are currently working on the track listing.