BBC Big Band

The BBC Big Band

Musical Director Barry Forgie

Featuring soloists Julie Claire and Poppy Baker 

Trumpets
Mike Lovatt
Andy Greenwood
Tom Denis
Martin Shaw

Trombones
Andy Wood
Alistair White
Rob Harvey
John Higginbotham

Saxophones
Howard McGill
Simon Williams
Adrian Revell
Rachael Cohen
Jay Craig

Piano
Robin Aspland

Guitar
Chris Allard

Bass
Nick Walsh

Drums
Tom Gordon

The Eastside Jazz Festival is delighted to be hosting the world famous BBC Big band as its finale concert to cap two whole days of back to back jazz. Being a Jazz Festival, we’ve asked Musical Director Barry Forgie to indulge himself and the musicians of the band by choosing their favorite repertoire and we’re asking them to let off some steam, no holds barred. They have the most incredible library of Big Band music and we know they sound great when playing classic swing music so you can expect to hear them at their very best Big Band swagger tonight.

We are also delighted that they are very happy to work with two of RBCs most excellent jazz vocalists, Julie Claire and Poppy Baker. (See biographies below.) Julie has successfully taken her place in the profession for some years now, while Poppy Baker is in her final undergraduate year, already with festival dates and jazz club bookings in her diary. We are proud to be brokering this first meeting for them with the legendary BBC Big Band.

Julie and Poppy will be guesting with vocal features amongst the main sets from the band that will include classics from the Patti Austen library such as Too Close For Comfort, Honeysuckle Rose and from the Mike Gibbs/Norma Winstone book So In Love, Daydream and Riverman.” Jeremy Price, RBC Head of Jazz

Widely regarded as one the world’s leading, and most versatile, Jazz Orchestras, The BBC Big Band continues to delight audiences around the world through their broadcasts on BBC Radio as well their live performances at some of the country’s most prestigious venues.

The Band’s musical collaborations read like a ‘who’s who’ of the international music scene, and have included artists as diverse as: Tony Bennett, Martin Taylor, Robert Palmer, Louis Stewart, Van Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Mel Torme, Clark Terry, Michael Buble, Dr John, George Benson, Van Morrison, Georgie Fame, and Ray Charles … to name just a few!

Within the UK, the BBC Big Band is perhaps best known for its work across the BBC’s radio channels – particularly BBC Radio 2 and Radio 3. Their performances also reach huge global audience, through its regular broadcasts for the BBC World Service, and via the BBC’s iPlayer service … making this a truly international orchestra.

Live performances have included numerous appearances at London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms, the ‘BBC Proms in the Park’ series in Hyde Park; as well as concerts at the UK’s premier concert venues, including venues such as Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Snape Maltings, the Glasshouse Gateshead, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall,, and London’s Cadogan Hall.

"World-class musicians … a brilliant musical force" The Telegraph
"Sheer brilliance" The Guardian
"The best in the business" Clare Teal
"Joyous!" George Benson
"For survival, one must be versatile, for jazz, one must be ready to swing ... hard!
The BBC Big Band live both realities." Julian Joseph
"The best big band we have ever had in this Festival.
Precision, dynamics musicality - simply amazing!" Lucern World Band Festival
"One of the great European Jazz Orchestras. It would be difficult to imagine any band anywhere doing a better job" The Observer

Poppy Baker

Poppy’s unique jazz-infused songs straddle the soul, R&B and indie genres – with melodies that cut straight to the heart. And Poppy’s impressively sensitive and soulful vocals reveal an emotional intelligence beyond her years. Insightful lyrics demonstrate an innate ability to address any topic with sensitivity, whilst Poppy’s profound affection for ballads enriches her contemporary musical creations.

Julie Claire

Julie Claire is an internationally performing singer, multi-instrumentalist, and session musician with roots in classical, folk, and jazz traditions. Originally trained as a pianist and cellist, Julie completed her undergraduate degree in cello at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, before returning to study a master’s degree in jazz vocals.

Alongside an active career as a touring artist and session musician, Julie performs with a wide range of function bands and is lead vocalist with ‘Supertonic’. A core member of ‘Joe Broughton’s Folk Ensemble’ for the past decade, she has also been a featured vocalist on several of their albums. Julie is absolutely thrilled to be performing with the BBC Big Band for this special concert.

Running time approx. two hours including interval