Adjazz
The Thomas Adams Big Band
ADJAZZ was formed in February 1986 by Steve Rodwell, then head of music at Thomas Adams School. Steve had a dream of forming a big band in the traditional sense. It was open to pupils from 11 to 18 with two requirements for membership – talent and commitment. These requirements are still the overriding principles of the band today. The line up of the original band included a full rhythm, brass and reed section with occasional vocals. The repertoire was based around the ‘Miller’ standards and expanded over time to include many jazz standards. Recently the band has evolved with new sets including latin and more popular numbers from the Phil Collins Big Band Library. The line up has developed as well to include more vocal numbers.
Adjazz in 1988*
Success was soon achieved with tours to Austria in 1988 and Switzerland in 1989. On the back of success abroad the band embarked on a series of UK concerts raising money for charity. An invitation to appear on ‘Blue Peter’ was followed up with the first tour to the USA, building a reputation that led to return visits.
Adjazz on tour in Austria, 1988*
The band have appeared numerous times on TV and Radio including Channel 4’s ‘Big Breakfast’, BBC Radio’s 1, 2 and 5 as well as ITV’s ‘Hit The Road’ and Barrymore’s ‘ My Kind of People’. More recently they have appeared on BBC Music Live and opened the Strasbourg Music Festival in 2002. They have also given concerts in Amsterdam, California, Florida, France, New Orleans, Washington and New York. In June 2004 they toured the Czech Republic performing in Prague as part of an International Festival. In July 2005 they travelled to Paris to perform at Disneyland and there then followed a tour to Barcelona in 2006 (their 20th Anniversary). In July 2007 the band did a very successful mini-tour to Belgium, performing in Mons and Dinant.
Adjazz on mini-tour in Belgium, July 2007
As well as performing regularly at Ronnie Scott's and at the Birmingham International Jazz Festival they have recorded four CD’s including ‘Take it as Red’, ‘Blue Chip’, ‘In The Pink’ and ‘Fruit’.
Images marked with * were contributed by Richard Leese. Richard was a member of Adjazz at the very beginning. If you would like to contribute to this page from the early days, please get in contact.
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