Sign In / Register
Get out your glad rags and dust off your dancing shoes – Warkworth Town Hall is being transformed into a 1940s jazz club next month, when a Swingin’ Jazz & Funk Party will be held as part of the town’s 170th anniversary celebrations.
Three bands will take to the stage on Saturday, November 11, with the 18-piece WBB Big Band – the latest, hip incarnation of Warkworth’s historic brass band – headlining on the night.
Band manager Aaron Rodgers says the band’s four-piece rhythm section, 14-piece horn section and jazz vocalist Jennifer Eirena will play three rocking sets, starting with 1940s big band swing from the likes of Glenn Miller, then move to late 20th century jazz before finishing up with more modern rock and funk classics.
They will be joined by Trad Revival, a New Orleans style Dixieland jazz band playing all the old favourites, and Phat Jazz, a jazz-funk outfit playing cool, 60s Herbie Hancock/Blue Note-style numbers.
There will be a dance floor in front of the stage, with round tables, chairs and couches around the room for relaxing. Atmospheric lighting, spotlights on the bands, finger food and a cocktail bar will add to the classic jazz club ambience of the evening.
Rodgers says the night will be a fitting celebration for Warkworth’s 170th, with dance tunes to suit every taste from World War II to the present day, and he wants to see people jiving, bopping, rocking, grooving and generally getting down to the music.
“It’s a chance to step back in time and swing through the ages,” he says. “We’d love people to dress up if they want to, but we don’t want that to put anyone off – you certainly don’t have to.”
The Swingin’ Jazz & Funk Party starts at 7.30pm and tickets cost $30 for adults and $15 for children from www.eventbrite.com.
