GREAT VOCALISTS JOIN BBC BIG BAND FOR THIRD TOWN HALL SEASON

SEASON OPENER – JAKI GRAHAM – GERSHWIN AND SOUL, Fri 23 October (7.30pm)
JOHNNY MERCER – A CENTENARY CELEBRATION, Fri 20 November (7.30pm)
THE NEW YORK VOICES WITH BBC BIG BAND, Fri 18 December (7.30pm)
ALL AT TOWN HALL, BIRMINGHAM

Event Info
Gershwin and Soul
Johnny Mercer
The New York Voices

The BBC Big Band, stars of BBC Radio 2’s Big Band Special and Town Hall Associate Artists, bring their third season of popular jazz to Town Hall in the coming months.

Birmingham-born soul diva Jaki Graham makes her debut with the BBC Big Band in the season opener on Friday 23 October. Together they’ll be giving the George & Ira Gershwin songbook a new sound for the 21st Century exploring classics such as Summertime, They all Laughed, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, It Ain’t Necessarily so and many more. With an instantly recognisable sound, Jaki has achieved international success over the past three decades.

In November (Friday 20 November) BBC Big Band will be joined by special guest singers Clare Teal and Peter Grant to celebrate the centenary of Oscar-winning songwriter and lyricist Johnny Mercer. A prolific song writer (over 1700 songs), singer and founder of Capitol Records, Johnny is famous for writing hits including the Oscar winning Moon River and Days of Wine & Roses, with Henry Mancini. He also collaborated with many other great songwriters including Hoagy Carmichael (Lazybones and Skylark), Harold Arlen (Blues in the Night, Hit the Road to Dreamland and That Old Black Magic) and Duke Ellington (Satin Doll). BBC Big Band will play all of these and more in a wonderful celebration of the centenary of Johnny’s birth in 1909.

Town Hall will ring with the very best in vocal jazz on Friday 18 December when New York Voices makes an exclusive UK appearance with the BBC Big Band. The Grammy-winning quartet will perform a sensational programme including Sing Sing Sing, Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens, Orange Coloured Sky and seasonal favourites such as We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

All concerts are at Town Hall Birmingham and tickets are available from the Box Office on 0121 780 3333 or via www.thsh.co.uk.

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Note to Editors

BBC Big Band’s Town Hall concerts are recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 2’s Big Band Special.
BBC Big Band is a Town Hall Associate Artist. All concerts are at Town Hall, Birmingham

Links to concert pages:
23 October http://www.thsh.co.uk/view/gershwin-and-soul
20 November http://www.thsh.co.uk/view/johnny-mercer—-a-centenary-celebration
18 December http://www.thsh.co.uk/view/the-new-york-voices-with-the-bbc-big-band

Weblinks:
BBC Radio 2 Big Band Special website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/big-band-special/forthcoming-concerts/

BBC Big Band is a Town Hall Associate Artist: http://www.thsh.co.uk/page/town-hall-birmingham/associate-artists/

Town Hall and Symphony Hall are managed together by Performances Birmingham Limited, an independent charitable trust. Between them, the two halls present an exciting and varied programme of over 600 concerts and events a year, designed to appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. Over 500,000 people visit Town Hall and Symphony Hall annually, and a thriving education/community department reaches a further 20,000 people of all ages.

Town Hall Birmingham re-opened in October 2007 following a £35m renovation funded by Birmingham City Council (£18.3m), Heritage Lottery Fund (£13.7m), European Regional Development Fund (£3m).

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TOWN HALL SYMPHONY HALL BOX OFFICE 0121 780 3333
ONLINE BOOKING www.thsh.co.uk
(£2 transaction charge applies to all bookings except
those made in person at the box office)
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Fiona Fraser/Lyle Bignon
Press & PR Manager/Assistant Press & PR Manager
E Fiona.fraser@thsh.co.uk / lyle.bignon@thsh.co.uk
T 0121 644 5008 / 0121 644 6028 (Direct)

Issued: 25 September 2009