Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra

About

Featuring GILSON LAVIS
With special guest EDDI READER
And guest vocalists RUBY TURNER & LOUISE MARSHALL

Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra are a rhythm and blues band led by boogie-woogie pianist Jools Holland. Holland formed the band in 1994 and the current 20-piece band consists of piano, organ, drums, female vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, alto saxophones, tenor saxophones, baritone saxophones, trumpets, and trombones.

In 1973, at the age of 15, Holland was introduced to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford; together they formed Squeeze, and shortly afterwards they were joined by Gilson Lavis – who still drums with Jools.

Up The Junction and Cool For Cats gave Squeeze meteoric success and their popularity rapidly extended to America, where their tour included performances at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

In 1987, Jools formed The Jools Holland Big Band – comprising himself and Gilson Lavis. This has gradually metamorphosed into the current 20-piece orchestra.

Performances

Venue Info

Phoenix Concert Hall

Designed as a scaled down version of the Royal Festival Hall, (both venues shared the same acoustic consultant, Hope Bagenal), our Concert Hall is recognised internationally for its fantastic and bright acoustics and has “…some of the finest acoustics in Europe” as stated by renowned conductor Leopold Stokowski.

The Phoenix Concert Hall will once again play host to the London Mozart players as resident Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra.

Phoenix Pianos

Phoenix Pianos are a British company that pride themselves on leading the piano manufacture industry with new, high-end piano technologies.

Founder and Chairman, Richard Dain, is a man of impressive engineering pedigree and tireless vision, who in the early 2000s began to combine his passion for pianos and music with his wide-ranging engineering skills.

A series of ground-breaking innovations have led to the most technologically advanced pianos in the world.

The Phoenix mission is twofold:

1. To once again offer inspiration to artists in new levels of acoustic performance, after a century of near complete stagnation within the piano industry.
2. To make highly practical improvements to piano design, such as climate resistance, longevity of parts, reliability of performance, and touch response.

Phoenix instruments benefit from:

• Carbon fibre and Kevlar soundboard designs
• A new highly responsive action comprising 3D printed and carbon fibre parts
• Patented bridge technology to improve the power and efficiency of acoustic transfer, giving artists access to a wider dynamic range

The installation of a fleet of Phoenix instruments in the Fairfield Halls, and their sponsoring of the Phoenix Academy, represent a very special moment for both piano design and manufacture, and for this premier venue.