Friday 29th May 2026 - Stealing Thunder
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The big bands often had smaller groups that performed and recorded as separate entities – Benny Goodman, for example, had his Trio, Quartet and Sextet formats, while members of Duke Ellington’s orchestra often recorded in smaller groups under the leadership of band members such as Johnny Hodges. In that tradition, Stealing Thunder is a small group from within the Sweet Thunder Jazz Orchestra, comprising Scott Browne (trumpetIflugelhorn), Dave ‘Tenorsaurus’ Cox (saxes), Rodney Ford (drums/vocals), John Conley (bass) and Rick Best (piano). The less formal setting of this smaller group allows these players greater scope to stretch out, free from the constraints that playing in a tightly arranged big band context inevitably bring. The result is exhilarating…
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Friday 26th June 2026 - Trombone Kellie Gang
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For the 26th June we feature the very popular Trombone Kellie Gang, one of the hardest working bands on the Northern Rivers today, performing from the Sunshine Coast to the Byron Hinterlands. They are an entertaining ‘old school’ outfit with the perfect recipe of Street Blues, jazz swing, gospel, soul and a bit of rock and roll.
They are fronted by Trombone Kellie, whose powerful vocal delivery and trombone features alongside some great slide and regular guitar work by Scrubby Pete. In the backline you’ll find Rodney Ford on drums, Justin Pfeiffer on double bass. Adding the wow factor featuring on saxophone is the in-demand Vonnie Dengate, producing an exciting stage performance everywhere she plays. With an element of surprise, the Trombone Kellie Gang experience is always fun. |
Friday 31st July 2026 - The Fine Organ Quartet
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Pietro Fine leads this band from his Hammond organ.
Dave Stephenson brings his skills as a trumpeter/trombonist as well as adding vocals. Lucas Zorzo, just back from Europe, will be playing his enviably unique guitar style. Ben Cox is one of those rare drummers who plays both sensitive and funky. Hammond organs have a distinctive jazz sound. Pietro has to be the bass player as well as accompanist, soloist and lead lines. The Hammond bass sound is a smooth mellow tone but the sound of his spinning Leslie speakers can make you feel like you’re lifted and drifting in the air. The repertoire includes originals from Pietro, Dave & Lucas. You can also expect rearrangements of pieces a century old or more, along with modern jazz classics and one by a recently departed great Australian musician and mentor. |
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Past Events
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Friday 24th April 2026 - Vicki Salisbury Quartet
All first-class seasoned professionals, adding originality and flair to much-loved standards. What a huge on-stage sound! Where was the bass sound coming from? Larry Thomson’s flying feet on that hard to get Korg organ bass pedal set-up, 40 years old, but still the best ever. Flying fingers and feet from the incredible Mr Thomson. Excellent flute and sax from Doc Dave. Special guest member was the dynamic drummer Rodney Ford, clearly one of the best drummers on the coast, driving the rhythm along with top-end swing and precision, sounding like he had been with the quartet for ever! Vicki’s vocals were endlessly versatile, spanning all genres. Star quality in a brilliantly packaged hot stage act. And their choice of material? Terrific re-hashes of Brazilian Latin, plus “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” by the Police. Never played at Condong Jazz Club before, with amazing scat singing from Larry through a Vocoder, that amazing vocal harmoniser, from the era of Peter Frampton, Boy George. Again, never appeared at Condong before! Fast, furious and out of this world! |
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Friday 27th March 2026 - Acid Bleed
Vive la Difference! A 5-piece line-up straight from mid-century Paris, with shades of Pigalle, Hot Club de Paris, playing standards and paying homage to Django, Stephan Grappelli, with a multi-talented instrumental feel adding spice and skill. Excellent twin guitars of Jimmy Chiu and Dave Caldwell. Who was lead? Who was rhythm? All divisions vanish in their subtle interplay. Standout virtuosity from Andrew Horowitz’s violin and sax front line, with good solid bass and drums from Josh Kirk and Dave Hirst. With charming vocals from Veronica Lovejoy, definitely an emerging talent. They added to charming French standards with other Western standards including ”My Favourite Things” exhausted every riff in the standard repertoire. ”Sweet Georgia Brown” was sweeter than usual. And what’s that famous Latin number with 4 titles? ”A day in the life of a Fool”. ”Carnival”. Manha da Orfeo”. A prize for anyone who can name the 4th title! |
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Friday 27th February 2026
Info coming soon... |
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Friday 30th January 2026
Always a pleasure to jive along to this world-class big band. Led as always by Rick Best with his arrangements and brilliant cutting-edge keyboard skills. Brilliant phrasing from the best trombone section any where along with the fiery yet elegant sax section, scintillating trumpets and driving rhythm outfit was amazing to see. Sweet Thunder consists of some of the best players on the Gold Coast many instantly recognisable. Rodney Ford on drums and vocals; how DOES he play complex rhythm drum fills while singing cabaret style? Mike Keogh on trombone, John Conley on double bass. Yet another gorgeous arrangement of Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square with mesmerising bass trombone intro, coupled with audible baritone sax playing by the under-rated Ken Lincoln. Crowd-pleasing favourites galore, such as Rick’s own arrangements from Wind in the Willows suite, Jelly Roll Morton’s almost forgotten Bleep Bleep, Darn That Dream and Dead Man’s Blues. Plus of course, many arrangements from the immortal pen of Sammy Nistico. What a treat for serious jazz lovers! |
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Friday 28th November 2025
A highly individual blend of brilliant musical styles for the last show of the year. Powerhouse Jazz ranging from the avant-garde to well loved standards, with tasteful renditions of Bacharach to The Beatles. Excellent vocals and dynamic bass playing from Nikki Parrott, at times scatting along with her double bass solos. Tremendous drumming provided by David Sanders with some amazing solos thrown in. Steve Russell on piano performed a solo number for the last tune of the first set to wild applause. Absolutely brilliant keyboards. We have come to expect the brilliance of Martha Baartz who provided yet again a tasteful and melodious sax overlay to the whole performance. What a blast! |
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Friday 31st October 2025
Always a pleasure to have this excellent, tight big band back, fronted by Col Atkinson with his powerhouse bass playing, crooning vocals and compering along with band leader Paul Radford on trombone. Well drilled sections, great trombone chorus, excellent sax and trumpet groupings, and brilliant rhythm section with great drive. New girl singer Lisa Angel added glorious vocal glamour, she’s a star of the future. Her stand-out number ”My Funny Valentine” brought the house down. Great to hear “Macarthur Park”, that timeless classic played so faultlessly with marvellous light and shade. Nice also to see the age range of this outfit, with the youngest player 14 and the oldest player 83! All the arrangements, whether classic standards or crowd-pleasing favourites were well chosen and faultlessly played. A great evening, thanks to Gold Coast Big Band. We’ll see you again soon! |
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Friday 26th September 2025
Sorry, still no review! |
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Friday 29th August 2025
Sorry, still no review! |
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Friday 25th July 2025
Info coming maybe? I've lost my reviewer! |
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Friday 27th June 2025
Imagine a vehicle travelling at a fair old lick down a deserted road with a white line down its centre. One side is labelled ‘Blues’, and the other ‘Rock and Roll’. Although the appropriate lane to be travelling in is on the ‘Blues’ side, occasionally the driver allows the nose to drift into ‘Rock and Roll’, to which it is closely related anyway. Now put that to music, and you have ‘Imperial Blues Review’, who belted it out for us at our June gig. In between nostalgic blasts of well-preserved raw Blues by revered former artists, the boys in the band occasionally broke into ‘time capsule’ defiant Rock and Roll numbers that will never be forgotten as long as our feet remember how to tap. Typical was the good old party favourite ‘Guitar Boogie Shuffle’, twelve bar Blues on a day out in ‘Memory Lane, Rock and Rollsville’, that had the dancers on the floor after the first bar, one of them a young mother with a baby in her arms! Led by Nick Churkin on drums and vocals, with guitarists Azo Bell and Tim Longworth on either side, and John Hellman thumping out the riffs on the upright bass, this outfit showed both their class and their provenance as former members of top Aussie bands, and delivered what they’ve excelled at for years. Another great night in a friendly venue, and as usual the food was first class. More, please! |
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Friday 30th May 2025
The ‘big band’ sound has a secure future in the Northern Rivers, thanks to the dedication, energy and foresight of a man named Andrew Montfroy, who is an accomplished trombone player himself, but who realised that there was a need to provide incentives and opportunities for young people who had shown musical talent at school to continue developing and applying their skills before they became lost. The result was the ‘Project Swing Big Band’, and we were delighted to enjoy the outcome. Seventeen musos, the vast majority of them in their late teens or early twenties, delivering time-honoured dancehall classics with all the confidence and verve of mature players, and with an enthusiasm that was contagious. Apart from instrumentals with novel arrangements from band members themselves, we were able to sing along with evergreen vocal numbers such as ‘Fly me to the moon’, ‘A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square’, ‘I’ve got you under my skin’ and ‘A foggy day in London Town’ that brought back such precious memories for most of us. Kudos, Mr Montfroy. You kept us there until the end, and not even the foul weather kept your audience away. |
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© 2017 Tweed Valley Jazz And Blues Club Inc
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