A quick post to confirm that I am still around, despite the lack of news posts on here since June. It’s been a busy time, with a lot of travelling but a lot of fun too.

The Rat Pack Tour was busy over the summer with a couple of great weeks in Hamburg in July. It was just as hot there as it was 2 years ago. If you’ve never been to North Germany in the summer I certainly recommend it. We also spent a few days playing in the picturesque town of Klagenfurt in Southern Austria. Photos will be linked to in due course. The show is currently on a break until September when we play 4 weeks in the UK. After that the European Tour returns to Germany and Belgium but I may well not be. I’ll keep you posted.

Still no news about the Tony Faulkner Jazz Orchestra recording we made in June. Rumours are that it’s been heard, but not by me as yet. More news as I have it…

One recent fun gig was a date we played with the Allied Big Band backing a fine singer called Peter Dinsley. My thanks go to my friend Graham Russell, who fixed the band, for inviting me to come and play. It was a great pleasure to work, with Graham, under the fine Lead Trumpet of Tony Dixon; lead with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra. This was a relaxed gig with a great atmosphere and we await confirmation of several dates for next year.

Lastly, but by no means least(ly), I should mention that I’ve had the great pleasure of playing Lead Trumpet with the reformed Andy Prior Big Band on some recent dates. Andy is a fine singer and trombonist who’s been off the scene for a while with some health problems. It’s fantastic to see him swinging back into action and I’ve had a great time playing with his great band. It seems likely that we’ll have some more dates later this year and for much of the next. Keep watching the Schedule.