| Description | Price |
| Trio, doing up to 2 hours of playing (over a maximum 3-hour period) | £500 (GBP) |
| Trio, doing 3 hours of playing (over a maximum 6-hour period) | £650 (GBP) |
The Jelly Roll Jazz Band is a traditional (‘Dixieland’) jazz trio, originally based in the North East of England but now working regularly across the U.K. They play a mixture of 1920s standards (e.g. ‘When You’re Smiling’, ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’), classic swing tunes (‘Autumn Leaves’, ‘Fly Me To the Moon’), and more modern songs in a trad. jazz style – ‘…Baby One More Time’ never sounded so good!
Their influences include jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller, as well as more eccentric interpreters such as The Temperance Seven and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
The musicians are drawn from a pool of around 5 core players, with occasional special guests. Typically they perform as a trio of clarinet, banjo or guitar, and double bass or sousaphone (with maybe an occasional duck whistle or pair of spoons thrown in for good measure). The band is also completely acoustic, making it ideal for outdoor and walkaround events.
They perform at all sorts of occasions, including weddings, parties, festivals and agricultural shows. Recent engagements have included the Tour de Yorkshire, Yorkshire Day, and (controversially) The Royal Lancashire Show.
We're a very adaptable band and often mix up our repertoire with new songs, however the following is a list of our tried-and-tested core repertoire. Most of them are jazz standards that have been performed by numerous artists over the years. We are also happy to accommodate requests, so do let us know if there's something you'd like to hear that isn't already on the list!
After You’ve Gone
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Alexander’s Ragtime Band
All of Me (not the John Legend one!)
All the Things You Are
Anything Goes
Autumn Leaves
…Baby One More Time (Britney Spears)
Bare Necessities, The (from The Jungle Book)
Barney Google
Basin Street Blues
Beale Street Blues
Beer Barrel Polka
Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?
Black Bottom
Bourbon Street Parade
Boy Friend, The
Brazil
Bring Me Sunshine
Bye Bye Blackbird
Cantina Band (from Star Wars)
Careless Love
Charleston
Come Josephine in My Flying Machine
Crazy (Willie Nelson)
Darktown Strutters’ Ball, The
Dinah
Doctor Jazz
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
Down By the Riverside
Everybody Loves My Baby
Five Foot Two
Fly Me to the Moon
Happy Birthday
Hard Hearted Hannah
He Done Me Wrong (The Death of Bill Bailey)
Hello, Dolly!
Hello Mabel (The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band)
Hiding Under the Bubble Wrap with You
(Home in) Pasadena (The Temperance Seven)
I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll
I Ain’t Got Nobody (Louis Prima)
I Can’t Believe that You’re in Love with Me
Ice Cream
I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire
I Get the Blues
I Got Rhythm
I’ll Fly Away
I’ll See You in My Dreams
I’m Beginning to See the Light (Duke Ellington)
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles
Is You Is, or Is You Ain’t
It Don’t Mean a Thing (Duke Ellington)
I Wan’na Be Like You (from The Jungle Book)
I Wonder Why Bill Bailey Don’t Come Home
Ja-Da
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Just a Gigolo (Louis Prima)
Lady is a Tramp, The
La Vie en Rose
Les Champs-Elysees
Liebestraum (Franz Liszt)
Little Lawrence
Mack the Knife
Mama Don’t Allow
Margie
Match of the Day
Midnight in Moscow
Midnight, the Stars and You
Mister Jelly Lord
Moon River
Mr. Sandman
Muppet Show, The
Muskrat Ramble
My Baby Just Cares for Me
My Brother Makes the Noises for the Talkies
My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion)
My Sweetie Went Away (The Temperance Seven)
My Way
Oh By Jingo
Oignons, Les (Sidney Bechet)
On a Slow Boat to China
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Pennies from Heaven
Perdido (Duke Ellington)
Petite Fleur (Sidney Bechet)
September in the Rain
Sheik of Araby, The
Since Bill Bailey Came Back Home
Si Tu Vois Ma Mère (Sidney Bechet)
Someday My Prince Will Come
Some of These Days
St. James Infirmary Blues
St. Louis Blues
Stompin’ at the Savoy
Stranger on the Shore (Acker Bilk)
St. Thomas
Sunday
Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweet Sue, Just You
Take the ‘A’ Train (Duke Ellington)
Tiger in a Lemon Tree Baking
Tiger Rag
Tonight You Belong To Me
Tubas in the Moonlight (The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band)
Unchained Melody
Under the Sea (from The Little Mermaid)
Up a Lazy River
Way You Look Tonight, The
Wedding March (Felix Mendelssohn)
When the Saints
When You’re Smiling
When You Wish Upon A Star (from Pinocchio)
Where did Robinson Crusoe Go?
Yakety Sax (the Benny Hill theme)
Yes Sir, That’s My Baby
Yes, We Have No Bananas
You Are My Sunshine
You Rascal, You
You’re Driving Me Crazy! (The Temperance Seven)
Your Feet’s Too Big (Fats Waller)
You’ve Got a Friend in Me (from Toy Story)
----CHRISTMAS----
Away in a Manger
As With Gladness, Men of Old
Christmas Song, The
Deck the Halls
Ding Dong Merrily on High
First Noël, The
Frosty the Snowman
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Here Comes Santa Claus
Holly Jolly Christmas
In the Bleak Midwinter
I Saw Three Ships
Jingle Bells
Joy to the World
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Once in Royal David’s City
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Silent Night
We Three Kings
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
While Shepherds Watched
White Christmas
We just need a small space to perform in, big enough for 3 musicians and our instruments.
If it's an outdoor occasion, we'll need some form of shelter in case the weather takes a turn for the worse.
We perform completely acoustically so don't require any power sockets or other electronics.
The venue address (most importantly)!
Information about parking options is also useful, especially if it's in a town or city centre where parking may be limited.
We usually play acoustically so don't need a PA system, however we can provide one if you think we'll need a little extra volume.
We don't have any lighting equipment, and usually just perform in the ambient lighting provided by the venue or the sunshine!
Yes, if requested we are happy to bring along a speaker and play some background music when we're not performing.
Categorically the best gig we've ever done was the opening of the Whitstable branch of Regain Hearing. After the grand opening the clients had hoped we'd be able to play for them in the pub across the road, however there was already music on there. So instead we were just asked to take care of the shop for an hour or so, while everyone else went to the pub for a buffet lunch and kept bringing us drinks and slices of cake!
The best venue we've ever played at was a riverside near Glasgow. The clients had recently bought the plot of land and were planning to build a house there, but when we performed for their party it was just a muddy woodland - we had to park in a layby across the road and hike through the forest in our walking boots to get to it!
We really enjoy playing for outdoor summer events (provided the weather is on our side)! Wedding receptions, agricultural shows and garden parties are some of our favourites.
We also like playing on different forms of transport, and have previously enjoyed the novelty of playing on a riverboat cruise as well as open-top bus!
The core band members met while at school in Scarborough, and we spent many summer holidays busking in the town. This soon led to bookings for all sorts of events including weddings, parties and village fayres, and even while studying at various universities we would get together during the holidays to play our quirky brand of trad. jazz.
From there, one thing led to another and before long we were being booked for increasingly prestigious occasions such as the Tour de Yorkshire, the Royal Lancashire Show and Duxford Air Show. We now have hundreds of gigs under our belt, and perform regularly all across the UK.
We take a lot of inspiration from jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton. However we also enjoy the more eccentric interpretations from bands like The Temperance Seven, and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (our particular favourites).
The greatest song of all time is 'Sitting in the Palmtree' by ABBA. We listen to it annually on our evening walks from Ribchester to the showground of the Royal Lancashire Show.
A sousaphone!
"A what?"
A sousaphone!
"A Caesarphone?"
No, a sousaphone!
We aim to arrive 1 hour before the start of our performance. Normally it takes us around 15 minutes to set up - all we need to do is unpack our instruments and set up our music stand!
Usually we do 2 hours of playing (over a maximum 3-hour period). This often takes the form of 2 60-minute sets separated by a short break. We also have the option of doing 3 hours of playing (over a maximum 6-hour period).
We really enjoy playing outside! However please make sure there is some form of shelter available just in case, as the British weather is unpredictable and we don't want to get soggy.
We play acoustically so don't require a power supply, which makes us extra-practical for outdoor events.
We have a large repertoire of over 120 songs, and normally we pick and choose our tunes on the day to suit the occasion. We're also happy for clients to request songs from our list, and if you have a song you'd like to hear that isn't already on there just let us know in advance and we'll do our best to include it in the set!
Here are some phrases from our recent reviews...
"Great music, expertly played with a light-hearted twist."
"Lively and engaging without being distracting."
"Had everyone's toes tapping."
"Great fun."
"The perfect balance of fun and sophistication."
"Professional from start to finish."
"Mellow traditional jazz on a sunny afternoon and evening, you can't beat it!"
Bakewell Country Festival
Carlisle Jazz Club
Cromer Carnival
Driffield Show
Duxford Air Show
Epic Games Animation UK Ltd.
Farndale Show
Honley Show
John Lewis (Leeds)
Kelso Racecourse
Middlesbrough Orange Pip Market
Musselburgh Racecourse
Nantwich Agricultural Society
Regain Hearing
Ripon City Council
Royal Bath and West Show, The
Royal Lancashire Show
Smallwood Vintage Rally
South of England Winter Fair
Welsh Grand National
Bakewell Showground
BALTIC Centre (Gateshead)
Carlisle Jazz Club
Chatsworth House
Chepstow Racecourse
Driffield Showground
Duxford Airfield
Falcon Manor (Settle)
Great Yorkshire Showground
Imperial War Museum North
John Lewis (Leeds)
Kelham Island Museum (Sheffield)
Kelso Racecourse
Lancaster University
Lichfield Guildhall
Musselburgh Racecourse
Neidpath Castle (Peebles)
Newby Hall (Ripon)
Orsett Showground
Regents University
Ripon Market Place
Royal Bath & West Showground, The
Scarborough Spa
South of England Showground
St. Edmundsbury Cathedral
Sun Pavilion, The (Harrogate)
Thursford Garden Pavilion
University of York
Wedding
Birthday Party
Private Event
Corporate Event
Hotel / Restaurant Event
Bar / Venue Event
Funeral / Memorial
Wedding Proposal
Concert
Religious Event
Recording Session
Cruise
Virtual Event
Charity Event
Theatre Show
Burns Night
Christmas Party
New Year's Eve
Jazz
Dixieland / Ragtime
Gypsy Jazz
Swing
PAT tested
Instrumental
100% acoustic (no power)
Public liability insurance
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