The University of London Big Band one of London's busiest amateur jazz orchestras. Many of their top players are on the verge of professional musical careers, and some play with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Others will go on to completely separate careers in merchant banks, consultancies and law firms.

They are currently thriving as a result of the current boom in swing dance, led by such venues as the 100 Club

100 Club

The 100 Club is a music venue in London situated at 100 Oxford Street, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942....

, Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...

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History

The University of London Big Band is the largest group in the University of London Jazz Society. Formed in Autumn 2002, the Band represents the majority of the individual University colleges.

Their steadily rising reputation for musicianship has allowed the Big Band to build on its early successes; highlights included the King's College

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

 Law Ball held at London's famously lavish Savoy Hotel

Savoy Hotel

The Savoy Hotel is a hotel located on the Strand, in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the hotel opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by...

 as well as events held for the RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

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2004 was a busy year for the band, with regular gigs ranging from the expansion into the provision of small band jazz for private functions, to full-band events at weddings, bars and balls. The band also appeared at the Generations Jazz Festival, held in Bloomsbury, London, where they had the enviable opportunity to act as warm-up acts for such jazz greats as Ben Allison

Ben Allison

Ben Allison is an American jazz double bassist and composer born in New Haven, Connecticut.His groups include The Ben Allison Band, Peace Pipe, the Ben Allison Quartet, Medicine Wheel, the Kush Trio, Man Size Safe, and the Herbie Nichols Project...

, and rising trombonist star Dennis Rollins

Dennis Rollins

Dennis Rollins is a British jazz trombonist, the founder and bandleader of BadBone and Co.Rollins was born in Birmingham, of Jamaican parents, and brought up in Bentley, Doncaster and attended Don Valley High School...

, as well as a host of London-based professional jazz groups. The first ever tour, a trip to Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, proved to be a fantastic social event to finish off a high-flying year.

In the 2005/2006 season, under the stewardship of Laurence Page (LSE), the band continud to go from strength to strength, and benefited from a number of members participating in other ventures. The year culminated with a tour to the Algarve, Portugal in March 2006. Four gigs in five days ensured the band kept busy as well as entertaining as many people as possible.

The 2006/2007 was another successful one for the Band. Pete Long, musical director of the Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, started to coach the group, inspiring the Band and considerably raising the level of musicianship. In Summer 2007, the Band toured Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 in July, they performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival

North Sea Jazz Festival

The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...

 in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

, Holland, and in September they played at the Alma Jazz Festival in Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

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The band are now looking ahead to an increasingly busy 2009/10 season, under the leadership of Suzy Jackson (KCL) and continue to be coached by the world-famous Pete Long.

The band has become a focal point for much of the student jazz scene in London, with most members running spin-off niche groups (from jazz trios to funk bands to ska) within the University of London Jazz Society to complement the central big band enterprise. All these ensembles are available to hire for any occasion, contact details and sound clips available on http://www.ulubigband.co.uk and http://www.myspace.com/ulbigband.