Academy Swing
“Academy Swing”, the swing band of Rothesay Joint Campus have been performing at the Bute Jazz Festival since 2004 and this year will be opening the festival. The band has made quite a reputation for itself in the past few years and performs regularly in the local community and further a field at venues such as the Loch Fyne food fair. It has also toured regularly throughout Argyll giving community concerts and schools demonstration performances on Islay, Mull, Oban and Mid Kintyre.
Academy Swing plays in a varied selection of styles, from trad jazz through to big band, through to present day popular music. The band is led by Tony Spencer, the Island’s Instrumental Music Teacher. Tony is a professional clarinettist who for fourteen years held the post of principal clarinet with the Band of the Grenadier Guards in London.
Bobby Wishart Group
Bobby Wishart is one of the greatest jazz musicians in the UK.
His band is a byword for quality and one of the finest combos performing today. When you consider the people that Bobby has worked with you begin to realise why he has such a big reputation in the world of music.
Over the years Bobby regularly performs and broadcasts with his own groups which feature the very best of the young, as well as the more established Scottish players including…
- Carol Kidd, Voted UK No 1 Jazz Vocalist
- David Newton, Voted UK No 1 Jazz Pianist
- Sandro Ciancio, percussionist - the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and a member of Hue&Cry.
- Robert Henderson BAFTA nominated Composer Arranger Trumpeter
- Gino Ciancio No 1 Maltese Jazz & Fusion Pianist, Arranger/ Composer
- Grant Mitchell, Pianist Arranger Producer with Lisa Stanfield
- Ewan Vernal – Deacon Blue & Capercaillie
- Graeme Duffin Guitarist Wet Wet Wet.
Bobby has also performed with Ronnie Scott, Annie Ross, Salena Jones, Kiki Dee, Maggie Bell, Stevie Winwood, John Barry (Composer of Film Scores) Memphis Slim and Marion Montgomery to name just a few.
He plays on the Soundtracks for “Chewin The Fat”, “Offside”- Tam Cowan, and the Karen Dunbar series as well as an appearance on BBC TOTP’s with the Graham Lyle Band
Other credits include Lecturer in Jazz and All Music Course Jordanhill College, Founder/ Lecturer in Jazz Improvisation and Jazz Saxophone RSAM, Founder and Musical Director National Jazz Institute, Founder Member and Artistic Director, European Youth Jazz Festival and Member of Music Committee Scottish Arts Council.
Penman’s Jazzmen
Formed in 1959 ‘The George Penman Jazzmen’ established a large following for their music. The musical capabilities of the band were proven when in 1961 they won a Scottish Band Championship and in the following year lifted all the major awards at the North Scotland Jazz Festival.
With numerous appearances on Radio, Television and recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios with Thorn/EMI label the band have gone from strength to strength.
Sadly George Penman passed away in 2009, however the band still continues playing gigs all over the country, including a regular slot at ‘King Tuts’ in Glasgow every Saturday afternoon.
The Tim Saul Modern Jazz Trio
The trio was formed in 2005 and we also play in a local trad band with Phil Mason (of All Stars fame). We are available for bookings for your party, wedding, etc.
We have a Myspace page with some of our music uploaded for you to enjoy. CLICK HERE to visit our page.
Current members of our trio are:
Paul McKay (bass) plays fretless 5 string upright electric double bass and also a Yamaha fretless 5 string bass guitar and uses Ashdown bass amplification. He recently acquired a new Ashdown Super Fly amplifier which is alleged to prevent hernias, but we have yet to see the results and he is always constructing new speaker cabinets which are allegedly lighter than their predecessors. Paul played professionally for many years in the world famous Halle Orchestra and brings a wealth of experience to our music.
Tim Saul (keyboards) plays Roland digital pianos and Hammond organ and uses Roland keyboard amplification. The current piano is a much used (and very heavy) RD150 model with Roland KC amplifier and a new addition, a Hammond XK-1 drawbar organ which feature on the audio tracks on the MySpace page. Tim also teaches jazz theory, guitar and bass guitar at the local Rothesay Academy and was also a part-time tutor on the Argyll College NC music course. His musical experience covers 45 years, playing in dance bands, big bands trad & modern jazz ensembles and covers all styles from The St. Bernard’s Waltz to jazz funk & fusion.
David Gray plays kit drums and also appears with the Phil Mason Jazz Friends with Tim & Paul on their monthly Trad jazz extravaganza at The Esplanade Hotel in Rothesay.
We now a have a fourth member of the band. Caroline Gorman has joined as our vocalist and specialises in the songs of Billie Holiday. Caroline appeared with the trio at the Isle of Bute Jazz Festival in May 2008 and won a great reception from the audience.
John Denman also appears with us from time to time, playing vibraphone. John is a talented organist with a vast repertoire and brings his esperience to our band to recreate the sounds of the MJQ.
We have also enjoyed working with Jonny Boston at the 2009 Bute Jazz Festival and also with Norman King (tenor sax), presently working in Thailand, who is a regular guest with the trio during his UK visits
Mike Whellans
Mike Whellans
A long time fixture on the British and European club, concert, TV, radio &festival circuit, as a solo former,band leader and session musician, and having toured in Canada and the USA, Mike Whellans is once again making his mark in the UK - he went down a perfect storm at, the 2005 Glastonbury Festival.
Born in the Scottish Borders Mike began his musical life in the late 1950s/early 1960s playing his father’s
drum kit. By age 14 he was playing in local dance bands and in 1969 Mike
decided to turn professional.
In the early 1970s, Mike teamed up with Aly Bain, the brilliant and renowned traditional fiddler
from the Shetland Islands, and for four years toured the UK, Europe, USA, and Canada, showing
off his ability for playing amazingly clean and crisp flat-pick guitar behind Aly’s fiddle; a very
dynamic duo!He was also a founder member of the Irish/Scottish line-up of The Boys of the
Lough, but left them after a year to follow a solo career.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, Mike lived in Denmark and toured all over Scandinavia, Germany and
the Low Countries, as well as working back home in the UK touring solo and turning out with
those madcap Scottish musos, The Vindscreen Vipers Skiffle Group (Tich Frier, Bill Nolan,
Malky McCormack and the late Danny Kyle) and the Block Bros Blues Band from Edinburgh.
Now, Mike’s back home again in the Scottish Borders and working as Scotland’s only (as far as
we know) one-man blues band - and there aren’t that many in the UK either - with his guitars,
mouth-harps, vocals and drum-kit - and of course his show-stopping, “mouth percussion”.Since
returning to Scotland, Mike has developed a creative partnership with Robin Morton, head of
Temple Records. With Robin as producer, Mike has released two successful records for the
Temple label with another in the pipeline for release in Summer 2008.
If you’re not familiar with Mike Whellan’s music (see: http://mikewhellans.com) then it’s pretty
much unashamedly good rockin’ 12-bar blues played in Mike’s inimitable style on 6- and 12-
string guitars (picked with great precision and at eye-watering speed), mouth-harp (masterful and
packed with music describes Mike’s mouth-harps - it’s as he’s filled them up with great music and
then he just blows it all out of them towards you), and a wee tottie drum-kit. And the other
things he can do with his mouth? Well, you’ve just got to see and hear his show-stopping vocal
percussion; a real tour de force - got to be witnessed to be believed (you just have got to hear his
self-penned “Smile on Your Face” and his take on Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker’s “Train Time” -
mighty!). Added to this; he sings, is a drummer of no slight talent (it was his first instrument
after all), writes songs, and seems to have boundless energy.
Mike Whellans doesn’t believe in doing things by halves. A Whellans gig is straight from the hip
energy so you’ve got a great entertainment in prospect with the most dynamic one-man blues
band any side of the Forth delta.
And, you’ve probably guessed it, you only see one guy on-stage, but close your eyes and you’re
confronted with a full band sound!
Mike, being based in the Scottish borders, and ’self-contained’ with his own PA and wheels, can
play an enormous range and style of gigs pretty much anywhere in the UK - well, nearly anyway.
And, of course, he’s very well used also to playing abroad.
