Kit Packham & One Jump Ahead

Description

KIT PACKHAM:
Kit Packham is the leader of 7-piece jive and swing band One Jump Ahead which he started in 1984. Not everyone knows that he also performs solo with backing tracks and in a duo format with either piano/keyboard or guitar. These set-ups allow him to play and sing not only the lively uptempo material from his band repertoire but also more relaxed and thoughtful music. He has a nice line in humorous re-written lyrics to jazz standards from the Great American Songbook and a good collection of his own material, much of which also has wry humour.
When a sophisticated background ambi ... ence is required, Kit is happy to play only instrumentals. He frequently does this during welcome drinks or dinner at wedding receptions where One Jump Ahead might be playing later for dancing. In restaurants and bars he'll more usually sing about two thirds of the music, covering the rest on either alto or tenor saxophone. These proportions can be easily varied to suit any particular requirement or situation. Kit has quite a few seasonal numbers for the Christmas period if you're looking for entertainment in December.
He has his own PA and is available for daytime as well as evening bookings right through the week. Kit is also happy to dep for singers or saxophonists with other bands, being a capable reader and busker on alto, tenor and baritone.
ONE JUMP AHEAD:
One Jump Ahead always attract dancers to get up and strut their stuff with their huge repertoire of 1940s - 50s Swing/Jive and Rhythm & Blues, plus Great American Songbook, Rat Pack, 1960s Soul, Rock'n'Roll and carefully selected vintage Pop plus a large number of their own critically acclaimed songs. Leader, singer, saxophonist and songwriter Kit Packham is accompanied by piano, guitar, bass, drums, trumpet and another saxophone. The swinging tempos, sizzling sax solos and humour of jump/jive star Louis Jordan have been the band's biggest influence and have inspired Kit to compose his own, critically acclaimed material. At private functions the band usually concentrate on well-known “covers”, but at clubs, festivals and dances audiences can expect more original compositions - or some of Kit's wry updated lyrics to jazz standards.
The band appreciate that not everyone has the space or the budget for a 7-piece band and can still play a highly entertaining set with a smaller line-up - right down to Kit alone with pre-recorded backing tracks! (We would suggest that you hire the largest line-up that the premises and your budget allow, since this gives the most dynamic and flexible results).
Check out the band's own website for lots more information including soundclips, testimonials, the members biographies, a repertoire list, FAQs, public gigs and all the dates currently booked. Read More

Biography

Kit sang lead vocals and played harmonica with a rock'n'roll band in his teens, and with a similar outfit at college, taking up the sax soon afterwards and playing with a progressive rock band and a couple of rhythm & blues bands. He then spent several years with a doo-wop style rock'n'roll band, an AOR band and a New Wave band before playing in Baghdad, Iraq, with a showband for 3 months. He joined another rock'n'roll band for a year on his return and began playing with a big band around this time. In 1984 he formed his own band but continued to play with a big band and other "pick-up" gigs. ... He joined cult band "Wolfie Witcher's Brew" a couple of years later, staying with them until they split up after a decade or so, and continuing to gig with his own band alongside. Over the years Kit has also played with Frankie Ford, Screaming Lord Sutch, Ray Davies, Otis Grand, Ray Gelato, Barb Jungr, The Guvnors, Dr JJ’s blues Band, Doc Cox (aka Ivor Biggun), Wee Willie Harris, Heinz, Billie Davies and Johnny Legend amongst many others. He has also been an occasional music journalist, Musicians Union activist, community radio DJ and an enthusiastic jive dancer. Read More

Reviews     (3 Reviews)

Experience

From a humble debut in a Deptford pub, the band rapidly progressed to leading London music pubs of the day - the Dublin Castle, the King’s Head, the Half Moon, etc - and moved on to nightspots like Dover Street Wine Bar, the 100 Club and the Mean Fiddler. Festival appearances soon followed including the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia, the Guinness Jazz Festival in Cork and the Barbican Easter Jazz Festival where they opened for Humphrey Lyttelton’s band. Over the years they have played most of London’s leading hotels (Waldorf, Park Lane, Berkeley, Langham Hilton, Grosvenor House, ... Lanesborough, Dorchester, etc), many Oxford and Cambridge Colleges, and elite venues around the country including Beaulieu Abbey, Hedingham Castle, Butley Priory, Spains Hall, Eltham Palace, the Middle Temple, Burghley House, Belvoir Castle, Hassop Hall and many more. Other leading venues at which they’ve played include the Cafe Royal, the Rivoli
Ballroom in Brockley, Dorking Halls, East Cliff Hall in Folkestone, the Winter Gardens in Margate and Weston-Super-Mare, Birmingham ICC, Bath Assembly Rooms and Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion. In 1996 they played a 2 week residency at the Royal Beach Hotel in Eilat while the Red Sea Jazz Festival took place. Several of the band joined in the late-night jam
sessions at the Riviera Hotel. More unusual events and venues at which the band have appeared include the London post-premiere party for Aardman Animations’ “Chicken Run” at the Commonwealth Institute, Hampton Court Flower Show, the Modern Jive Open Championship at Hammersmith Palais, Wilton’s Music Hall, the Natural History Museum, the
British Engineerium in Hove, Greenwich Royal Naval College and on board the replica paddle steamer Dixie Queen for a jazz cruise down the Thames. Read More

Previous Clients

Macao Club, Crawley; Sidcup Jazz Club; Surrey & South London Rhythm & Blues Club; The Oval Tavern, Croydon;
Eight Beat Jive; Boogaloo Promotions; The Venue, Croydon; RAF Digby, Lincoln; The Boston Room, George IV PH, Chiswick; Hornchurch Jazz Club, Hornchurch Conservative Club, Hornchurch; Bull's Head PH, Barnes; Phyllis Court Club, Henley-on-Thames; Caley Hall Hotel, Old Hunstanton, Norfolk; Stoke Place, Slough; Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth;
Bearsted Golf Club, Midstone, Kent; Stoke Park, Stoke Poges; Addison Centre, Kempston, Bedford; Langan's Brasserie, ... Mayfair; Rivoli Ballroom, Brockley; Bisham Abbey, Marlow; Grand Hotel, Brighton Read More

Suitable for

Birthday Party (Adult) Casinos Christening Christmas Party Club Party Cocktail Party / Drinks Reception Corporate Event Dinner Party Festival / Outdoor Event Jewish Wedding Private Party Product Launch / Promotion Trade Show / Exhibitions

Additional Information

I have Public Liability Insurance, PAT certification for my equipment and have had a CRB check. I'm a member of the Musicians Union and at the time of writing I serve on their London Regional Committee and their Live Performance Section Committee.