All That Jazz - FRED SHAWCROSS brings you all the best from the local scene

EAST Lancashire has long enjoyed a reputation for having a number of venues where jazz aficionados can indulge their passion for swing music of all styles. No matter what the label, there has usually been someone out there, able to play it.

King George's Hall in Blackburn, for example, is on an impressive gig list forwarded to me by the management of the Chris Barber Big Band who bring their considerable talents to East Lancashire on Saturday, December 1.

Readers will gain some knowledge of just how long I have been a jazz nut when I confess that I remember the Barber band of the mid-1950s when it numbered Monty Sunshine (clarinet) and Lonnie Donegan (banjo) among its personnel and featured vocaliste Ottillie Patterson.

Barber, who celebrated 50 years as a bandleader in 1998, these days tours with an 11-piece outfit, which includes three former members of the great Duke Ellington Orchestra, including Bob Hunt.

So while the style remains traditional, there has been an injection of Ellington-type swing. However, jazz is jazz and this band, though something of a departure from the conventional, has been attracting rave reviews. The line-up is two trombones, (Barber and Hunt), two trumpets (Pat Halcox, Mike Henry), sax (Tony Carter), clarinet doubling sax and flute (John Crocker), clarinet doubling sax (John Defferary), banjo doubling guitar (Paul Sealey), guitar (John Slaughter), bass (Vic Pitt) and drums (Colin Miller).

Tickets for December 1 are priced at £15, £12.50 and £10. Concessions are available. Call the box office on 01254 582582.

The Rhythm Station at Rawtenstall on Tuesday nights is definitely the place to hear some of the top names currently on the jazz circuit. Next Tuesday (November 27) sees the welcome return of the Manchester-based Mark Gillbanks Big Band, which includes some of the finest musicians in the North West.

Mark, an excellent trumpeter, fronts the band and keeps the show moving with a nice line in patter. Listen out for drummer Dave Tyas, one of the best big band percussionists in the UK. He really can 'drive!'