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One of the UK’s premier swing orchestras is embarking on their most ambitious festive tour to date this Christmas — and the tour will be swinging its way to Perth Concert Hall on Monday 9th December 2024. The acclaimed 30-piece Down for the Count Swing Orchestra, under the baton of conductor and arranger Mike Paul-Smith, continues to make waves on the UK jazz scene and is set to bring the magic of the festive season to life with their enchanting performances across the UK.

The Down for the Count Swing Orchestra not only features gifted vocalists but also boasts the rare combination of swing band with a string section — and their Christmas extravaganza promises to transport audiences to a world of timeless classics.

This year’s tour features brand-new arrangements of Christmas favourites written by conductor and arranger Mike Paul-Smith, offering audiences a fresh take on classic tunes. Audiences can expect to hear recreations of hits such as The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Andy Williams) and Let It Snow! (Frank Sinatra), alongside lesser-known tunes such as Mambo Santa Mambo and Christmas in New Orleans and non-festive classics from the Great American Songbook.

Each song showcases the fantastic instrumentalists and vocalists in the Orchestra, who are a tight-knit group of friends. “One thing that audiences comment on time and time again is what fantastic on-stage camaraderie we have” explains musical director and conductor Mike Paul-Smith, who formed the band in 2005. “We started out as a group of friends who would perform for weddings and private parties in Buckinghamshire, where we grew up. The band gets larger every year but we’ve still maintained that bond of friendship with each other.”

For the musical director Mike, the journey has been as unique as it is inspiring. Choosing to study Medicine at the University of Oxford, he faced a common dilemma among young musicians. “Like many musicians I had a dilemma in my late teens about whether or not to go to music college. I chose to study medicine at University of Oxford and loved it, and after graduating I even decided to do a PhD in gene therapy. However, I was finding that each year Down for the Count were being offered increasingly exciting performance opportunities, so I made the decision to concentrate on music full-time about six years ago - and haven’t regretted the decision yet! Each year brings new special memories - whether it’s performing at Le Caveau de la Huchette in Paris (the oldest jazz club in Europe), or in front of 10,000 people at an outdoor concert supporting The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.”

Within years of forming, Down for the Count became one of the most in-demand event bands in the UK. However, a spontaneous trip to a Bedfordshire vintage festival in 2012 renewed the band’s love of swing music from the 1940s and, the next year, they returned to the festival as performers — and it all grew from there.

“Playing at Twinwood Festival in 2013 was our first major public performance and 6000 people saw us that day for the first time” explains Mike. “In the next few years we went on to perform at all of the top jazz clubs in the UK, culminating in a 2018 performance at the most famous jazz club of them all, Ronnie Scott’s in London, where we now perform at least once or twice a year.”

Down for the Count’s Swing Orchestra line-up is one of the largest swing ensembles who regularly tour the UK. “Adding a string section to the traditional big band line-up just allows us to do so much more musically” explains Mike. “I was first inspired to do so after seeing the John Wilson Orchestra at the BBC Proms, and the sound the Orchestra makes is really quite special — it’s quite a treat for me to stand in front of it, conducting each night. I definitely have the best seat in the house!”

Down for the Count’s 2024 Swing Into Christmas tour is by far the Orchestra’s most ambitious to date — featuring 31 shows in 26 locations across England, Scotland and Wales. Everywhere the Orchestra go, audiences love the band’s energy, obvious camaraderie and on-stage humour, but above all their love of Great American Songbook repertoire. “When people see a swing show, sometimes they expect to see a group of bored performers with no energy — but with a Down for the Count show, nothing could be further from the truth” explains Mike.

“Everyone in the group is aged between 25 and 40 and loves the music, bringing a youthful energy to the performances which really comes across to the audience. We also tell some stories behind the songs so that audiences can leave feeling informed about the music — and it’s all done in a down-to-earth way so that people get to know us as musicians.”

Swing Into Christmas will be at Perth Concert Hall on Monday 9 December 2024.

https://www.swingintochristmas.co.uk/

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