Spice Fusion - Jazz on the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells on 9th July, 2020

UPDATE (22 March 2020): We are very sad to announce that our gig has been CANCELLED due to the current situation with Covid-19. We always look forward to this event and are gutted it won't be happening this year. Stay safe, everyone xx

Jazz on The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells is a hugely popular outdoor (and free) event that runs from May to September every year. This year, the Spice Fusion 9-piece band will be performing there on Thursday 9th July, starting at 7pm.

So who will be in the band?

  • Trumpets: Paul Newton and Tom Walsh

  • Trombone: Chris Traves

  • Alto sax: Simon Niblock

  • Tenor sax: Simon Bates

  • Keys: James Treweek

  • Guitar: Tim Rose

  • Bass: Simon Goulding

  • Drums: Elliott Henshaw

  • Singers: Damien Flooed and Miranda Wilford

See you there!

Capital Voices with us at The Cadogan Hall and RNCM

We've bragged about the musicians in the band - now it's time to boast about our singers! We are proud to have Capital Voices as our very special guest stars at The Cadogan Hall (1st March) and Royal Northern College of Music (3rd March):

Annie Skates : Director of Capital Voices. A force to be reckoned with, she has worked with Madonna, The Jacksons, Beyonce, Elton John, Lionel Richie, Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Annie Lennox, Gloria Estefan, The Bee Gees - the list goes on and on! She is also the go-to vocal... coach for numerous stars - credentials include Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody and the cast of Mamma Mia 2, the X Factor, Britain's Got Talent, America's Got Talent... and she has done vocal work for the likes of Evita, Nine, Entrapment, Phantom of the Opera, to name a few. We can't even fit in the rest of what she's done in this humble post - what a CV!!

Yona Dunsford: a supremely talented vocalist, Yona has worked with Randy Crawford, Jermaine Jackson, Bjork, Michael Ball - and has also sung on Mamma Mia 2, The Phantom Menace, Evita and more... wow!

Emma Kershaw : She's worked with Little Mix, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Alexandra Burke and many more. Film credits include Lion King 3, Asterix, Pirates of the Caribbean, and more! TV appearances include the MTV Music Awards, The Laurence Olivier Awards, X Factor Final, The Royal Variety Show and, you guessed it, many more!

CJ Neale : not only is he a singer, he's also a whizz with accountancy as he's a bookkeeper as well! Numbers aside, he has worked with Adele, Jamie Cullum, Rumer, Vince Gill, The Swingle Singers.... and as for films, he's done Galavant, Beauty & The Beast, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Mary Poppins Returns, Justice League, Jurassic Park, Avengers, erm, the list goes on an on!

David Combes : Where do we start and stop with dashing David? He has worked with Beyonce, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Lionel Richie, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams... and more. Movies to his credit include Mamma Mia 2, Nine, The Corpse Bride, Pirates of the Caribbean... and he's done a lot more as far as live performances go, including performing for Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration concerts!

Andrew Playfoot : From many West End theatre shows to films and albums, Andrew has also done it all. He's worked with Take That, Adele, Will Young, Robbie Williams, Westlife, Clare Teal - and he's sung on movie soundtracks for Mamma Mia 2, Aladdin, Dumbo, Mary Poppins Returns, Shrek 2 and many more.

Wow - what a stellar team! In our next post, we will tell you more about our other singers, Sandra Marvin, Miranda Wilford and Damien Flood.

Musicians at the Cadogan Hall and RNCM - March gigs

It's time to gloat! We are so proud so have the best musicians in the country performing at our upcoming gigs at The Cadogan Hall (1st March) and Royal Northern College of Music (3rd March). So who have they worked with? Check out this impressive list - it was hard narrowing it down to 3 stars per musician! ⭐️🌟✨

Andy Greenwood (trumpet): Chaka Khan, Kylie Minogue, Michael Buble
Tom Walsh (trumpet): Van Morrison, Gary Barlow, Al Jarreau
Dan Carpenter (trumpet): Level 42, Blur,... The Brand New Heavies
Paul Newton (trumpet): Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Leona Lewis
Simon Niblock (sax): The Drifters, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Tony Hadley
Simon Marsh (sax): Dame Shirley Bassey, Joss Stone, Beverley Knight
Simon Bates (sax): Rick Astley, Jamie Cullum, Billy Ocean
Simon Willescroft (sax): Duran Duran, Paloma Faith, Robbie Williams
Adrian Revell (sax): Incognito, Jamiroquai, Tom Jones
Trevor Mires (trombone): Alicia Keys, Gloria Gaynor, Joss Stone
Simon Walker (trombone): Jack Jones, Randy Brecker, Al Martineau
Mark Frost (trombone): Gladys Knight, Jack Jones, Al Martino
James Treweek (piano): Pete King, Alan Barnes, John Etheridge
James Pusey (guitar): Dionne Warwick, Michael Bolton, Beverley Knight
Simon Goulding (bass): The Bee Gees, The Three Degrees, The Temptations
Elliott Henshaw (drums): Leo Sayer, Tony Christie, Limahl
James Turner (percussion): Boy George, Jason Donovan, Berlinda Carlisle
Oliver Lewis (violin): Has appeared on Blue Peter - BBC One, This Morning - ITV1, Ellen DeGeneres - NBC
Lucy Morgan (viola): Take That, Dame Shirley Bassey, Bryn Terfel
Pete Billington (viola): Paul Young, Alison Moyet, Michael Ball
Rhian Porter (cello): Olly Murs, Lisa Stansfield, White Lies
Mel Wickington (cello): Mim Grey, Roosevelt Bandwagon

Spice Fusion continues their album launch on 3rd March 2019 at The Royal Northern College of Music

The Spice Fusion 18-piece Big Band with strings will continue their album launch, Trying Hard 2, at The Royal Northern College of Music on Sunday 3rd March 2019.

Featuring the same impressive line-up as at The Cadogan Hall on 1st March, we are very proud to host some very special guest stars, including:

Another great show not to be missed - book your tickets here!

SPICE FUSION ALBUM LAUNCH 1ST MARCH 2019 CADOGAN HALL

The Spice Fusion 18-piece Big Band with strings will be launching their highly-anticipated second album, Trying Hard 2 at The Cadogan Hall in London on 1st March 2019.

Featuring an impressive host of very special guest stars, including:

“Spice Fusion is, quite simply, a homage to great, infectious music, performed by the UK’s leading musicians.”

“A consummate example of big band power.”

This is one show not to be missed! Book your tickets here!

Spice Fusion charity gig - Friday 20th October 2017

For one night only, the Spice Fusion band will be performing for their dear friend, Sarah Spencer Stonehill, who is sadly and sorely missed. 

  • Date: Friday 20th October, 2017, 8pm.
  • Venue: The Concorde, Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh, Hampshire SO50 9HG

Tickets are £25 and all proceeds will go to Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity. 

Tickets and booking: http://www.theconcordeclub.com/events/the-treble-s-tribute-october-2017/ 

Spice-Fusion-charity-gig-2017.png

Spice Fusion - Jazz on the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells 10th August 2017

Jazz on The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells is a hugely popular event that usually runs from May to September each year. This year, Spice Fusion will be performing on The Pantiles on Thursday 10th August, launching our 2nd album. Expect a kicking 9-piece band with a fine selection of singers to make it a night to remember! The event is free - just bring your dancing shoes :)

Here's our line-up... and the name-dropping is only a fraction of the number of people our band members have worked with!

- Trumpets: Dan Carpenter (with Level 42) and Stuart Brooks (worked with Bjork, John Surman)

- Trombone: Nichol Thomson (worked with Tom Jones, Tina Turner)

- Alto sax: Simon Niblock (worked with The Drifters, Kid Creole & The Coconuts)

- Tenor sax: Simon Bates (worked with Kylie Minogue, Jamie Cullum)

- Keys: James Treweek (worked with Sugababes, Pete King)

- Guitar: James Pusey (worked with Paloma Faith, Dionne Warwick)

- Bass: Simon Goulding (worked with The Bee Gees, Robbie Williams)

- Drums: Elliott Henshaw (worked with Shirley Bassey, Tony Hadley)

- Female Singers: Julie Maguire (worked with Brendan Cole) and Miranda Wilford (worked with Sid Laurence Orchestra)

- Male Singers: Wayne Hernandez (worked with Gorillaz and Madonna) and Damien Flood (toured with Tom Jones)

See you there!

Wayne Hernandez on upcoming Spice Fusion album

We are surrounded by so much talent, we're bursting at the seams with excitement! 

We've announced that world-renowned pianist, David Benoit will feature on our second album. Now we're über pleased (again) to say that the amazing soul singer, Wayne Hernandez will also feature on our next album! 

Wayne Hernandez is hugely successful and well-respected in the music business. He has worked with icons of the industry, including Tina Turner, Tori Amos, Blur, Grover Washington, Roberta Flack, Gorillaz and Madonna. He has also toured extensively with Kool and the Gang, Regina Bell and Billy Ocean, and has performed extensively at various prestigious venues, including The Royal Albert Hall for The Proms. 

With an Afro-Cuban heritage, Wayne has worked with the London Community Gospel Choir and describes his music as 'a living fusion of music styles from the Black music scene.' Also a well-established producer and songwriter, this multi-talented artist delivers a mesmerising and brilliant performance that defines the word 'soul'.

It goes without saying that we simply cannot wait for this album to get released! 

Here's a little video of Wayne at The Hideaway with our very own Simon Niblock on sax:

 

Wayne Hernandez at Hideaway, London's premier live music and comedy club Expect stunning soulful vocals from the charismatic Wayne Hernandez, incredible vocal harmonies and infectious energy from Wayne's band that are guaranteed to get the room moving! http://www.hideawaylive.co.uk/calendar

Elliott Henshaw performing with David Benoit on 19, 20 & 21 Jan 2017

Yesterday we announced that the legendary pianist, David Benoit will be featuring on our next album (did we mention how excited we are?). Why not see him live this week at Pizza Express? What's more, our drummer Elliott Henshaw will be performing with David, so a double bubble as far as treats go!

David Benoit's list of awards and achievements is long and includes multiple Grammy nominations and a Lifetime achievement award in the field of smooth jazz. He has done 25 solo albums and has collaborated with legends such as Peter White, Rick Braun & many others. He is also the conductor of the Asia America Symphony Orchestra.

For more information, visit Pizza Express's website here. 

David Benoit to guest-star on our next album

We really are spoilt when it comes to legends featuring on our next album... So who are we talking about this time? None other than the legendary, Grammy-nominated pianist/composer/arranger, David Benoit! 

David has reigned supreme as one the founding fathers of contemporary jazz. Just take a look at his hands in this video, as he dazzles us with his mastery of the piano on “Q’s Motif” – recorded on December 15, 2013 at the Carriage House Theater in Saratoga, CA... we might be understating it a little when we say we're excited! :

Q's Motif clip recorded December 15, 2013

Oliver Lewis to lead the string session for 2nd album

It's 2017 and we've got quite a few updates to share with you. We're working away on our second album so lots of cogs are whirring away! 

To start with, we're excited to announce that Oliver Lewis, one of the world's fastest violinists, will be leading the string session for this next album! Oliver has appeared on ITV, BBC, and The Ellen DeGeneres show: https://youtu.be/FrPWiOkAeBY

You can also read more about Oliver Lewis here.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Elliott Henshaw on the Jonathan Ross show with Phil Collins

We are so proud of all of our musicians - they work with some of the most incredible artists out there and work relentlessly hard, touring the country for months on end and sometimes worldwide too. More credit should be paid to them on our website for sure - but it's the age-old thing isn't it... time: there's never enough of it! So, having said that, here's one for the news page: take a look at our drummer, Elliott Henshaw, who was on the Jonathan Ross show last night with Phil Collins: 

Working on our second album

It's been a while since we've done an update here, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy - quite the contrary! We've done loads of gigs (a combination of us being the band-of-choice for other acts, as well as us doing our thing for various events) and we've got a load of gigs lined up over the next few months. 

At the same time, we're busy squeezing in a bit of music-arranging and recording for our upcoming second album. We're so excited about it that we've got enough material for a third album too! But one step at a time, hey? So although we don't have an exact release date yet, we can assure you that cogs are whirring and there are plenty of smiles on many faces along the way :) 

Take care! 

Spice Fusion double whammy!

For the first time ever, there will be two Spice Fusion bands performing on the same night - Friday 20th November must be a lucky date for us!

So - due to popular demand, The Spice Fusion sextet will be backing The 4Tunes at The Hippodrome Casino in London - get your tickets here.

The other gig will be with The Spice Fusion 10-piece band, performing for The 100 Property Club at The Intercontinental Hotel in Park Lane, London. This will be for a private party, and we sure look forward to performing for such a high-flying club at such at prestigious location!

Do drop by on Friday 20th November at The London Hippodrome Casino - the Spice Fusion band would love to see you there!

Spice Fusion sextet backing The 4Tunes on 31st Oct at The London Hippodrome Casino

Are you ready for the Halloween weekend? We are! 

Tonight (30th October 2015) we'll be kick-starting the vibe with our sextet band backing The 4Tunes at The London Hippodrome Casino for a private party. 

Not invited? Fear not! We will be back tomorrow (31st October) at The London Hippodrome Casino doing a "public" version of tonight... The Spice Fusion sextet backing The 4Tunes. Get your tickets here - we'd love to see you there! 

Spice Fusion at The Boatyard, Leigh-on-Sea on 29th May

We're back - this time as a 10-piece band, setting the mood for a perfect Friday night out at The Boatyard with scrumptious food and great music:

Location: The Boatyard, 8/13 High St, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 2EN

Tickets: £20

Booking/phone: 01702 475588 (discounts available for larger bookings - please call for further details)

The Boatyard: Combines the benefits of a modern purpose-built restaurant with the classic surroundings of the Old Leigh fishing village, not to mention the excellent food. Contained within what was previously a working boatyard, the building has been converted into a beautiful restaurant. A panoramic polarised glass frontage provides uninterrupted views of the Thames Estuary and Two-Tree Island Nature Reserve. Even more spectacular views can be obtained from the stunning wooden deck which juts out into the water and spans the entire width of the building.

Book now on 01702 475588 - and see you there!

 

Spice Fusion sextet supporting Zoe Tyler on 10th Jan

Normally Spice Fusion is quite a big band with 18 musicians and a fine selection of singers - but for our next gig we will shrink down to six musicians (and still produce a large sound!). We are very proud to be supporting the fabulous Zoe Tyler at her gig on Saturday 10th January, 2015 at The Hippodrome Casino, London - you can book your tickets here. 

So who will be in the band? We have:

Looking forward to seeing you there! 

Read More

23rd gig: introducing the trumpet section

Tomorrow we’ll be making some festive noise at The Hippodrome Casino in London - so let’s round up the introductions with the trumpet section:

Stuart Brooks: has also gigged with Björk, has probably been your ear-worm many times as he’s ...played in 100s of films and TV shows, and he loves classic cars.
Will Smith: no, not THAT Will Smith... but this Will is just as good-looking, has his own West End show (Top Hat), and loves teaching.
Gabriel Garrick: has played for Princess Diana at Kensington Palace, started playing the trumpet when he was 7, and very wisely says "through music we can find the ultimate manifestation of life" - amen to that!
Sid Gauld: has also gigged with George Michael, has recorded on over 300 albums and he is definitely worth his weight in Gauld!

In case we haven't mentioned it enough, here's where you can get your tickets:
http://www.hippodromecasino.com/whatson/spice-fusion-3/

See you!! Can't wait!!!

23rd Dec Gig: Introducing the trombones section

Only a few days to go! Have you done your Christmas shopping and booked a night of fun with us at The Hippodrome Casino (on the 23rd)? We've been introducing you to the band, one section at a time - and now it's time to reveal who's in the trombone-section:

- Trevor Mires: is also Sir Tom Jones' trombonist, likes a healthy, balanced diet of commercial and creative projects, and is a bit of a globe-trotter - having been to over 80 countries!
- Andy Crompton: is also Director of the British Philharmonic Orchestra, has played on Dangermouse (how cool is that!!) and sometimes when he's not got his trombone on his lips, he sings a mean Jazz scat.
- Neil Sidwell: is also orchestrator for The X-Factor, has gigged with The Spice Girls (another one with a "Spice" theme going on here!), and we recommend you listening to his "Have Yourself A Merry Little Xmas" on Soundcloud :)
- Mark Frost: is also trombonist for the BBC Big Band, started playing bass trombone aged 13 for a school band because he was the only one who could read the bass clef, and "Frosty" (as he's affectionately known) can down a pint before you've had time to blink.  

Next time we'll introduce you to the trumpets... see you soon!
http://www.hippodromecasino.com/whatson/spice-fusion-3/