The Jive Aces
Music Description: Jive and Swing
Standard Set Length: (2) 45mins or (1) 60mins
Price Range: from £3500 to £3500
Contact: make an enquiry
Elderberry Entertainment
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What people are saying about The Jive Aces…
“These professional young musicians came on cold to an early evening audience and were simply sensational. The Jive Aces manage great freshness yet maintain an authentic accurate sound. Full Marks.”
The Stage
“Back by popular demand for an incredible fourth year at Montreux, their explosive live shows have become legendary.”
Montreux Jazz Festival
“I wanted to take a few minutes to write a note of personal thanks for the amazing contribution you made to the Children In Need event on Friday. I was extraordinarily impressed not just by the professionalism which you exuded on the night, but also by the willingness to work within the often very strange demands of television. I'm not sure if you have had the chance to see the result on television, but you looked and sounded great.”
Executive Editor, BBC East
“Life Is a Game by The Jive Aces has the most important ingredients: It is musically brilliant, it is great to listen to, songwriting is exceptional, and the arrangements of the covers are superb. The Jive Aces really are a band of very talented musicians.”
BBC Radio 2 website - Albums of the year
“The Jive Aces are the most dynamic and talented band I've seen in many years...and the ONLY ones I have ever seen with the energy and magic on stage of my parents, Louis Prima and Keely Smith, had during their shows. I am a HUGE fan.”
Toni Elizabeth Prima
Boundlessly enjoyable, brilliantly entertaining, and with enough energy to light up London, the UK's top jive and swing band create electrifying sounds.
National Theatre
“Swing kings, The Jive Aces, have been playing to sell-out crowds all across Scotland.”
The Scottish Sun
“The Jive Aces album features some horn and piano solos that made my ears pick up real pretty and their charts are uniformly punchy and clever. The band demonstrates throughout that they know their s**t!”
Orange County Weekly
“Coming up trumps…Solo or in the pack, the Jive-age showmen are aces all! The Jive Aces are a six piece outfit fronted brilliantly by lead vocalist Ian Clarkson, who also doubled on trumpet. You need an over-the-top front man to make this work and Ian Clarkson’s repartee was as important as his big, versatile voice. They burst on to stage, identical in bright yellow zoot suits. From then on it was non-stop, high-energy fun, with hardly a break between numbers, the whole band projecting bags of show-biz personality. Their repertoire was surprisingly big on pop songs of the era, but with interesting arrangements, providing lots of colour tone, lead vocals always a big feature. While there were the expected jive numbers like Shake, Rattle and Roll and In the Mood, we also got Buona Sera with a fast sizzling tenor sax solo, Beyond the Sea, delivered in a convincing Bobby Darin style, Love Me or Leave Me, the first time I have heard this put to a jive beat with some great jazzy scat singing and Volare presented as the Italian national anthem.
This band works because important, well-rehearsed factors gel: high levels of musicianship, one wonderfully creative sax solo after another from “Big” John Fordham; the featured boogie piano-playing and simultaneous dancing of “the Professor”; a good sound balance delivered at the right volume, including on-board mikes on the horns, allowing for lots of stage interaction from the whole band; showmanship; terrific vocals and an entertaining choice of material.
A huge encore brought them back for Big Noise from Winnetka, with the dancing Jivettes making for a real show-biz finale.
Gavin Wilkinson – Newbury News (Review for Newbury Spring Festival appearance)
Following their blistering debut at the Kitsch Lounge Riot @ Pigalle in October, the hardest working Swing band in showbiz, The Jive Aces, return. Inspired by the Rat Pack, the Jive Aces will take you on a journey of Vegas Cool. Having worked with Van Morrison and John Travolta the Jive Aces are the party band of the rich and famous.
Kitsch Lounge Riot
“The Jive Aces are one of the hardest-working bands in show business today, performing over 300 concerts a year in up to 25 countries. They've played at the Olympic Games celebrations in Atlanta and are very popular in Hollywood where they are the band of choice at celebrity parties. If you like foot-tapping, swinging, spirit-raising festival fun, there's none better music-wise than The Jive Aces, returning to the Guinness Jazz Festival by public demand - pure entertainment!”
Cork Jazz Festival
A big thank you to you all for a fantastic show on Saturday! The audience loved you. Percentage wise there must have been 80% of them dancing. Never seen anything like that at our events!
Manager – CT3 Events (organiser of large music events in Kent).
“I love the Jive Aces. Slick, energetic and entertaining, an asset to any event”
John Miller – Bandleader & nephew of Glenn Miller
The Jive Aces dazzled us with colour, energy, warmth and musicality. What more could you ask for on the prime night of our weekend conference? And to add to that they engaged with the audience in an inimitable fashion. I don't think Maria will forget her 'personal serenade' in a hurry! Wonderful entertainers - professional to the core. You electrified us. Thank you.
Robin Chawner - National Conference Organiser for Toastmasters UK
No visit to the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival would be complete without seeing The Jive Aces. You won't be able to sit still as this dynamic group sets the room on fire with a fantastic range of boogie, swing, jive and rock 'n' roll. Wearing their trademark yellow suits, The Jive Aces don’t just play jazz they LIVE it!! It's hard not to be infected by The Jive Aces enthusiasm. So, if you're looking for a night of fun, laughter and high octane music look no further - mellow yellow it ain't!
City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival
“Opening up with The Jive Aces, the energy level quickly soars through the roof as the band starts stomping with some infectious, high-speed swing music that parallels the energy of 50's rock 'n' roll with all the silk and glamour of 40's swing. Truly modern, and making no claims otherwise, the band seems to be on a caffeine high as they shoot and dance around the notes with such clarity. I’ll give it an A.”
In Music we Trust
“These six guys are top musicians and brilliant performers. Regularly played by me on BBC Southern Counties, this music will get your feet tapping.”
BBC Southern Counties
“The boys dress in electric blue suits and generate more energy than a splitting atom!”
The Gazette
“The Jive Aces were definitely the most exciting act to play at our 2003 festival. They came onstage at 7.30pm on a Sunday evening & absolutely blew the house away. They were the first band I booked for 2004!”
Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival
The must see show of the (City of Derry Jazz and Big Band) Festival.
The Derry News
“Easily one of the best hot, young, swing bands from Europe, that's taking America by storm!”
Swingtime magazine
