The Sax Section
Bev Prankard (Alto
Sax, Leader) "I have
been playing the flute since I was 13 and my best
friend dragged me along to her lesson. Needless to say she stopped and
I carried on! After joining the local boys school band, I auditioned
for the London Schools Symphony Orchestra and spent my last few years
at
school going on courses and playing at the Royal Festival Hall. After
moving to Kent I started playing in the
Gravesend Borough Band (GBB) and have been with them for over
25 years now!! I started playing sax about 10
years ago when my long suffering husband got me one as a surprise for
Christmas. I love dance band music and decided a few years ago to set
up my own dance band, and the Peninsula Big Band was formed one rainy
September weekend, As they say the rest is history!!! "
Jackie Wright (Tenor Sax) "I'm an ex Women's Royal Army Corps lass playing in the Staff Band for 4 years. I've toured some of Europe and the UK entertaining the public, being involved in tattoos, musical pageants and massed band concerts. Like many, I started on the clarinet at High School in the early 70's and progressed to saxophone whilst serving in the Army. I currently play alto sax and clarinet in the Medway Big Band and have played tenor sax for the Don Barcott Big Band."
Sally Diston (Alto Sax) "I have been playing sax for 5 years but started playing the piano when I was five. I played in the school orchestra on cello and have always had a love of music. I'm a big fan of military music and get the opportunity to play this style of music in a Gravesend band too. I currently play 2nd alto sax."
Ann Horton (Tenor Sax) "Music has always played a big part in my life. My junior school headmaster was very musical (he had perfect pitch), so learning to read music was nearly as important as being able to read books! I've been playing the clarinet for more years than I care to remember (!), having graduated to it from the recorder. I played in school orchestras and at university, then in more school orchestras when I became a teacher! One school had a very good jazz band, which led me to take up the saxophone - about 15 years ago - as saxophonists got better parts! I currently play saxophone in 2 other local bands as well, and also play the bass clarinet."
Brian Hatcher
(Baritone
Sax) Born into a musical family my father thought I would follow in his
footsteps and play the piano, so at the ripe old age of six I started
piano forte, I hated it, I had to practice!!! In six months the lessons
went into extinction.When I was twelve my father brought a record home
of the Duke Ellington big band. One of the tracks featured a sax player
called Johnny Hodges playing a song called "Tenderly". I asked my
father what the instrument was called and he replied “Its an Alto”.
"I’d like to play one of those." "OK I’ll get one for you there’s one
in the second hand shop in Brompton."
By
the time I was fifteen I had taught myself to play and was a permanent
member of my Dad’s Quintet, also joining the Wally Scott Big Band at
19. At 25 I married and stopped playing altogether as family life took
precedence. I met up with an old
musician friend and the
conversation went like this. “I need a 2nd Alto player for a big band
gig on Saturday, I’m desperate, I’ve asked everyone else, will you do
it. Please, I’ll pay you.” Not being too sure whether to take that as a
compliment or not, I did the gig and was again hooked on the mysteries
of music.
After all that time out of the system as it were, music had moved on so I decided to sign on at Goldsmiths College completing Certificates in Jazz and Popular music, and teaching music to adults, a jazz improvisation course, and an arranging course. Since then I’ve played the whole family of Sax’s in big bands all over the southeast, naming some, Beverley big band, Jon Hamilton big band, Medway dance orchestra, the Clef hangers big band, Don Barcott big band. And now the Peninsula Big Band.
The Brass Section
Mike
Wanstall
(Lead Trumpet-centre) "I learned trumpet as a
pupil of
Gillingham Technical School and was a
member of the Medway Dance Orchestra, more years ago than I wish to
admit to. During those early years I formed my own Trad / Dixieland
Band, ‘ Mike & Steves GT’s’, with
a trombone-playing friend Steve Hayes. We played at quite a number of
the Working Men's Clubs in the Medway area back in the late
60’s early 70’s. I am now Chairman and 1st cornet /
trumpet for the GBB, principal cornet for the UK Paper Concert Band
(formally Bowaters Brass
Band) and solo cornet for Meopham Brass. I have played alongside Denis
Burrow and Peter Constant (see "Rhythm Section" below) for several
years in the Gravesham Dance Band. Having Denis and Peter with
us,
I knew we would have a solid rhythm section”
Phil McCarthy
(Trumpet-left) "Phil's a busy man apparently!! So it has been set as my
task to write something about him. He took up the bugle in the air
cadets at 13 years old and after playing for a short time he was
discovered by his then brass teacher at school, (a man who must have
been profoundly deaf!) After only one year he was made principal
trumpet in the school orchestra but in his words that was because no
one else wanted to do it!!! He likes to only play in one band at a
time, and even then he can't keep his music in order. So following on
from the school orchestra came Goldsmiths Youth and Repertoire
Orchestras then the Crystal
Brass Quintet, he plays and enjoys lots of church music and has for the
last 18 months played with the PBB. Phil still enjoys playing very
loudly so we do encourage him to use his mute as much as possible, he
is well known for blowing his own trumpet!!"
Richard Milford
(Trumpet-right) ''I started playing the piano when I was 7 years
old, and at 9, influenced by my father, who had been a euphonium player
before the war and was now rekindling his interest, I joined my local
brass band and started to learn the cornet.
Brass very quickly became the love of my (musical) life. I remained
involved in brass bands for more than 20 years, as both player and
musical director, taking part in summer concerts all
over south-east England, and enjoying many successes in local
and national contests, as well as a number of concert tours to
France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium.
Eventually the combined demands of career and a young family led to a
dry period in my music making, but now, several years on, I'm playing
again, and working as a peripatetic brass/woodwind instrumental
teacher, visiting over a dozen primary schools each week, trying to
encourage and inspire the next generation of musicians!''
Al King (Trombone) After winning a soloist medal for trombone at the Wessex Brass band competition I joined the army serving in the Grenadier Guards and was a junior musician at Purbright, I progressed to the Royal Military School, Kneller Hall where I gained progress prizes for both trombone and string bass, leaving with Army 1st class in musicianship. Whilst in the Grenadiers I became principal euphonium player in the Guards Band, a position I held for some 5 years, In conjunction with this I also played lead trombone in the Dance band and Orchestra. I was also leader of the Regimental Band Brass Quintet.
Latterly whilst teaching Brass, I play first trombone with the Royal Yeomanry Band in London and am principal trombone of Northfleet Brass. I am also an active member of the British Trombone Society.
Lucy Rice (Trombone) "In need of a new musical challenge, I am the most recent recruit of the band and a mere novice when it comes to playing big band music! Being the only female brass player I suppose I could be described as the rose amongst a lot of thorns!
Friends and family will all agree that music has always played a major role in my life, sometimes taking priority over them!!! I started playing music as everyone else did, initially squeaking away on the recorder, two years later progressing to scratching on the violin. When I was 13 I decided that I was fed up with playing air guitar with my tennis racket and wanted to rock and roll it with the Quo so started to learn the guitar. Still not content with my music making I decided that I needed to play a brass instrument and there began my love affair with the trombone- affectionately known as “the baby!”
Looking back on it my parents must have been saints to put up with, what must have seemed to them as, the constant squeaking, scratching and oompahing of instruments!! I have played with various brass bands in Derbyshire, Kent and South East London with whom I have been on various raucous band tours and taken part in competitions. I currently play with Faversham Mission Brass.
Anthony Youngman (Trombone) Like many children, my first instrument was the recorder in Primary school. A year later, just after joining cubs, Sam the bandmaster came round and asked "who wants to join the band?". My hand went up, and a few months later I was marching in the Church Parade, playing the cornet. Two years later I progressed to the trombone.
On going to secondary school, I had trombone, classical guitar and singing lessons, and played in both the school orchestra and wind band.
Since then, I've enjoyed playing with various bands. When I lived in Dover I played with Snowdown Colliery Band, and with the church-based "Good News" band. When I moved to Gravesend, I then played with Emmanuel Church music group, then the St Mary's Church music group, and joined GBB, which I still play with. I have also been playing with the Camping and Caravanning Club Brass Band all over the country since it was founded in 1996. With this band I have made a CD and been on tour to Germany. For a while I also played with Gravesend Jazz Band, Belvedere Concert Band, and Rochester Brass.
I am delighted to be part of the Peninsula Big Band, which stretches me musically, and has made me reach notes I never knew were there!
The Rhythm Section
;
Peter Constant our keyboard player has this to say about the Rhythm section (not seen but very much heard). "John on bass is the best I've heard for a long time. He is a teacher full time, has a great sense of humour and also plays bass guitar when required. Denis,a jeweller by day, is hot stuff on drums. He can read music, unusual for percussion nowadays, and has some great solos. I'm the keyboard and the oldest member of the band. A now retired builder, I used to play classical but that's a pretty lonely occupation. We have a friendly battle with the front line, nothing serious; the band is sounding good at the moment and getting better all the time."
Denis Burrow (Drummer) "I started playing in the early sixties in a local 5 piece pop band. After about three years ,having trained with Frank King (drummer with the Oscar Rabin band) where I learned to read drum music, I moved on to dance music with trios and quartets!! Over the last forty years I have played almost every type of gig going. In the last ten years or so I’ve been playing with big bands, including my father’s (Bunny Burrow) the Gravesham dance band. Now with the quality of musicians we have in this band I’m able to use a lot of my experience and learning more all the time"
John Bogg (Bass) "I made my ‘professional’ debut on Broadstairs bandstand at the age of six playing piano pieces. After my father had bought me a second-hand piano, there was no turning back and a range of recorders followed. At BETHS school in Bexley I joined the orchestra really wanting to play the trumpet, but the music teacher said I could have the only instrument left in the cupboard – an old, battered double bass which I studied with professionals from the Royal Phil. Dad bought the bass I use now in a junk shop in Croydon for £5 (the bow was £15!) and I performed with several youth orchestras and folk groups one of which, Tideway, still performs today. I went to Goldsmiths to study music gaining a Teachers’ Certificate and have had the privilege of teaching music for 36 years. I played with Dartford Symphony before leaving to gain a degree. I have been lucky enough to have conducted children’s performances in such places as Windsor and The Royal Albert Hall, and with the Temple School Steel Band in the Houses of Parliament and The Dome.
I am pleased to be playing with the Peninsula Big Band whose rhythm section is second to none and frankly the best bit of the whole band! Dennis and Peter are great fun and together we keep it going! It is good to be working with such friends who are a talented group of musicians."
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