Band no longer on the run

THEY have travelled the globe for years performing their upbeat style of music for thousands of jazz enthusiasts but now the New Melbourne Jazz Band is back in Berwick.
Bass player and leader of the band, Ross Anderson, said the six-piece band had visited Bahrain, Singapore, Vanuatu, Fiji and Hong Kong and had made 14 trips to America and Canada to perform at major jazz festivals.
Mr Anderson said the band had performed at the Old Cheese Factory in Berwick on a monthly basis for many years and even at a wedding in Berwick some time ago.
He said they were looking forward to returning to their loyal Casey audience after a few years away.
The band performs a range of traditional New Orleans-style music as well as tributes to Louis Armstrong, tunes from the swing and roaring ’20s era and the music of Fats Waller and Benny Goodman.
Mr Anderson began playing jazz in 1952 in a quartet based in Echuca in northern Victoria and said he loved performing in front of an audience.
In 1997, the retired carpenter was appointed musical director of the Marvellous Melbourne Jazz Festival. He said he was looking forward to returning to Berwick when the band starts playing at Costellos, Berwick Springs Hotel, on Thursday, 2 February from 7pm to 10pm on a weekly basis.
For further details contact Berwick Springs Hotel on 9702 6223.