Swing West

A proper big band needs a proper stage, and Swing West fill one: brass, rhythm section and a singer, with their own PA and lighting if the venue doesn't supply them. Trumpeter John Webster leads the orchestra, and Jessica Zamprogno is out front on vocals. The library runs to more than 600 charts from the 1920s up to 2000, so the night can take in Glenn Miller and Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich and Gordon Goodwin, then Broadway, Latin, Disney songs and some swinging Christmas numbers in December. Many of the players have spent more than 30 years in professional bands. For a smaller room there's the Lite Big Band, ten players including the singer. They come from the Penrith area of Western Sydney, play clubs, charity events and private functions, are insured, and travel up to 100 km.