The UK tour of The Rat Pack - Live In Las Vegas finished, for me, this past Thursday - a day of unforgettable events! We’re on a six week summer break and start again in early September in Liverpool. It seems almost certain that I’ll be doing much the same as last season and fulfilling dates on both sides of the Atlantic.

I was still not quite home from Aberdeen on Friday when the Flying Music office rang to ask if I could recommend anybody to play Trumpet on the imminently forthcoming tour of their other show; Dancing In the Streets. My good friend Steve Parry will, therefore, be doing the show from late August but was unable to play the first few weeks due to other commitments - he’s working with pop starlet Corinne Bailey Rae on her summer festival gigs. So, no sooner am I home than I’m off on the road again! I’ll be playing the DITS dates in Europe in July and August, as well as a couple of ‘muddy field’ events when we get back and then a have week off before heading back out with The Pack. No rest for the wicked!!

With the Rat Pack Tour now on hiatus, Bryan will be playing a few gigs with the likes of Gansch & Roses, La Gran Descarga and One Night With Elvis before heading out to Germany for 3 weeks with Dancing In The Streets! He’ll be performing with this Motown revue in Munich until mid-August. Lessons are, as ever, available. Please check the Schedule for the tour dates, get in touch and we’ll organise it.

Last Saturday (30th June ‘07) saw the inaugural performance by the force of nature that is La Gran Descarga! We had a great gig at The Lowry Centre in Salford for Cubanite. If you missed it, I implore you to come and see the band on one or other of the remaining gigs this summer - check the schedule for details. It’s the new Big Band incarnation of the fantastic salsa group Almeida Girl & Descarga which I’ve enjoyed playing with so much over the last few years. The songs written by Kirsty Almeida and Matt Owens are terrific and Matt’s done a tremendous job rescoring the music for a 22 piece band. This was the most fun I’ve had on a gig in a long time - the music was great and the people fun to be with. It was great to catch up with so many old friends and make some new ones!

We play at the Wigan Jazz festival fringe on Sunday 22nd July in the afternoon and at Leeds’ HiFi Club that evening. We will also be performing at the D-Percussion Festival in Manchester on Saturday 4th August. Come down and check it out!!!

Bryan is currently finishing up the last dates of The Rat Pack - Live From Las Vegas UK Tour. Immediately after the tour finishes he’ll be back in Austria for a couple of dates with Gansch & Roses; led by Austrian Trumpet wizard Thomas Gansch. For the rest of the month he’ll be freelancing from Leeds, playing with such luminaries as The Real Macaws, La Gran Descarga and the One Night With Elvis show. As ever, Bryan is available to teach, particularly in the Leeds/Manchester areas. Please check the schedule and get in touch if you’d like a lesson.