Graham Dalby was still a student at Trinity College of Music in 1985 when he was asked to form a swing band to play at a London charity ball to celebrate the VE Day 40th Anniversary. 2010 therefore, marks the 25th year that the band has been playing wonderful music around the world.

The Grahamophones are a Jazz Age Swing Orchestra of international repute, considered leading exponents in the re-creation and re-interpretation of original arrangements of popular dance music. This spans the period from 1911 to the early 1960’s, when electric instruments began to take popular music down a very different road. The band is bonded as a musical family and many of the players have remained with the band since the 1980’s.

STYLE:
The musical repertoire of the band is varied and concert programmes contrast with music for dancing. The band adds to its repertoire about once a month to keep pace with popular demand. From the 1920’s the band plays society Charlestons and Black Bottoms a la Gatsby alongside the more underworld Harlem-style music of Duke Ellington and The Cotton Club. The 1930’s grace of Cole Porter, Gershwin and Irving Berlin see the styles change to the more swing based music of Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. For the 1940’s the band have all the Hits of the Blitz both from the English dance bands and the more big-band style of the Americans. Recently, the popular resurgence of 50’s swing has had the band performing a whole programme of Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darrin, Nat King Cole and even Andy Williams and Tony Bennet. During the ‘90’s the band recorded the definitive Let’s Dance series for BMG of 14 different ballroom albums from Quickstep to Paso Doble.

PRESENTATION
The Band always perform in black tie with Graham fronting, usually in his trademark white dinner-jacket. The whole image of the band is set off by chrome Art Deco music stands with the logo on and a gleaming chrome period microphone. There is nothing dusty about the sound though as the recordings will attest. The energy and elegance of the live performances keep the evening buoyant.

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