The Manager of the Cotton Club Orchestra is Peter de Ryk (email: deryk@net2000.com.au). The musicians are:
Trumpets - Vinnie Bourke* and Paul Dooley;
* also sings in the band
The Australian Cotton Club Orchestra was formed
in early 1986 by Tim Harding in association with Adrian Daff.
Between them Tim and Adrian have a large collection of big band
charts, most of which were originally published in the 1920s,
1930s and 1940s. They have also written their own charts in a
similar style. Some of the arrangements in the CCO repertoire
are the same or very similar to those played during this period
by Duke Ellington,
Cab Calloway,
Don Redman,
Count Basie,
Fletcher Henderson,
Benny Goodman,
Artie Shaw
and Woody Herman.
To bring to life these musically demanding arrangements, Tim and
Adrian selected a careful blend of strong sight-readers and jazz
soloists. After a few months of painstaking rehearsals, the first
public performance of the orchestra was to standing ovations at
the Malvern Town Hall on 23 May 1986. After full-house appearances
before enthusiastic audiences at the Victorian, Geelong and Peninsula
Jazz Clubs, long-term residencies at the Emerald Hotel in South
Melbourne and the Bridge Hotel in Richmond soon followed.
Since the 1990s, the Orchestra has appeared mainly at private corporate
and charity functions at the Victorian Arts Centre and Melbourne's
top international hotels such as the Regent, the Hyatt, the Hilton
and the Windsor. The Band has also shared billings with leading
celebrities such as Rhonda Burchmore, Barry Humphries, Peter Allen,
Geraldine Turner, Daryl Somers, Dame Kiri te Kanawa and various
other stars of the Victorian State Opera.
From 1991 until 1995, the Orchestra often appeared and recorded
with a female vocal trio, the former Rhapsody in Red.
The Cotton Club Orchestra has recorded 4 compact disc albums, 3 on
the WEA label and 1 cassette album on the Jazz&Jazz label.
The WEA and Jazz&Jazz albums were produced by Bill Armstrong, a pioneer of the Australian
recording industry.
Our latest CD is Nice Work If You Can Get It on the Yandoo label.
For further information on the Australian Cotton Club Orchestra,
Trombone - Marc Matthews;
Reeds - Adrian Daff*, James Newman* and Martin
Corcoran;
Piano - Peter de Ryk; Guitar
- Mark Twigden
Drums - Peter Whitford
Bass - Ron Hansen;
Brief band history
For more information on these previous albums, click here 
or any comments or problems with this page,
drop us a line at info@yandoo.com