It’s hard to believe but in 2024 the Pasadena Roof Orchestra will be celebrating 55 years of touring playing live music from the 1920s and 1930s. Mr. Armstrong was landing on the moon, the Beatles were breaking up, and Mr. John Arthy the Orchestra’s founder discovered a treasure trove of original music arrangements in an attic in Manchester.
The Orchestra became a household name in the 70s with appearances on all major TV channels and tours throughout the UK and Europe. The recipe for longevity is quite simple… staying true to the original sounds that were produced nightly by the resident bands in some of the first class hotels pre-war, and in the jazz clubs of New York and beyond .
Their show involves lovingly recreated orchestrations of melodies from the great American Songbook composers such as Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. Also represented are hot tunes from the likes of Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson as well as some classic British dance band arrangements from Ray Noble and Lew Stone. The show is hosted by vocalist and band leader Duncan Galloway, never short of an anecdote or two and some great ‘British’ humour.
