The history of Ellington's Heirs. The band originated when jazz writer/reviewer Ron Spain suggested to the South Australian Jazz Archive Inc. that they should consider creating a historical record of the younger Adelaide musicians by commencing a programme of recorded "live" performance for the Archive collection. The first venture into this innovative approach by an Australian archive was the recording at Pyalla Studio of a sextet comprising pianist Jason Hammond with Warren Heading on trumpet, Jon Hunt and Duncan Hemstock on clarinets and saxes, Lyndon Gray on upright bass and Bill Palmer on guitar. As a theme for the recording made in September 2004 the music comprised compositions by Duke Ellington and it seemed appropriate under the circumstances to name the band Ellington_x0019_ s Heirs. At this time there was no thought of keeping the band together but it became possible to do so when the Southern Jazz Club offered them a date for a performance in December 2006 at their clubrooms in Hilton. To accommodate the Club_x0019_ s music focus, the Play List on this occasion included several of the Classic Jazz era tunes, in addition to a selection of Duke Ellington_x0019_ s compositions, albeit played in an original style that suited the instrumentalists. Over the next three years, Ellington_x0019_ s Heirs played on several more dates at the Southern Jazz Club, but musicians came and went due to other commitments. Bill Palmer moved to Sydney, Duncan Hemstock became a sea-going musician before moving to London and Lyndon Gray was busy with other bands. Their places were variously taken for short periods by guitarist Hugh Stuckey, reed players "Splash" Drinkwater and Don Brow and drummer Jarrad Payne. In 2009, with the popularity of Ellington_x0019_ s Heirs growing with each public performance and wider repertoire, the band settled on the personnel that is consistent to the present time. With Jason Hammond as pianist, occasional vocalist and band leader, and both Warren Heading and Jon Hunt making themselves available as often as their other commitments permit, they have been joined by three more exciting players, Alana Dawes on bass, Yuri Markov on drums and Sophia MacRae (recently returned from playing in Barcelona for 10 years) on clarinet and tenor sax. The "icing on the cake" is the latest band member, BecJM, who is one of Adelaide_x0019_ s finest young jazz vocal stylists, adding a new dimension to Ellington_x0019_ s Heirs. All of these musicians have soaring reputations, some are music teachers and a few lead their own bands. Inevitably, all of them are in demand as sidemen and women with other Adelaide bands. During the 2011 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Ellington_x0019_ s Heirs will present a special themed show, performing the swinging songs and tunes made popular during World War 2 by singers such as The Andrews Sisters, Vera Lynn, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong, plus the bands of Miller, Goodman, Dorsey and of course Ellington! Don_x0019_ t miss Ellington's Heirs two Fringe concerts at The Promethean on February 20 and at The Highway on March 8.
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