Meet the Bands
ALL GIrl Big Band (AGBB)
In a largely male dominated musical genre, 18 Christchurch women are changing the face of the big band. The All Girl Big Band is a completely female, full big band who create a "powerhouse of sound" that will blow you away!
Formed in January 2016, AGBB emerged from a conversation between musical director Lana Law and vocalist Kate Taylor "It had us wondering if we could actually get a big band together here in Christchurch consisting of only female musicians". What was considered a crazy, out of the box idea finally became reality.
The band consists of an array of talented musicians whose " infectious joy of music making" is evident at all their live shows. The majority of the band are professional musicians or music teachers in Christchurch - and they have spent much of the last 12 months touring, performing and recording their first CD.
Ambush Brass
Gig-hardened defenders of the right to groove on the move, prepare yourself, if you can, for Ambush Brass. This 9-piece troupe of ragtags deliver a healthy dose of joyous, New Orleans second line music to the detours and dead ends of the Christchurch urban landscape, far away and hometown festivals, sports games and other surprising scenes. Playing inspirations from hip-hop to the sounds of a Mardi Gras street party from genre-leading legends including Hot 8, Rebirth Brass Band, the music behind the HBO TV series 'Treme' (set in post hurricane New Orleans) plus many more.
Bay City Big Band
The Bay City Big Band was formed in the early 1990s, and recorded cassettes and a CD in the early 2000s. It went into recess in about 2005, reinvented itself in 2019, and has been constantly rehearsing since then. Based in Timaru, the band is available to keen to play at any event so they can expose the wonderful local talents they have in South Canterbury. The band is led by Musical Director Kent Smith.
CHRISTCHURCH SCHOOL OF MUSIC (CSM) JAZZ BAND
The CSM Big Band had its origins back when CSM was at The Arts Centre and the band was led by Chch jazz icon, Stu Buchanan. The CSM Big Band started back up again in 2018 and rehearses once a week as part of the Christchurch School of Music programme. The band has a wide range of ages, and absolutely loves performing all styles of music. Led by Georgina Rees-Stevenson.
CHCH YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA (CYJO)
Each year as part of the Christchurch Big Band Festival, the Christchurch Youth Jazz Orchestra is formed under the musical direction of Lana Law. This amazing auditioned band with students from secondary Schools around Christchurch takes part in the Hanmer band camp, rehearsals and plays for two performances at the Christchurch Big Band Festival.
Dunedin City Jazz Orchestra (DCJO)
The Dunedin City Jazz Orchestra is Dunedin’s premiere Big Band formed in 1988 by Calder Prescott MNZM from local players who had grown up through the jazz scene. The band follows a long line of groups big and small that Calder ran in Dunedin for over 60 years.
DCJO gigs regularly around the town at public events, pubs, dances and concerts as well as travelling to festivals in Queenstown, Oamaru and Christchurch. DCJO has also made trips to Australia, West Coast USA and Europe, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, and always plays to great acclaim. We have a focus on developing promising young players and although the personnel changes over the years the standard remains high and swinging.
The band’s current Musical Director is Nick Cornish, a long time player in the band and a nationally sought after multi-instrumentalist in all genres.
ELLESMERE BIG BAND
The Ellesmere Big Band is one of the oldest bands in the South Island, originating as the Ellesmere Brass Band in 1902. The Ellesmere Brass Band was well known and won many awards at Brass Band Competitions. Bavarian band nights were popular in the 1970s. A history of the band was written during centennial celebrations in 2002, a copy of which is in Leeston Library. In 2004, with the addition of saxophones and a rhythm section, it became known as the Ellesmere Concert Band. In 2014, the band moved to its current Big Band style.
With members from all walks of life and many of who travel from Christchurch to rehearse, the Ellesmere Big Band is a proud part of the Ellesmere community and rehearses from the historic band hall in Leeston, Selwyn. The band performs at many public events including Oamaru Harbour St Jazz and Blues Festival, Ellesmere A & P Show and Lincoln Christmas Parade as well as many private functions throughout Selwyn and Christchurch.
In past years it has benefited from the excellent leadership of Dave Neil, Ian Stringfellow, and Riwai Hina, all Army Band alumnae. In recent years, it was led by Graeme Nicolsen and Matt Davis. They are now fortunate to be led by Vince Leahy who is a well respected Christchurch teacher and performer.
Garden City Big Band (GCBB)
Since the its inception in 1992, The Garden City Big Band has proved to be a ‘breeding ground’ as well as ‘holding pen’ for a number of well-known Christchurch musicians! The band was led by Christchurch jazz ‘icon’ Stu Buchanan who played, composed and arranged many tunes for the band and entertained audiences with the band into the new millennium until his passing in 2014.
Currently led by Roger Grenfell, the GCBB has a huge repertoire of jazz and contemporary music at hand and is always keen to play new material. Some of the band’s alumni include Michael Gordon (Michael Gordon Swingin’ Quartet), Seb Taylor (NZ Army Band), Sam Blakemore (New York) and Rob Grover (NZ Independent), and Lana Law (All Girl Big Band MD).
Hot Lava
Trad Meets Rock in a Fiery Blast of Sound – Hot Lava is Here!
Born from a chance meeting at the CBBF, Hot Lava ignites the stage with an explosive mix, blending scorching rock with upbeat big band swing. This fusion between the Hanmer Springs' Big Band
and Akaroa's Crater Horns mixes the styles and unusual instrumentation of the two village bands into a cohesive sonic eruption that is truly unique.
Hot Lava will leave you all fired up and dancing in the aisles.
MAINLAND BIG BAND
The Mainland Big Band is a very experienced dance band with a long history of music-making in Christchurch and the Canterbury region. They perform regularly across the region, as well as for private weddings, receptions and large formal, corporate dinner-dances. They are a dedicated team of up to 19 musicians who rehearse weekly under the direction of a talented Musical Director Colin Eaton. They have a constantly-expanding repertoire, ranging from Big Band and jazz standards to rock and pop.
NELSON JAZZ CLUB BIG BAND
The Nelson Jazz Club Big Band is styled after the great bands of the Forties.
The music of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington will be familiar to most people and this forms the basis of the bands repertoire. Big Bands have remained popular since their heyday in the late 1930’s and 1940’s and show no sign of losing their appeal, with new arrangements of contemporary music appearing all the time.
The Nelson Jazz Club Big Band has been in existence for around 40 years. Originally known as the Sun City Big Band it predates the formation of the Nelson Jazz Club and many of the bands members were instrumental in the formation of the club. The NCJBB is proud to be the only band to have performed at every Nelson Jazz Festival since its inception and is also kept busy playing regular gigs in the region. Over the years the band has travelled to gigs on the West Coast, Manawatu, Marlborough (appearing regularly at the bi-annual Marlborough Air Show) and has attended the Christchurch Big Band Festival consistently over the last 10 years.
The band’s current Musical Director is Graeme Nicholas. Although the band serves as a community band with no person financial gain to members, the membership has consistently included some of the best Jazz musicians in Nelson. The combination of talent with many years of musical experience creates a great sound that brings the dance floor alive.
Sideline Swing
Sideline Swing is an 18-20 piece, Christchurch based community Big Band playing Swing (and other) tunes from the 1910s to today. We like to keep things fun and light hearted in our performances, with a bit of humour whenever we can. Our members range in age across 7 decades, and our repertoire spans more than a century.
Under the musical leadership of renowned trumpet player, Kaiaho “Butch” Green since 1994, Sideline Swing provide Christchurch and Canterbury audiences with lively, danceable, and fun shows, playing classic tunes from familiar favourites like Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. We can be heard playing for local businesses, private parties, community, and public events. Last year marked the band’s 30th annversary.
Southland Youth Jazz Band (SYJB)
The Southland Youth Jazz Band (SYJB) was founded in 2016 by Emma Jarman to provide performance opportunities for students, to extend their musicianship and technical skills, and allow them to collaborate with their peers from across the region. Members regularly compete in national contests and perform at community events, with the ensemble also serving as a valuable stepping stone for students pursuing tertiary studies in music and careers in the music industry.
In 2024, the SYJB won a Gold Award and was named Overall Runner-Up Best Ensemble at the Southern Jam Youth Jazz Festival, as well as placing 4th at the national finals of Jazz Band-it. The 2025 line-up is directed by Matthew Dick.
UC Jazz Society Big Band
The University of Canterbury Jazz Society Big Band are newcomers to the Christchurch Big Band Jazz Festival for 2025. The band includes a number of students who have been involved in past Christchurch Big Band Festivals in high school bands, CYJO, and SYJB.
School Bands A–Z
BURNSIDE HIGH SCHOOL BIG BAND
Directed by Chris Petch, the Burnside High School Big Band has established itself as New Zealand's finest high school big band, winning Gold and "Best Big Band" titles at the ARA Jazz Quest ten times, at the NZSM Wellington Jazz Festival on each of their 5 appearances, and at the Manawatu Jazz Festival on their only visit in 2018. The band were also winners of the national "Jazz Band-it" competition in 2022 and 2023. In addition to their competition success the band enjoys regular concert tours and performances closer to home, especially those as part of the Christchurch Big Band Festival which they have given every year since 2012. Many of the band are members of Burnside's Specialist Music Programme, a unique programme in New Zealand that provides high level music education for especially talented young musicians, and the band has a proud history of students selected for CYJO and the New Zealand Youth Jazz Orchestra.
BURNSIDE HIGH SCHOOL Funk Band
Under the direction of Cain Hood, the Burnside High School Funk Band has recently established itself as an exciting newcomer on the Christchurch jazz and contemporary music scene, winning Gold and "Best Ensemble" awards at the ARA Jazz Quest on multiple occasions. Whilst not strictly a Big Band, with their incredible vocalists and powerhouse horn and rhythm sections you are sure to love their fresh takes on classic tunes from the likes of Tower of Power, James Brown, Edwin Star, the list goes on.
Many of the band are members of Burnside's Specialist Music Programme, a unique programme in New Zealand that provides high level music education for especially talented young musicians.
Burnside High School Junior Jazz Band
Directed by Chris Petch, the Burnside High School Junior Jazz Ensemble is one of the many ensembles that run within its Junior Performance Music course. This is a "mini big band", essentially a training band for year 9 and 10 students only, and many students progress to membership of the senior big band in later years, with whom they share their performance slot in this appearance at the Christchurch Big Band Festival. The band has regularly won Gold Awards at the ARA Jazz Quest competition.
Several of the band are members of Burnside's Specialist Music Programme, a unique programme in New Zealand that provides high level music education for especially talented young musicians.
Cashmere High Jazz Ensemble
Jazz Ensemble is Cashmere High's second Jazz Big Band and has been a regular part of our jazz programme for many years. This year the band is under the guidance of Ben Zilber.
Cashmere High Stage Band
The Cashmere High School Stage Band is the school jazz big band and has been running for many years at Te Iringa o Kahukura, Cashmere High School. This year the Stage Band is under the direction of Clayton Hiku.
Christchurch Boy’s High School – Altiora Funk Blasters
The CBHS Altiora Funk Blasters are led by Band Director Regan Barker.
Christchurch Boy’s High School – Jazz Band
The CBHS Jazz Band is led by Band Director Regan Barker.
Chisnallwood Intermediate School Jazz Band
The Chisnallwood Jazz Band is excited to be playing at the Big band Festival. Each year the band is quite different due to the short time students are at Chisnallwood (2 years for 11-13 year olds) so we look forward to sharing our exciting brand new line up of players and repertoire. The band is led by Jazz Director Judith Bell (MNZM).
CHRIST’S COLLEGE BIG BAND
The Christ’s College Big Band plays at school functions and in public, including the Christchurch Big Band Festival, and enters the Ara JazzQuest Competition. Among the highlights is the Southern Jam Youth Jazz Festival, held in Blenheim each August, with bands competing and also performing in local venues, along with enjoying a Masterclass session. Christ’s College regularly receives a Gold award and has also won the overall Festival Winner award. College Band members are often selected for the All-Star Band, recognising the best players.
Members audition each year, with about 20 members from Years 9–13. Claire Oliver leads the band, along with teaching saxophone at College.
Lincoln High School Jazz Band - The Polygons
The Polygons is a 6-piece jazz band from Lincoln High School, directed by Glyn MacDonald.
Middleton Grange School Jazz Band
We are The MGS Jazz Band! We're filled with a passionate drive to play great tunes and have a lot of fun doing so. The Big Band Festival is one of the highlights for the year for us, we're stoked to be able to bring our love for jazz to our city!
PAPANUI HIGH SCHOOL BIG BAND
Papanui High love playing at the Big Band Festival and it has now become an annual tradition. The band has achieved many Gold awards at Ara JazzQuest and Southern Jam over the last few years, and was runner up Best Big Band at Southern Jam in 2018. The band has travelled overseas to perform and constantly strives to improve performance, keep learning, set new challenges, and have fun.
RANGI RURU GIRL’S SCHOOL BIG BAND
The Rangi Ruru Girls’ School Jazz Band is a group of very keen musicians from Years 9 – 13. Under the direction of Lana Law the girls enjoy working together learning new charts, taking on the challenge of learning to improvise, and working to improve their individual and collective playing. The band regularly participates in both Ara JazzQuest and the Southern Jam Youth Jazz Festival, where the girls have been both Gold and Silver Award winners, along with receiving individual player awards. They also enjoy performing at Rangi events and other community gigs.
Shirley Boys’ High School – Junior Jazz Band
The Shirley Boys’ High School Junior Jazz Band is directed by Judith Bell (MNZM). They perform regularly in the community, at school ebents, and at contests such as the Aurora Festival and Jazz Quest.
Shirley Boys’ High School - Senior Jazz Band
Shirley Boys’ High School started up their Jazz Band and jazz programme in the last few years and has been under the guidance of Judith Bell (MNZM) since mid 2022. The students love to share their joy of improvising and playing a range of repertoire. This year, the Senior Band took out a Gold Award and Best Ensemble at the Southern Jam Youth Jazz Festival in Blenheim, and a Gold Award at the annual Aurora Festival.
ST ANDREW’S COLLEGE BIG BAND
St Andrew's College has had a lot of success over the years having won the NZ Youth Jazz Festival Best Big Band award in 2018 and Southern Jam eight times in it's history. The Big Band is made up of students that love jazz, and love the risk of improvising... well, most of them do :) We aim to play a variety of popular jazz standards in different genres.
ST ANDREW’S COLLEGE Jazz Orchestra
The St Andrew’s College Jazz Orchestra is made up of year 7-11 musicians who are extending themselves with challenging repertoire including popular jazz classics.
TPWOW Big Band - Te Puna Wai o Waipapa | Hagley College Big Band
Hagley Big Band consists of a multi-year level group band. The band meets once a week at lunchtime and has been enjoying rehearsing some traditional swing, Bossa Nova, to student's original song/arrangements this year. The band is lead by Nanako Sato.
Junior Jazz Jam Big Bands
This is a unique event especially for primary school & Intermediate age jazz bands which has been running annually since 2014! This year the event will feature:
Chisnallwood Intermediate Jazz Band – led by Jazz Director Judith Bell (MNZM)
Christchurch South Karamata Intermediate Jazz Band
Medbury School Jazz Band
Selwyn House Jazz Band
Westburn Jazz Band – led by Band Director Cameron Oswin