It is August which only means one thing – it is Camden Fringe time! Over the next few weeks we are chatting to acts that are performing at the festival and finding all about their show and what they would call this years iconic Camden Fringe Pigeon! Today we find out about the show Out of the Blue Jazz presents the Great American Songbook

Date: 14th & 15th August
Time: 20:00
Price: £10
Location: The Libra Theatre Cafe
Ticket Link: https://camdenfringe.com/events/out-of-the-blue-jazz-presents-the-great-american-songbook/

How did you come up with the name of your show that your taking to the Camden fringe?

  We play a vast number of different songs but all in Jazz Swing style. The Great American Songbook is a well known set of standards encompassing 100 years of Jazz, and allows a great variation of different swing numbers to be performed and includes all our favourites.  

Tell us a little bit about your style of show?

We are a five piece Swing jazz band who play ballads, Latin and Jazz swing featuring everything from Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday to Fats Waller and Nat King Cole. Hopefully there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at the fringe?

Comedy and eclectic types of  music mainly are our favourites as well as other Jazz offerings so we can keep an eye on the competition! 

How are rehearsals going? 

We rehearse every 2 weeks for 2-3 hours plus we have a number of live gigs before Camden Fringe so this allows us to hone our set list and ensure 100% ready for Camden. We cant wait!  

What is the best thing about performing at the Camden fringe?

The atmosphere, the history, the variations, the culture. It’s an iconic setting and one not to be missed. This is our first time at Camden Fringe and we hope to be back!

London can be an expensive place to perform in – what key advice would you give to performers that is a sort of life hack?

 Do your due diligence, check out the venues re space numbers and types of shows they usually present to give you the best chance of audience numbers. Ensure you know your budget and work to that. Communicate with the venue from the beginning and build that relationship. Ensure you take opportunities to present info about your performance when requested/offered the opportunity, ensure you create a good press release and send off to relevant publications, and create a flyer/poster that you can hand out to your playing venue and other relevant venues showing the same sort of show and Camden generally. 

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

Jamie Cullum if talking about live people. Alternatively Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald if we are allowed to have anyone!  

The iconic image of the Camden Fringe is the Pigeon – if you could call this years pigeon a name to represent its style what would it be and why?

I would call the Pigeon.. Beat Boy. Its a musical pigeon

If people want to find out more about you where can they follow you on social media?

www.outofthebluejazz.net

Insta        @ootb_jazz

Twitter     @ootb_jazz

And Finally in three words – Why should people come and see the show? 

Fun, Nostalgic, Toe-tapping 

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