BIG BAND GIG GUIDE 1996 AND 1998

Grand Casino

Montreux Switzerland 26.1.96  

Grand Casino (Rehearsals)

Montreux Switzerland 1-9.7.96  

Royal Albert Hall

London England 11.7.96  

Monaco Sporting Club

 Monte Carlo Monaco 12-13.7.96  

Giardini del Frontone

Perugia Italy 15.7.96  

La Pinede

Antibes France 16.7.96  

Stravinsky Auditorium

Montreux Switzerland 17.7.96  

Polediportivo de Mendizorroza

Vittoria Spain 20.7.96  

Jardine de los Viveros

Valencia Spain 21.7.96  
Radio City Music Hall New York NY USA 28.10.96  
         
Historic Mountain Winery Saratoga NY USA 12-13.6.98  
County Bowl Santa Barbara CA USA 14.6.98  
Greek Theatre Los Angeles CA USA 15.6.98  
Woodlands Pavilion Houston TX USA 18.6.98  
City Stages Birmingham AL USA 19.6.98  
Chastain Park Amphitheatre Atlanta GA USA 20.6.98  
I C Light Amphitheatre Pittsburgh GA USA 21.6.98  
Nautica Stage Cleveland OH USA 22.6.98  
Meadow Brook Detroit MI USA 23.6.98  
Taste Of Chicago Chicago IL USA 25.6.98  
Summerfest Milwaukee WI USA 26.6.98  
Boston Globe Jazz Festival Harbourlights MA USA 28.6.98  
Carnegie Hall New York NY USA 29.6.98  
Tivoli Gardens Jazz Festival Copenhagen Denmark 7.7.98  
Waldebuehne Berlin Germany 8.7.98  
North Sea Jazz Festival The Hague Netherlands 10.7.98  
Nice Jazz Festival Nice France 13.7.98  
Montreux Jazz Festival Montreux Switzerland 14.7.98  
Pori Fest Helsinki Finland 17.7.98  
Villa Erba Cernobbio Milan Italy 19.7.98  
Fourviere Lyon France 20.7.98  
Grand Rex Paris France 21.7.98 +  
Royal Festival Hall London England 23.7.98  
Symphony Hall Birmingham England 24.7.98  

So, what did anyone attending any of these gigs actually see? Well, I was fortunate enough to attend the very last gig Phil did with the Big Band at Birmingham's magnificent Symphony Hall. I will be honest and say I did so out of a reluctant curiosity as I am no fan of jazz whatsoever. The show included several Genesis and solo classics totally reinvented into the jazz format. Sometimes it worked such as on Against All Odds, whereas Hold On My Heart was virtually unrecognisable but the Los Endos Suite was a joy from start to finish! The extemporised jazz classics were a revelation as they definitely “swung” in ways I didn't expect and I must have been enjoying myself because I do remember at one point, the marvellous singer, Oleta Adams looked me straight in the eye and said; 'that's want I like to see, someone enjoying himself' and enjoy myself I did. This musical adventure not only took Phil out of his comfort zone but it took his audience out of theirs too and that's no bad thing once in a while.

Fortunately the results of this musical adventure can be heard (and seen) on several recordings. The show from La Pinede in Antibes has been available on one of those naughty bootleg things for quite some time and is an excellent listen. The show I attended in Birmingham was also recorded and extracts were subsequently broadcast by the BBC. The show at the Royal Albert Hall in 1996 was also recorded and extracts were included in the documentary on the Big Band project which the BBC broadcast on Christmas Day 1996. There was also the rather peculiar The Phil Collins Big Band Big Hits Sampler which was produced to promote the issue of the Private Issue Phil Collins credit card! Even better was the filming of the entire gig at the Pori Fest in Helsinki which has also been widely bootlegged and is excellent viewing. The show in Paris was of course, subsequently released in edited form as A Hot Night In Paris in 1999 (reissued in 2019) so there's really no excuse for you not to get yourselves comfortable and experience the magic of Phil and his Big Band!