IAN 'The Kettle' LAING

Musical Influences:

Tony Laing, Bobby Pratt & Bert Ezzard (Ted Heath Big Band), Count Basie Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson, Dave Browning, Barry Daykin, Clifford Brown, Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Gerard Presencer, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Jerry Hey, Chuck Findley, Clifford Brown, Clark Terry, Guy Barker, Philip Lynott, David Lee Roth, Billy Sheehan, Pete Murphy (Bauhaus), Orinoco Womble, Florence Foster Jenkins and my brothers-from-other-mothers, Pete Couzens & Neil Shaw-Hulme.

 

Previous (and/or current) bands/projects:

All of them?  Salvation Army brass bands, city & county youth bands & orchestras, national theatre tours of The Pajama Game, The Sound of Music, The Muppet Show, Kiss Me Kate, Jesus Christ Superstar (tour and concert versions), My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly, Cats (first and second national tours), Pirates of Penzance, Les Misérables (first national tour), Evita (two tours); Chicago, Half A Sixpence, City Of Angels, 9 to 5, Return to the Forbidden Planet, West Side Story, Into The Woods, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Top Hat, Guys & Dolls, Legally Blonde, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Made in Dagenham, The Sound Of Music, Kinky Boots, Singin’ In The Rain, Les Misérables (all am-dram); Sweet Charity, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Witches of Eastwick and Pippin (City College, Norwich); Miss Saigon, Carousel and Guys & Dolls (Gresham’s School, Holt); Granada Reports (sig tune), Brass (2nd series), Kate Robbins (two series and a Christmas special) and a walk-on on Coronation Street, all for Granada TV, Summertime Special for the BBC; recordings for Distant Cousins, Somebody Else’s Dream, Billy Gibbons, The Teachers, Foo Foo Lamarr, Simon Gallagher and Lee Vasey; live shows with Dougie James’ Soul Train (inc. a support slot for James Brown), Doc Sausage and The Amazing Tasty Chipolatas of Soul, Joe Longthorne, Maxine Barry, Bill Tarmey, Boulders Brass Big Band, Mark Gilbanks Big Band, Greg Francis’ Memphis Belle Orchestra, Shades Of Kenton Big Band, Bruce Forsythe, Apitos (latin jazz), The Marauders, T.N.T. (inc. a support spot for Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown), The Goodfellas, The Screaming Beavers, The Lee Vasey Big Band, Eddie Seals Big Band, Joe Ringer (function and big bands), The Blue Lion Band, Potters Big Band, Motown/Blues Brothers/Michael Bublé/60s/70s Soul shows, The Great American Songbook, The Magic Of The Musicals, Heshima Soul Show, Sisters Of Soul, The Voxettes, Gary Winter, The Scratch Band, The Imperial Vienna Orchestra, Dance Marathon for the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Umgawa Kagooga, Steemy Dan, Lampshades Of Swing, Jon Wyatt’s Big Band, Geoff Howlett Big Band, Gary Grace (the new king of swing), The King Size Papas, Hoggy’s Jump Blues, The JRB, The Jam’d, Scooted n’ Booted, The Doghouse Big Band (MD and trumpet), The Norfolk Symphony Orchestra, The North Norfolk Sinfonia, The Mozart Orchestra, East Anglia Chamber Orchestra, The Average Funk Band, Juke….

 

 

Instruments played:

Trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet, piccolo trumpet, little bit of bass guitar, little bit of drums, even some backing vocals now & then, assorted percussion

 

Equipment used:

Trumpets: King 601, 1917 LaFleur (painted blue), Burbank, DEG Getzen XL, DEG Getzen D/Eb trumpet, B&S Challenger 1, Chinese rotary-valve trumpet, Carol Brass CTR5060, French Besson ‘New Creation’, Thomann TR600-M C trumpet; Flugelhorns: Getzen Eterna, Virtuosi with rotary-valves, Thomann FH-900 J ‘Jazz’; Cornets: Boosey & Hawkes Sovereign large bore long model, Boosey & Hawkes Sovereign Eb soprano; Others: Amati piccolo trumpet; Thomann TR 25G pocket trumpet; Thomann TR-901S piccolo trumpet; Tromba P-trumpet (blue plastic); Bass Guitars: Fender (Mex) 5-string Jazz, Yamaha TRB5 fretless, Aria ABG 5 string, Harley Benton B650 ‘Modern’ series 6 string, Harley Benton HB-60 WB, Harley Benton PB-50 SB, Harley Benton PJ-4 HTR, Steinberger Spirit 5 string, Harley Benton T-bird; Lead Guitars: Harley Benton HB-35 Plus, Encore Strat-a-like, Harley Benton TE-52 telecaster, Steinberger Spirit GT-PRO Deluxe; Miscellaneous: Yamaha QY20 sequencer.

 

Other occupations:

Style guru, attitude adjuster, keeper of confidences, all round good egg.