The Fox and The Woolf

Jazz maestro Rodger Fox and legendary multi-award winning Kiwi entertainer Ray Woolf have teamed up to celebrate the golden age of swing at the 2009 ASB Queenstown JazzFest. 

Backed by an 18-piece band, they’ll transport you back to dance halls of the 1930s and ‘40s when times were tough and people were looking to escape their everyday worries.  This feeling was reflected in a new era of jazz music - the upbeat swing tunes performed by Glenn Miller-style big bands soothed people’s blues and moved them to dance like never before.

Now The Fox and The Woolf will relive those times with an evening of classic hits guaranteed to keep you on the dance floor like The Lady is a Tramp, They Can't Take that Away from Me and I've Got You Under My Skin, later made famous by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald. 

Iconic singer-entertainer-actor Ray Woolf is one of New Zealand's best known and loved entertainers.  His career spans more than 40 years and features innumerable performances, TV appearances, and recordings.  He has won several awards, including the prestigious Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club for his services to entertainment, NZ Entertainer of the Year and the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM).

In 2007 he released his first CD in 27 years with renditions of swing classics such Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Birth of the Blues and Moonlight In Vermont - not to mention a special Latin big band version of the Deep Purple hit Smoke on the Water.

Rodger Fox, a leading jazz trombonist and big band leader, is one of New Zealand’s biggest exponents of jazz and is still going strong after 35 years in the industry.  He and his all-star band have played at jazz festivals worldwide, performed with some of the biggest names in the industry including Michael Brecker, Steve Smith, Chick Findley, Randy Crawford, and won the New Zealand Jazz Recording of the Year three times.   When not performing, Fox is a senior tutor at the New Zealand School of Music.

Joining Fox and Woolf for their festival show will be up and coming Wellington singer Penelope Kibby. 

Remember, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing!