Swing Into Christmas with the Down for the Count Swing Orchestra

The Down for the Count Swing Orchestra are playing The Queen's Hall on Friday 4 December, their annual festive show Swing Into Christmas. It's a 30-piece big band with strings, one of the largest swing ensembles currently touring the UK, and the night is built around a mix of Christmas favourites and non-festive classics played in an authentic big-band-with-strings style. The set draws on the band's Christmas album of the same name, and the whole thing is played as a relaxed, family-friendly concert.

On the bill are fresh arrangements of Let It Snow, This Christmas, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year and New York, New York, with the orchestra recreating the sound of Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Billie Holiday. The band is directed by conductor and compère Mike Paul-Smith, who leads the 30 musicians through the programme. The ensemble has sold out shows at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, the London Jazz Festival and Cadogan Hall, and critics have described the sound as a 'sonic ride back to the sounds of Capitol Studios in the 1950s' (DownBeat) and a 'potential competitor to the John Wilson Orchestra' (Jazzwise).

It's a big band in the traditional sense, so the strings are part of the core sound rather than an addition. The set blends the seasonal songs with the non-festive standards, so it's not just a Christmas record played back to you. The whole thing is presented as a family-friendly concert, so it works as a night out with the kids as much as a proper gig for anyone who likes the era. Tickets range from £51.50 to £17.40, with the prices including a 10% booking fee per ticket and a £2 transaction fee. The show starts at 7:30pm.