Allan - Keys and Our Esteemed Music Director Captain Allan is the man, the myth, the legend behind our fantastic band. He had never seen a piano until he was 40 years old, when one day he heard a song on the radio while he was playing golf. He immediately went out and bought a piano. Lo and behold, Allan was an instant prodigy on the keys! News of his spectacular abilities spread through the music community and he is now a hot commodity and in great demand at gigs and golf tournaments! (NB: This bio has not been checked for accuracy)
Geoff- Bass Geoff, or Geoff Greatbeard as he is known by his dwarven brethren, enjoys playing bass in Swingalicious. Geoff also dabbles in many other string instruments. When he is not playing in the band, he entertains his dwarf friends while they are digging for mithril in the mines of Moria. Geoff loves donuts and can eat as many as he wants as he is also a keen cyclist. If you're lucky, you might catch a quick glimpse of his beard flowing behind him in the breeze as he whizzes past you on his bicycle. Geoff is currently inventing a contraption called the "Over the Shoulder Beard Holder" (patent pending) that helps him put on his tie without the help of his lovely wife holding his beard up for him. (NB: This bio may contain fake news)
Chris - Guitar Chris is a freelance music teacher/performer. Initially working in Melbourne, he relocated to Hong Kong and London in 1997. After 19 years overseas, Chris returned to Australia in 2016. He has performed in a variety of musical genres and settings ranging from musical pit orchestras to Tango ensembles and most things in between - from Government House in Hong Kong to UK cruise ships and hot sweaty bars in Asia. Chris has an LTCL in Classical Guitar and a Masters Degree in Musicology. Chris enjoys a variety of music from Hank Williams to John Coltrane via Dimitri Shostakovich!
Sabine - Drums Sabine is 16 years old and is already taking the percussion world to new heights. She is the backbone of the band and keeps everyone together. When not sitting behind a drum kit with Swingalicious or at school learning, Sabine can be found playing with the Queensland Youth Orchestra on xylophone, timpani and a range of other tuned and untuned percussion instruments. She has been part of the orchestra for Creative Generation for the last eight years and continues to wow the audience with her music. Her dream is to play percussion on the moon and travel the world with her musical family, sharing the joy of music with everyone they meet. Two of her family members also play in Swingalicious... Can you guess who they are?
Kapiki - Drums Hailing from New Zealand, we know Kapiki has been playing drums for at least 2 years! When he moved to Australia in the late 50s, he dabbled as a cabaret artist and found his niche as a backing artist for many rock bands in Melbourne. During this time he played backing for Wendy and the Rockets, Robert Smith and The Cure, Richard Clapton and Paul Kelly and the Dots. Kapiki has been featured on an advert celebrating 90 years of the ABC where he and 90 other drummers played on the roof of the Brisbane Show Grounds. Kapiki was taught by Dr Grant Collins and had lessons from him for a number of years. He is the drummer in 5 bands and enjoys using his Advanced Diploma in Jazz Performance from JMI to bring an extra flair to gigs.
Sax Section
Jaye - Tenor Saxophone Jaye's love of music began in primary school with the humble recorder which was the catalyst for her to start learning piano and oboe. After consistent practice, she joined the Brisbane Regional Orchestra and Redcliffe City Orchestra while in high school, then went on to study at QUT. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Music (specialising in oboe) and a diploma of teaching. Jaye has worked as an instrumental music teacher in Queensland schools for over 20 years. Her job includes teaching woodwind, brass, percussion and conducting concert bands and jazz ensembles. She loves playing music outside of work and has played in many ensembles including Cairns Concert Band, Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra and Queensland Youth Orchestra. Jaye has been a conductor for Redcliffe City Orchestra and musical director for musicals such as FAME and West Side Story. She also performs in musical pit orchestras and currently plays oboe in the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra as well as exploring her love of jazz by playing with Swingalicious.
Cathie - Tenor Saxophone Cathie plays saxophone and piano and is a music teacher with experience teaching and performing in many places both in Australia and overseas. Her favourite musician is Harry Connick Jr. but she can't possibly tell you her favourite song or music genre. It's like asking someone to choose their favourite child - mission impossible! Aside from playing music in the band and being our Music Articulation Queen, her hobbies include pondering "Why is it so?" Come along to one of our gigs for a chance to ask Cathie if she has discovered the answer to this pressing question yet...
Karen - Tenor Saxophone Karen by name but definitely not by nature! One of our more recent additions to the crew, she was drawn to Swingalicious as she found energy and life in the style of music. Karen initially played flute but has since dabbled with other instruments, before settling on her current love - the tenor sax. Although, given half a chance, she'd trade in her tenor for a bari any day! Watch out, Matt and Elaine! Karen started out as a primary classroom teacher before finding a way to quickly move into classroom music. Some encouragement from a colleague saw her take the last step to combine her two loves - making music with instruments and helping kids develop their abilities. So she made the switch to instrumental music teacher. Karen has years of experience in community bands with gigs at various events, initially playing flute, then tuba. A woman with many strings to her bow, but she has yet to figure out how to combine her love of water-skiing with playing saxophone. A new challenge for her spare time!
Joy - Alto Saxophone Initially beginning her musical career on the traditional Irish uilleann pipes, Joy soon realized that the real money and fun was in playing a melodica. While in college in Dublin, studying to be an architect, Joy saw an Australian TV show called Australian Idol. Within minutes of packing up her caravan, Joy swam the 16,000km from Dublin to Brisbane so that she could enter the contest that was a pivotal moment in Australia’s music scene. Unfortunately, while swimming, her melodica submerged and was stolen by a hermit crab. Disheartened, Joy went to Aldi and purchased a saxophone from the bargain bin. And the rest is history...
Katrina - Alto Saxophone Katrina is a classically trained saxophonist with a BMus/BEd, but has always enjoyed playing jazz in High School, University and now with Swingalicious. She currently teaches primary classroom music in Brisbane, but has also taught instrumental music, primary and high school music and has been a regular classroom teacher in London. Her love of music and the arts means she's often at gigs, music festivals, comedy shows and the theatre in her spare time. Katrina has eclectic taste in music, ranging from classical to rock, punk and hip hop. She loves musical theatre (mostly thanks to Gene Kelly and Doris Day) and has also performed in musical theatre pits. Her favourite bands are Radiohead, The Strokes and The Libertines, but she also can’t resist the sweet croons of Sam Cooke. Other than music, Katrina’s hobbies are travel, film/TV, trying to keep her copious amount of plants alive and supporting the mighty Brisbane Lions at the Gabba!
Elaine - Baritone Saxophone Elaine learnt piano from age 11 to 16, during which time she completed her 8th Grade AMEB in classical piano. After many years away from music, she returned to piano lessons in her forties and completed her CMusA, proving it's never too late to follow your passion! Elaine also plays the harmonica, Irish tin whistle and violin. Recently, she decided to try her hand at a new instrument - the alto saxophone. After playing for 18 months, Elaine was given a bari sax for Christmas - we know, lucky lady right? So Swingalicious snapped her up to join the band and her role quickly changed from being the band's biggest fan and supporter at all our gigs, to bari player in the sax section! Elaine is another band member who is a teacher and has a BArts majoring in Economics and a BEd (secondary). She is passionate about music and the joy it brings to people. When not playing in the band, Elaine loves a bit of karaoke - she is well known for her a cappella rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody!
Brass Section
David - Trumpet A physio who prefers to play trumpet and some keyboard, who'd have thought?! With very little musical talent compared to the rest of the Swingalicious lineup (also very modest), David makes up for it in tenacity and sheer enjoyment. Coming from a brass background playing cornet, David is having a ball letting out the beast through the trumpet. Having a Mum who was always involved in light opera, musicals and played pipe organ in church, David remembers singing around the piano to a diet of WWII songs, Gilbert and Sullivan and Rogers and Hammerstein and listening to Frank Sinatra Glenn Miller, Dean Martin and other crooners. So his music roots are pretty firmly entrenched in the standards. David's Spotify playlists are pretty eclectic, ranging from any 70s ballads, Elton John, Billy Joel, Jon English, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Van Morrison and the Bee Gees to newer artists like Cat Empire and Post Modern Jukebox for good measure. His most respected musician is James Morrison, having had the life-changing experience of playing with him on stage many moons ago. David's ambition now is to live long enough to be able to improvise on the trumpet as well as Allan can on the keys!
Cindy - Trumpet Cindy is not only an accomplished trumpet player but she also excels at playing complex jazz flute solos and dazzles the audience with her nimble fingers across both instruments. She is a committed and dedicated member of Swingalicious and has been playing with the band for four years. Cindy has toured the world playing trumpet and has performed at the Olympic Games. Thankfully. Cindy has passed down her musical abilities to her fabulous daughters who also play in Swingalicious - can you guess who? In her spare time, when she is not teaching and using her voice to raise awareness of the importance of music and the arts, she can be found at the beach with her dog and a glass of wine in hand.
Stu - Trumpet Stu joined the band in late 2023 and brought with him an effervescent energy that sizzled through the band. He filled everyone with enthusiasm and an urge for the trumpets to incorporate some choreography into their performances. Stu has an affinity with Adam Levine from Maroon 5 because he too has the moves like Jagger. Stu loves hitting the high notes, the more challenging the better! In his spare time Stu does park run and is compiling the ultimate trumpet workout playlist that he can play for everyone while he runs. Suggestions welcome. His dream is to one day run next to Trombone Josh as they compete in a marathon while playing their respective instruments. Stu is very creative and enjoys making new lyrics to songs.
Lance - Trumpet Keep an eye out for Lance's life story coming soon to a cinema near you!
Garry - Trombone Known affectionately as Trombone Garry to his band members, he says you can call him whatever you like, just don't call him late for dinner! Garry is the oldest member of Swingalicious, both in length of time playing with the band and in age. So he has honed his jazz skills and of course amassed a broad range of trombone themed t-shirts for all occasions. He is renowned in the business for his camouflage skills and ability to infiltrate local big bands, lull them into a false sense of security and then steal all the solos. No one minds though, as they are usually mesmerised by his dulcet tones and musical skills. Garry has an office full of 3D printers and is often found making marvelous musical contraptions. His latest project though, has been working on the "Over Shoulder Beard Holder" device with Geoff Greatbeard. (NB: Believe what you like from this bio)
Josh - Trombone Josh is one of our exceptional trombone players and he is not fission for jokes here. He has a new theory on inertia but it's not gaining momentum... If you haven't guessed, Josh has been studying for a physics teaching degree and just graduated from university with a triple degree in physics, modern dance and engineering. He started playing trombone at age eight and is a master at "Trombone Hero", a game he has been developing (patent pending) which is similar to the popular "Guitar Hero" game. Josh is descended from Christian Friedrich Sattler, the German inventor of the trombone. When not peforming music, he competes in Ultimate Frisbee at a national level and is training for the 2028 Olympic games. Josh is developing a line of lip balm for brass players to protect their embouchure. Catch Josh at our next gig and ask him his theory about relativity.
Lisa - Trombone Lisa has been playing trombone since she was eight years old, She went on to study music at Q.U.T playing in multiple ensembles throughout the 1990's including QYO, Brisbane Brass, 2nd 14th Lighthorse, Brisbane Big Band and the Twelfth Night Theatre pit orchestra. After a 20 year hiatus, where she became a CPA, founded a successful public accounting practice and raised three children, she dusted off her favourite instrument and after about a year of playing in the closet, she joined Swingalicious and MBSO. Lisa's love for traditional big band music stemmed from her very formative years sitting under the piano stool each week at the BJC, her father the founding front man and vocalist from 1972-1995.
Amos - Trombone Amos has been playing trombone since he was 3 years old! He attended the Conservatorium of Music in Kazakhstan as a child prodigy and graduated with Honours at the ripe old age of 10. In his spare time, when he is not motivating athletes to run faster by chasing them while playing spritely music, he likes to increase his endorphin level by participating in mixed martial arts (MMA). He holds a black belt in Krav Maga and can often be seen utilizing his trombone slide as a weapon. Amos strongly believes in the power of "unagi", which is a state of total awareness. Only by achieving true unagi, can you be prepared for any danger that may befell you. Amos gave up his dream of becoming a sushi chef/roller coaster engineer to join Swingalicious Big Band. Make sure you encourage him at our next gig that he’s made the right choice!
Vocalists
Tamara - Singer Tamara has been singing for as long as she can remember, learning harmonies and blending her voice with her sisters. Tamara's main instrument is piano which she began learning at five years old and she also plays violin and clarinet, but only for her students. Over the years she has dabbled in musical theatre being part of the chorus ensemble in many musicals including Grease, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar. When not singing with Swingalicious, Tamara can be found teaching music to primary school students, sharing her love and joy for singing and making music. In her spare time, she enjoys making up silly songs, reading, baking and participating in her local Park Run. Her favourite musician is definitely Michael Bublé but she can also be persuaded to listen to Rend Collective, Taylor Swift, Walk Off the Earth, Pentatonix and Sara Bareilles.
Christian - Singer Hailing from Mexico City, Christian inherited his musical skills and love of music from his father who also performed in a band. Christian has also lived in the USA and is multilingual, speaking English, Spanish and Portuguese. When he's not crooning away in front of Swingalicious, he works as an electrical engineer and plays soccer with the Redcliffe Dolphins. Christian's favourite music growing up included José José (Mexico's Sinatra), Luis Miguel (best Latin American singer) and The Doors. These days he loves listening to Big Band and Reggaeton music. Now we know you're swooning, but sorry ladies and gents, he's taken. Christian has four lovely children who will hopefully one day follow in his footsteps and join the band.