The Little Band
Lunchtime Concerts
Lunchtime Concerts are a monthly returning event with different musicians each time. Jill Cottle and John Lewis programme these well-loved concerts.
Entry is by donation, the profits are used to support community events.
The doors will open at 11am, so come in early and order yourself some lunch and a hot or cold drink from the bar. The performance will commence at 12:30pm.
The Little Band
The Little Band was formed in 2020 to play an eclectic mix of jazz standards, rarities and originals alongside arrangements of other genres molded to Little Band specifications. The members are Bruce McKinnon (vibraphone, drums), John Bell (cornet, drums) and Alan Thomas (electric basses).
Bruce McKinnon retired as Emeritus Principal Percussionist from the NZSO in 2019 where his soloist roles included Bartok’s Piano and Percussion Concerto (with Michael Houston, Diedre Irons and Nicolai Albulescu), Leroy Anderson’s The Typewriter and the soundtrack to the Nicky Caro movie Memory and Desire.
In his youth he toured internationally with the National Band of New Zealand and became the first percussion graduate at Victoria University. In the 1980s Bruce was Principal Percussionist with the APO, combining this with jazz session and theatre drum work. He also produced long-running radio series and was an Arranger for RNZ. Bruce maintains a strong interest in Cook Island drumming and in 2000 presented Rarotongan drummer George Upu in the UK and France, collaborating with the Wellington percussion group Strike.
John Bell has spent most of his 28-year music career playing vibraphone in bands in NZ and overseas. After a recent move to the Far North, John now returns to his first musical passions, brass and untuned percussion. His formative musical years in Wellington included work with C.L. Bob, Syzygy, Sanctus and guesting with Roger Sellers, Richard Nunns and Steve Lacy (USA), among others. After moving to Melbourne, he recorded his acclaimed trio album Spirals at ABC Southbank studios.
In 2002 John returned to Auckland and alongside collaborative projects with artists such as Julien Dyne, Andrew MacMillan, Jeff Henderson and Chris O’Connor, he taught jazz at the NZ School of Music. John’s avant-garde hybrid brass bands NZ Dominion Centenary Concert Band and the Spoilers of Utopia both gained a following and released albums. New musical doors opened as his wife took him to South Korea in 2013, meeting Sunbae Choi and Alfred Harth in Seoul and recording albums with Alfred on the KSE label (USA) and Moloko Plus (Germany) and playing diverse gigs and festival performances including three tours to Europe with the Jiha Park Communion band.
Alan Thomas’ lean and mean early bass-playing was honedin London’s punk and new-wave scene of the 1970’s/80’s. A highlight was a recording session at Abbey Road. Music then took a back seat while family and a continent-hopping academic science career became central. For the last 5 years he has focused on musical and artistic interests and is delighted to call Northland home, where he’s been fortunate to meet inspiring musicians who have helped reveal and share the rich vocabulary and opportunities that jazz offers.
Alan’s performance credits include: Statistics (1974 – 1976) Punk, The Motives (1976 – 1981) New Wave, September Moon (2016 – 2019) covers and Thelonious Punk (2017 – 2020) jazz.
