Drawing on inspiration from the likes of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, The Jitter Kings specialise in jazz music from the Swing Era and Dixieland. With experience of performing in venues ranging from Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club to Wembley the band provide the perfect entertainment for events ranging from swing dancing and vintage nights to weddings and other corporate events. The musicians are available in combinations ranging from sophisticated duos right the way up to the roaring 7-piece full line-up.
Vocals - Abbey Mordue
Sax/ Clarinet - Matt Davies
Trombone - Vij Prakash
Guitar - Mike Redfern
Piano - Alexander Veitch
Upright Bass - Matthew Read
Drums/ Washboard - Tom Hutchinson
Vij picked up the trumpet age six and developed his skills at Chetham’s School of Music from the age of ten, under the guidance of Steve Berry. He won prizes such as Most Outstanding Instrumentalist at the National Big Band finals. Switching to trombone he studied at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, becoming heavily involved with the jazz scene. At Guildhall School of Music for postgraduate studies, where he is now a fellow, he established projects taking him to prestigious venues such as Windsor Castle, The Bridgewater Hall, The Vortex Jazz Club, Havana Jazz Club and Monteux Jazz Festival.
'Tom began to play drums at the age of 14, achieving an ATCL diploma at the age of 18 before starting to study Jazz Percussion at Guildhall School of Music and Drama on a scholarship in 2013.
He has performed in a variety of scenarios ranging from Orchestral Percussion with the HSSO to Drum kit with the award winning Guildhall Jazz Band and the London Jazz Orchestra, to International gigs with the function band Young Rhapsody.
Tom is also involved in other upcoming pop, rave and jazz projects.'
Matt was a scholar at Junior Trinity College of Music, and has recently graduated from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, specializing in Jazz Saxophone. He is also a clarinettist, flautist, pianist and drummer of an equal calibre.He has played the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, The Royal Festival Hall, The Vortex Jazz Club, Pizza Express Jazz Club, The Harlow Playhouse, The Gherkin, The Shard, Azerbaijan (for the Secretary of State), toured Switzerland as a soloist accompanied by orchestra and was invited to play at a jazz festival in Combret, France. He accompanies an adult choir and arranges and compose for some of London’s finest musicians.
Mike began playing guitar at the age of 12. His formative years were spent playing classical nylon string guitar, however, it didn't take long before the discovery of Hendrix and Jimmy Page inspired a change of direction towards its electric counterpart. Since then Mike has been fortunate enough to play in some of the countries top venues including, Ronnie Scotts, The Spice of Life, Barbican Centre and Manchester Academy. He currently lives in London whilst studying Postgraduate Jazz Guitar at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Mike Can be found performing with numerous ensembles in and around London and is currently working on writing and recording new material with his quartet 'Highwalk'.
Abbey’s first major performance was at The Sydney Opera House, aged 8. Trained at The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama she graduated with a degree in Acting: For the Musical Stage. She is best known for her role as ‘Kerry’ from Chanel 4’s The Inbetweeners, and the unique vintage, comedy act called ‘Four Femmes on the Thames’. They perform a variety of music genres and write their own songs about London and life today, hitting up venues such as Ronnie Scotts, The Hideaway and The Royal Festival Hall. Abbey is currently on a scholarship to study Jazz at The Guildhall school of Music and Drama.
Taught by Professor Colin Stone of the Royal Academy of Music, Alex formerly studied at Cambridge University where he was a regular guest performer with the Andy Bowie Quartet, and is currently on the Jazz Piano Masters Program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Alex is a regular player at venues such as Cafe Oto and Ronnie Scott's. He composes for his jointly run quartet, and teaches. Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Fats Waller among his main influences, and in his spare time Alex enjoys pursuits such as climbing, swimming and cycling, and also enjoys reading and taking photographs.
Now studying Jazz in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Matthew studies with Steve Watts.
Matthew has played in many prestigious venues including The Barbican, Pizza Express Jazz Club, Spice of Life Soho, Milton Court, Fife Jazz Festival, Swanage Jazz Festival, Concorde Club - Southampton, Oliver's Jazz Bar - Greenwich and The Turner Sims - Southampton. Matthew played in these venues with bands such as the Guildhall Jazz Band, Southbank Sinfonia, Southampton Legacy Big Band, Fraser Smith Quintet/Quartet, Howl Trio, Felix Rossy, Ed Arm Trio, Resurgence Trio, Corrie Dick Sextet, The Morgan Brothers' Big Band, Matthew Read's Quartal, Helena Kay Quartet and Bleep Test.
