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Porgy & Bess

Ken has also played a series of gigs where he has organised a "meeting" with another strong soloist. Included were Paul Williamson (sax), Christophe Genoux (sax), Gianni Marinucci (tpt) and Eric Budd (trom). He has also done some gigs with vocalist Rebecca Barnard.

Bigger ensembles include a sextet with Gianni and Eric making a 3 horn front line with Ken, a chance to play in the sound world of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers while in no way becoming a "tribute" band.

Larger still has been a 9 pc effort with the 3 horns, and a large rhythm section including piano, guitar, vibes/percussion, drums and bass, with Rebecca as vocalist.

The full Movin' & Groovin' orchestra (19 strong including vocalist) had a great run of 9 gigs at the Royal Show 2010 as well as some private parties and once again played at the Bell Awards in May at the Plaza.

Ken is writing music for all these endeavours. He has no projects, only endeavours.

Ken's Past Gigs

Apart from the Moovin' & Groovin' Orchestra's gigs, which are detailed on their website (visit them at www.mgo1.com). Ken has done many public performances in a small group format.

As he spends a bit of time in Hobart these days, Ken sat in with Freddy Bradshaw's band at the Queen's Head in February. Prior to that he played in Aman McMannis' street band outside the Tote at the protest about its closure.

2009 had some notable public performances (private gigs are left out):

Bennett's Lane with Spring Quintet
Ken, Cheryl Clark (reeds), Andrew James (piano), Leigh Barker (bass), Sonja Horbelt (drums)
Earlier in the year, this group played for the Bell awards with its original lineup where the piano player was David Allardice and the bass player, Ian Wilmot.

Belgian Beer Cafe @ Eureka Tower with Ken Schroder Trio
Ken, Craig Fermanis (guitar), Leigh Barker (bass)
Earlier that year the trio included Doug deVries & Leigh Barker.

Gig in London (UK) at 606 Club
Dave Cliff (guitar), Winston Clifford (drums), Geoff Gascoyne (bass)

2 nights @ The Paris Cat with a piano-less Quartet
Ken, Gianni Marinucci (trumpet), Frank Di Sario (bass) & Hugh Harvey (drums)

At the end of the year, there were some impromptu gigs at Grumpy's (Smith St.) with Andrew Swann (drums) and James Clark (bass). This is the genesis of a new group which will soon have a name as the music has been written and the first gig (a private party is coming soon).
Grumpy's was also the venue for some jam sessions with Paul Williamson, Bruce Sandell, George Washing Machine, Sam Lemann, Rod Gilbert and Steve Sedergreen.

Earlier that year Ken played at the Laundry (now closed for music) with Don Stewart (trumpet/trombone), Aman McMannis (trumpet/vocals), John Scurry (guitar), Andy Ross (bass) & Lyn Wallace (drums). There were also gigs at the Pinnacle (Nth Fitzroy) and a sit-in with Paul Williamson (sax) & Gil Askey (trumpet).

Ken worked with vocalists in 2009 including Hetty Kate and Julie O'Hara and sat in with Rebecca Mendoza at John Montosant's at the Commune (East Melbourne).

In previous years:

Spring has done a gig for the MJAC (Jazz Co-Op) each year at Bennett's Lane or The Paris Cat for the past 5 years. Spring has also done a regular stint at the Bell Awards which herald the beginning of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Spring occasionally did gigs at Dizzy's or Paris Cat during recent years.

In 2008 Ken did a tour of regional Victoria with 'General Store' - Annemarie Sharry (vocals), Pierre Jaquinot (guitar), Ian Wilmot (bass).

In the years 2002-2005, Ken did a series of gigs at the Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder.
Jazz Food and Wine.. Themes included:

Parisian Swing (with Andy Baylor - gtr/violin) music from the Hot Club of France etc.
Bebop (w. Gil Askey - tpt) the music of Bird & Diz
Black & Blue (w. Dave Williamson - vocals) songs from the jazz/blues of the '30s
Soul (w. Dave Williamson - vocals) songs from Otis Redding, Percy Sledge et al
Some Like It Hot (w. Paul Van Ross - reeds) music from the Billy Wilder film
From Fellini to Mancini (w. film music that suits jazz improvisation
Cool Yule (w. Rebecca Barnard - vocals) jazzed up Christmas songs
Primavera (w. Shelley Scown - vocals) songs of Spring.
Autumn Serenade (w. Michelle Nicolle) songs about Autumn etc.
Samba (w. Chelley Scown) samba/bossa nova - Jobim, Bonfa and lots more.

Another regular has been the trip to Camperdown west of Melbourne with Andy Baylor to play with Peter Daffy at gigs in the country... rock with a bit of jazz and a bit of this and that.

At the 2007 MIJF, Ken did a duo with David Allardice for a lunchtime recital at BMW Edge. They performed tunes from "Conception" (George Shearing) to Opinao (a Brazilian tune.)

Ken had a band called Emanon that did quite a few season's at the Night Cat around the year 2000. A sextet, this band consisted of sax, piano, guitar, bass, drums &   percussion and played jazz for dancing with a latin emphasis.

Other offshoots were More than Mambo with a bigger frontline (added trumpet and trombone) as well as Rebecca Barnard, vocals. This band also did a Mambo night for the Melbourne Festival some time back when the emphasis that year was on dancing.

For more info on earlier successes, see Ken's Biography.

Casanova

Richmond Hill 1

Richmond Hill 2

Richmond Hill 3