John Shillito

John Shillito

Well over 65 years ago, John Shillito was bitten by the 'Jazzbug' in his early teens and was inspired to take up the trumpet so that he could both enjoy the thrill of playing the music as well as merely listening to it, making his debut as a band leader in 1954. His current bands are:

John Shillito Band consists of John on trumpet and flugel horn, Bobby Fox on trombone, John Wurr clarinet and alto sax, Jim Douglas guitar and banjo, Pete Furnish on double bass, Richie Bryant on drums and Simon Banks piano, all of whom were inspired as young men in the 1950s and ‘60s by the sounds of the early jazzmen of New Orleans, Harlem and Chicago. Still with the same passion for that music they keep that legacy alive, playing jazz crafted on the older styles that originated around the late 1900s.

The Riviera Ramblers six piece hot rhythm band featuring John, Zoe Lambeth, Bob Martin, John Whitlock, Dale Whitlock and Pete Furnish playing an eminently listenable and danceable mix, originating out of New Orleans via Harlem, via Paris and, of course, via Torbay.