Our story
A big band built on friendship, love and swing.
Eighteen professional musicians, one shared belief: that this music is meant to be played live, exuberant and to get everyone on their feet!
The Summertimes Big Band came together in 2009, when a circle of Singapore's busiest professional players decided that the city deserved a standing big band of its own — not an occasional pick-up ensemble, but a working orchestra with a book, a sound and a personality.
What began as weekly rehearsals in a borrowed studio quickly became one of the island's most in-demand ensembles. The band has played the Esplanade, MediaCorp festivals, Orchard Central's grand opening, Tang's Christmas light-ups, swing dance camps, corporate galas and countless weddings — anywhere people are willing to push back the chairs and dance.
“Non-stop jumpin', jivin' & swingin'.”
The repertoire is deliberately wide. Basie, Ellington, Sinatra and Bennett sit alongside Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder and Bill Conti; Malay classics by P. Ramlee share the stand with Chinese evergreens and Cantonese screen themes. Many of the charts are written or arranged in-house, tailored to the band's own soloists.
Fronting the band is a rotating cast of vocalists who can each carry a room — from the Sinatra-schooled phrasing of Kelvin Kong to Haikal's uncanny Louis Armstrong, Rob Collins' Motown swagger and the powerhouse voices of Maia Lee and Miin Tong.
“Singapore's finest, all-professional big band.”
Whether the brief is a black-tie banquet, a Gatsby-themed gala, a charity fundraiser or a wedding where the first dance has to be perfect, the band arrives rehearsed, suited and ready to swing. Every engagement comes with its own sound crew, programming advice and, if you'd like, a host to run the evening.
