Over the first few years of existence for BackBeat Village, from time to time we would be asked if we could incorporate any swing / Ratpack in to our performance, or even provide an evening of music entirely based around the jazz repertoire. It seemed logical to offer a band more specific to this requirement, and in 2007 The Jazz Reporters materialised!

BackBeat Village is of course still able to include some jazz / swing repertoire in to the set, and similarly The Jazz Reporters can cross over to include a selection of Soul & Motown as well as all the classic songs of the Rat-Pack, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Nat King Cole, Harry Connick Jnr, Michael Buble etc.

So both bands are highly versatile, with The Jazz Reporters specialising in the jazz & swing, compared to BackBeat Village which specialises in funk, soul, Motown & disco.

A key point for the Jazz Reporters which is highly advantageous for some clients is that the band is available as a 4-piece (the smallest configuration of BackBeat Village is a 5-piece). This affects many important details, such as price, space, volume level and setting-up times:

• Prices for The Jazz Reporters currently start at £960 (with possible discounts for weeknights and off-peak months);
• The 4 piece band does not involve a huge amount of sound equipment, and can therefore fit in to fairly small spaces when necessary (around 4m x 2m is a comfortable minimum for a 4 piece band);
• When volume levels need to be kept fairly low, this is easier to accommodate with a smaller band;
• Once inside the venue, The Jazz Reporters can easily set up within an hour.