English Café Band

The English Café Band was created for the Feast of St George, a large scale event in Trafalgar Square for the GLA, on St George’s Day in April 2016. On this occasion they were a trio of accordion, fiddle and guitar, but they can be anything from a duo up to a septet. When a larger ensemble is required, added instruments can be double bass, clarinet, saxophone, flute, percussion and many others, depending on the style of music required.

The leaders, Alan Dunn (accordion) and Chris Haigh (fiddle), have been playing together for many years – they met as a result of a gig they both used to occasionally do. They soon discovered that they both had very eclectic tastes in music, and both seemed to have the goal of amassing the widest possible repertoire – including all the different styles in which fiddle and accordion are inextricably linked.

As full-time jobbing musicians in London Alan and Chris have had plenty of opportunities to make use of this huge stack of material – playing solo, together as a duo, or as part of larger combinations, at all manner of concerts, weddings, parties and corporate functions.

For St George’s Day 2016 they were joined by Graeme Taylor on guitar, who has a long musical history stretching back to the 1970s, having been a founder member of Gryphon. He also spent many years with The Albion Band and Home Service.

The English Cafe Band played English music for St George’s Day, including jazz and popular standards from the 1920s onwards, traditional and folk tunes, music hall numbers and more. However, they can also cover music from Scotland, Ireland, France, Romania and many other European and Eastern European countries, Canada, Italy, Russia, Latin America, the USA and other styles, including sea shanties and similar nautical material, especially suitable for pirate themed events – complete with parrot if required!