Jools Holland

Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
Origin	London, England
Genres
Years active	1987–present
Labels
Members
Website	Template:URL

Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra (also known as Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra) is an English rhythm and blues band founded and led by pianist, bandleader, and television presenter Jools Holland. Originally formed as the Jools Holland Big Band in 1987, the ensemble has grown over the decades into a large-scale touring and recording orchestra, renowned for their energetic live performances and a long-running series of collaborative albums featuring some of the biggest names in popular music.

Background: Jools Holland

Julian Miles Holland OBE DL was born on 24 January 1958 in Blackheath, London. A self-taught pianist, Holland was playing by ear from the age of eight and was performing regularly in pubs across South East London and the East End Docks by his early teens.

At the age of 15, Holland was introduced to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, and together they formed the rock band Squeeze, with Gilson Lavis joining shortly after on drums. Holland played keyboards on Squeeze's first three albums — Squeeze, Cool for Cats, and Argybargy — before departing to pursue a solo career in 1980.

In 1983, Holland contributed a celebrated extended piano solo to The The's recording of "Uncertain Smile" for the album Soul Mining, one of the most noted session performances of his career.

Holland is also widely known as the long-running host of Later... with Jools Holland on BBC Two, which he has presented since 1992, and as the host of the annual New Year's Eve Hootenanny.

History

Formation: The Jools Holland Big Band (1987)

In 1987, Holland formed the Jools Holland Big Band, which initially consisted of himself and former Squeeze bandmate Gilson Lavis on drums. The ensemble was conceived as a vehicle for Holland's love of boogie-woogie piano and classic rhythm and blues, styles that had always underpinned his musical sensibility even during his years with Squeeze.

The Big Band gradually expanded in size and scope over the late 1980s, taking on additional brass players, vocalists, and a rhythm section, developing the sound and format that would define the orchestra for decades to come.

Growth and renaming (late 1980s–1990s)

As the ensemble grew, it was renamed Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, reflecting both its expanded instrumentation and its core musical identity. The band became known as an English rhythm and blues band led by boogie-woogie and former Squeeze pianist and television personality Jools Holland.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Holland's television career was expanding in parallel. After co-presenting The Tube with Paula Yates on Channel 4 (1982–1987), between 1988 and 1990 Holland performed and co-hosted along with David Sanborn during the two seasons of the music performance programme Sunday Night on NBC late-night television.

In 1996, Holland signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records, and his records are now marketed through Rhino Records.

The Small World Big Band series (2001–2003)

The orchestra gained its widest commercial recognition through the Small World Big Band series of collaborative albums, which leveraged Holland's unique position as the host of Later... with Jools Holland to bring together an extraordinary range of guest artists.

The first volume, Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues (2001), featured guest appearances by no fewer than 22 significant musical figures, including Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Van Morrison, Sting, and what is reputed to be the last recording by George Harrison, recorded a little over a month before his death in November 2001. Harrison's contribution, "Horse to the Water" — written with his son Dhani Harrison — became a poignant coda to the album.

Subsequent volumes followed: More Friends: Small World Big Band Volume 2 (2002) and Jack O the Green: Small World Big Band Friends 3 (2003), each continuing the formula of pairing the orchestra with a diverse array of collaborators ranging from veterans to newer artists.

Continued activity and touring (2004–present)

The orchestra has remained one of the most active live acts in British music. As well as formidable live performances, Jools has maintained a prolific recording career since signing to Warner Music in 1996, which includes the multimillion-selling Jools Holland and Friends series.

On 29 November 2002, Holland was in the ensemble of musicians who performed at the Concert for George, which celebrated the music of George Harrison.

In January 2005, Holland and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami Relief Cardiff.

In 2004, Holland collaborated with Welsh singer Tom Jones on the album Tom Jones & Jools Holland, a collection of traditional R&B material that reached the upper reaches of the UK charts.

The orchestra has continued releasing albums throughout the 2010s and 2020s, including The Golden Age of Song (2012), Sirens of Song (2014), and further collaborative sets.

Current lineup

The current lineup is a 19-piece orchestra consisting of pianist, organist, drummer, three female vocalists, guitar, bass guitar, two tenor saxophones, two alto saxophones, baritone saxophone, three trumpets, and three trombones.

The orchestra has included singers Louise Marshall, Ruby Turner, and Holland's daughter Mabel Ray, as well as his younger brother, singer-songwriter and keyboard player Christopher Holland.

Members

Core / Long-standing members

Jools Holland — piano, organ, vocals (1987–present)
Gilson Lavis — drums, percussion (1987–present; also formerly of Squeeze)
Ruby Turner — vocals
Louise Marshall — vocals
Christopher Holland — organ, piano, backing vocals (Jools Holland's younger brother)
Mark Flanagan — guitar, backing vocals
Dave Swift — bass guitar
Derek Nash — alto saxophone
Nick Lunt — baritone saxophone
Winston Rollins — trombone
Rico Rodriguez — trombone (guest; noted reggae musician)

Guest vocalists (selected)

The orchestra has performed and recorded with a very wide range of guest vocalists over the years, including: Van Morrison, Sting, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, George Harrison, Norah Jones, David Gilmour, Bono, Joe Strummer, KT Tunstall, Robert Plant, Smokey Robinson, Kylie Minogue, Marc Almond, Ringo Starr, Peter Gabriel, Solomon Burke, Suggs, Sam Brown, Chrissie Hynde, and Neneh Cherry, among many others.

Musical style

The orchestra's sound is rooted in classic rhythm and blues, boogie-woogie, and big band swing, inflected with elements of jazz, ska, and blues rock. Holland's piano playing — characterised by rolling left-hand bass lines and exuberant right-hand runs in the tradition of Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis — sits at the centre of the ensemble's sound.

The large brass section gives the band a powerful, full-bodied live sound capable of filling arenas and concert halls, while the presence of multiple vocalists allows the orchestra to traverse a wide range of material in a single set.

Television and media

Holland's role as host of Later... with Jools Holland (BBC Two, 1992–present) has been closely intertwined with the orchestra's public profile. The annual New Year's Eve Hootenanny special, broadcast live from Maidstone Studios, regularly features the orchestra performing alongside a hand-picked selection of musical guests.

Holland regularly hosted the programme Jools Holland on BBC Radio 2, a mix of live and recorded music featuring studio guests and members of his orchestra, and currently hosts Earlier with Jools Holland on BBC Radio 3.

Discography

Studio and collaborative albums (selected)

Year	Title	Notes
1990	World of His Own	Early orchestra release
1994	Live Performance	Live album
1996	Sex & Jazz & Rock & Roll	First Warner Bros. release
1999	Finding the Keys: The Best of Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra	Compilation
2001	Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues	Features Clapton, Van Morrison, George Harrison, Sting, and others
2002	More Friends: Small World Big Band Volume 2
2003	Jack O the Green: Small World Big Band Friends 3
2004	Tom Jones & Jools Holland	Collaboration with Tom Jones
2005	Swinging the Blues Dancing the Ska
2006	Moving Out to the Country
2008	The Informer
2010	Rocking Horse
2011	Jools Holland & Friends
2012	The Golden Age of Song
2014	Sirens of Song
2024	Swing Fever	Collaboration with Rod Stewart; reached number one on the UK Albums Chart

Legacy

Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra occupy a unique place in British popular music — simultaneously a functioning live band, a recording project, a television institution, and an informal showcase for the broader musical community. The orchestra's longevity, their consistency as a touring act, and Holland's cultivation of a vast network of fellow musicians have made them one of the most enduring ensembles in contemporary British music.

The Small World Big Band series in particular demonstrated how the orchestra could function as a kind of connective tissue between generations and genres of popular music, with Holland's position as a trusted host and collaborator enabling recordings that would have been unlikely to occur in any other context.

References

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External links