Christchurch may be freezing but there's some hot jazz going on at the George!

It was a freezing Wednesday night, but the Panama Hat New Orleans Jazz Band couldn't get any hotter down in Christchurch's Old George Inn.

The band played some traditional jazz standards such as "Georgia on my Mind" and "China Boy" plus many more, in a sensational toe tapping performance, which had the audience singing and clapping for more.

The setup is classic "Trad. Jazz." Consisting of clarinet, trumpet, trombone, string bass, guitar/banjo and drums; all producing a very authentic sound.

The group gracefully and professionally played the numbers with fantastic solos throughout each piece, bringing alive a superb era of music. The band is a friendly, tight knit bunch of musicians and this reflects in their playing style.

Personally, I thought it was fantastic to hear the band again. I have heard them play before and the standard seems to gets higher each time.  So much so, I invited a friend who is an aspiring musician along and asked him what his thoughts were. His response was "I've never heard this kind of music before. It's so different to the mass produced stuff you hear on the radio….it was inspirational to hear music like this played by real musicians".

We give the Panama Hat New Orleans Jazz Band a big "Christchurch People" thumbs up!