THE Two Rivers Swing Band will be holding their Spring Dance on Saturday, April 18 at the Winter Gardens, Ilkley.

Their dances at the Winter Gardens have already attracted a loyal following, but this time there will be something extra.

Al Wood, who has played with many of the famous bands of the ‘big band’ era, most notably the Maynard Ferguson Big Band, will be joining the Two Rivers Big Band on tenor sax.

Owen Wells, chairman of the band said: “Two of our regular tenor sax players were not available to play for our dance on April 18 and we were absolutely overjoyed when Al Wood said that he would come and play with us. Al is probably the finest jazz player in the north of England and to have him sitting in with us is a tremendous honour.”

The Two Rivers Swing Band plays classics from the big band era by composers such as Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, jazz ballads, Latin, waltzes and a little bit of rock’n’roll.

The band now has two first rate vocalists who will be singing numbers made famous by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.

There will be a real ale bar and, if their previous dances are anything to go by, it is set to be a highly enjoyable evening.

The dance is from 8pm-11pm. Tickets are £8 from Ilkley Tourist Office.