Phil Brown Swingtet Marks Two Years at The Duck and Ball
Lively October session sees a set with a broad range of jazz styles
Phil Brown Swingtet and guests at the October session. Picture: Tim Wacher
October 30, 2026
Chiswick’s long-running jazz night at The Duck and Ball continued in style this autumn, with the Phil Brown Swingtet celebrating its second anniversary at the Riverside Drive venue. The six-piece ensemble, led by trombonist Phil Brown, performs on the third Thursday of every month and has become a fixture for local jazz fans.
The band features Phil’s son Lester on trumpet and flugelhorn, Mark Aston on a range of saxophones, Anthony Cox on electric bass, and brothers Andrew and David Clancy on piano/keyboard and drums. The group plays virtually every style of jazz from traditional, mainstream and modern – from Armstrong to Basie.
Their 15 October anniversary session opened with Johnny Hodges’ The Jeep is Jumping, followed by If I Had You. An upbeat Just Friends showcased Lester and Mark, before the band moved into Count Basie’s smooth After Supper. The first set closed with Billy Strayhorn’s classic Take the A Train.
The second half offered an equally varied programme, beginning with the 1913 number The Curse of an Aching Heart. Phil Brown took the vocal lead on After You’ve Gone, joined by guest trombonist Pete Clancy, who then sang the 1928 tune I Get the Blues When It Rains. Vocalists Teresa Jennings and Diane Slater contributed polished renditions of Love You Madly and C’est si Bon respectively, before the band moved through Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man, Ellington’s Stevedore Stomp, and a lively Bourbon Street Parade to close the evening.
The night also featured the return of Dan Guest’s Lindy Circle dancers, whose swing routines have become a popular addition to the monthly sessions.
Entry to the Duck and Ball jazz nights is free, with sessions running from 8pm to 10.30pm. The venue, located at 12 Riverside Drive (W4 2SP) opposite Dukes Meadows, offers food, parking and easy access via buses E3, 190 and the new 209.
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