The band that gave birth to a band

Some passionate fans may have heard the story of the origins of the Basement Combo, but many who have discovered them more recently may be unaware of their history.

In 2017 Musical Director Dennis Russell took a trip to the Generations in Jazz festival at Mount Gambier, the largest jazz festival in the Southern Hemisphere. “I was there to direct a school band at the competition. A little jazz combo with some really great kids in it. We got to listen to some world class Jazz and I was so inspired that I had a deep urge to perform this music myself.”

Out of that moment was born the Tunisian Nights Little Big Band, who first performed from 2018 and have been consistent participants in the Adelaide Fringe and other major music festivals since that time.

“A little while into performing with the Little Big Band I realised that there were parts of Jazz this wasn’t suited to perform, and performance opportunities we couldn’t take up with such a large band. I wanted to open up more improvised models of Jazz like some of my musical heroes. People like Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, who did most of their work in small combo formats” says Russell.

And so a group of musicians from the Tunisian Nights band began working in the new smaller format, and the Basement Combo was formed.