Royal New Zealand Airforce Jazz Orchestra

Saturday 6 September 2025
Martinborough Town Hall, Waihenga Centre,
7.30pm

Tickets from iTicket – $45-$49 plus booking fee.

Big Band Brings Back the Swing

Jazz in Martinborough is thrilled to be bringing you the Royal New Zealand Airforce Jazz Orchestra as our feature act for 2025. We’re delighted to be able to fill the stage with a full-sized big band of fabulous musicians, and the Town Hall with the fantastic sounds of the big band era.

Staying true to the tradition of swing and improvisation the orchestra draws on their own rich history dating back to the original ‘swing era’. The Jazz Orchestra is a national trailblazer in big band history and features New Zealand compositions, and a classic repertoire from the golden era of big band swing jazz of Ellington and Basie.

The band benefits from a depth of talent that most military bands around the world would only dream of and is made up of Wellington’s most exceptional musicians.

The line-up will be a who’s who of the Wellington jazz scene. It’s a while since we a big band played at the festival, so we’re elated to have the Airforce Jazz Orchestra back with us again. They last played at the festival in 2014. Many of the band members have been here since, but not as part of a big band.

The Jazz Orchestra performs regularly at a variety of engagements, including charity balls, concerts, and festivals, and most recently a whistle stop tour of Tararua and Hawke’s Bay before playing a sold-out concert at Te Auaha in Wellington.
 
Membership for the Jazz Orchestra is drawn from the larger RNZAF Band which performs regularly at Parliament, Government House, and Pukeahu National War Memorial – parading for NZDF and Government ceremonies including Anzac Day, state occasions and visiting dignitaries. All members of the band are part-time reservists and hold other professions outside of their Air Force duties although many of them are freelance musicians and hold credits working with the likes of the NZSO, Orchestra Wellington, Shapeshifter, Troy Kingi and Dallas Tamaira.