WE ARE A professional jazz, blues and soul band LOCATED IN LONDON
The Macaroons (guitar, drums, harmonica, keyboard, bass, trumpet and saxes) play an upbeat and edgy blues/soul/jazz mixture with a dash of European quirkiness. We add our own touch to jazz and blues standards and put our own twist on latin, funk, rock and soul numbers. Our musical melange will take you from the streets of New Orleans all the way to the back streets of Paris. We are based in London but our lives and travels abroad have left their indelible traces on our music. We like to share our music and good times with diverse audiences.
OUR MUSIC
John and Nigel
Our Band
Alexandra Stanton
Alex took up a trumpet aged 7 years old and has not put it down since! Her passion for jazz was ignited by Ella and Louis album that she was given for her birthday that year. She completed her studies at the Antibes Conservatoire in France before moving to London in 1995 where her life encounters have taken her towards Classical, blues, Latin, and Soul music.
Nigel Summerley
Nigel Summerly skipped school to see Ginger Baker play with Cream - and bought his first drumkit three days later. Since then, he has played with a variety of blues and rock bands before turning towards jazz. He studied drumming with the legendary John Marshall (Soft Machine, Nucleus, Jack Bruce Band).
Mike Mangroo
Mike is an electric guitarist with a passion for Americana, Jazz, Soul and Gospel music. He grew up listening to Dylan, Cream, Robert Johnson and his dad's collection of reggae and country when he should have been listening to Madonna! He still has the Blues for Robert Johnson, Mahalia Jackson, to BB King through to Tedeschi Trucks.
Chris Stanton
Chris just likes music - in all its forms and genres! After trying a range of instruments from a young age, he settled on the bass. He provides The Macaroons with solid and distinctive basslines and even dabbles in the very occasional solo. His wide listening tastes have definitely left a mark on The Macaroons' repertoire.
John Imrie
keyboards
John is known in the band as the International Man of Mystery - the James Bond of the keyboard. A brilliantly inventive player, he often flies in from who-knows-where to grace a Macaroons performance. He also teaches at the Mick Jagger Centre, the performing arts school in Dartford, Kent, opened by the Rolling Stones' frontman in 2000.
Chris Francis
Chris is a musical force of nature who has played at venues across the UK and Europe, include Ronnie Scott's, and in every genre from jazz, folk and blues to soul, highlife and kwela. He was a member of the award-winning fusion band Joy whose eponymous 1976 album was recently remastered and re-released to rave reviews in the national press.
Our Services
Wide repertoire
Our wide repertoire covers songs ranging from jazz classics to modern rock and blues and includes:
Song For My Father, Angel From Montgomery, Chitlins Con Carne, Hoochie Coochie Man, Sidewinder, La Rue De La Solitude (Lonely Avenue), Moi Mon Ame Et Ma Conscience, Midnight Blue, Sympathique, St James Infimary, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Coming Home Baby, Work Song, Corcovado, Stormy Monday, Black Orpheus, Sweet Rowena, Collision in Black, Full House, Love in Vain, The Sky is Crying, Four on Six, Got my Mojo Working, So What, Chameleon, Les Yeux de l’Amour (The Look of Love), Tango ‘Til They’re Sore, Cissy Strut, Sunshine of Your Love, many others and some of our own original compositions too.
We are happy to tailor playlist to the requirements of the event .
Own Equipment
Our Rates
| We charge between £100 and £500 depending on the proximity of the venue, length of the set and availability of backline and equipment. We own our full PA. We support charity work and have adapted our fees for charity events |
Our Dates!
We have played at a variety of venues across London and the UK: The Clarendon Hotel (Blackheath), Jazz After Dark (Soho), Luna (Leytonstone), The Goose (Fulham), The Grey Horse (Kingston), Carshalton Artists Open Studios (Surrey), Clapham Common Bandstand, The Guitar Social (Hackney), Kettstock Festival (Northamptonshire), Downs Tennis Club (Surrey), Bibury Coronation Celebrations (Cotswolds), Canbury Gardens (Kingston), Moonfest (Stevenage), The George (Harrow), The Pyrotechnists Arms (Nunhead), Carshalton Frost Fair, Walthamstow Trades Hall, The Place Live Lounge (New Malden), Bibury Garden Fete, Water’s Edge (Cirencester), Fitzhugh Estate (Wandsworth Common), The GreyHound (Carshalton), Cryers Arts Marquee (Carshalton), Carshalton EcoFair, Wallington Farmers Market, Throwley Yard Cinema (Sutton), Knepp Wilding Kitchen, Horsham), Brunswick Pub (Brighton).
Check out our upcoming events
Why Us?
Own Equipment
We own our own PA and equipment so you don't have to worry about anything.
Years of Experience
We have years of experience dealing with a variety of venues and providing bespoke service and events in timely, straightforward, reliable and professional way.
Outstanding Reviews
"If you're looking for a band whose repertoire is wider than the Atlantic then the Macaroons are your go-to group. There may be only four of them but they cover a lot of ground, from pop to modern jazz with all the stops in-between. Whether it's a blues standard like "Hoochie Coochie Man" with gutbucket vocals from drummer Nigel Summerley, a French language version of "The Look of Love" from singer and ace trumpeter Alexandra Stanton, or guitar and bass riffs to bathe in from Mike Mangroo and Chris Stanton on jazz standards such as Horace Silver's "Song for My Father" and Lee Morgan's "Sidewinder", this group has all the bases covered. Any performance will not only broaden your music horizons but provide a Gallic-flavoured and thoroughly entertaining show." John Clarke (Music reviewer for The Times, The Independent, The i).
"Miles Davis meets Eric Clapton", Roger Staton, Bibury News.
"This band is so tight! Keep on doing what you're doing, guys!", DJ Tony Jazz, Universal Soul Radio.
"People were blown away by The Macaroons" David Endersby, organiser of the Kettstock Festival.
"Chris Francis' alto is worth crossing a fakir's bed to hear", leading jazz critic Brian Case.
Did you enjoy our music? Please leave some feedback on our performance
Italianate version of James Brown
Carissima: “What can I say as a lifelong James Browner and someone who lives in Italy, other than what a thrill to hear an Italianate version of him!”
C'est La Vie
C’est La Vie: “I swear I could feel it damping down my stress hormones, not least in its lyrics of acknowledging the angst but countering it with ‘mais aussi’…”
Days of L'amore - a joyous yet serious snook at the travails of love
“I love The Days Of L’Amore most immediately because it makes me want to dance whilst cooking a joyous yet serious snook at the travails of love… because its Italianish is brilliant – I wish more bands would spot the beauty in Italian’s musicality (and instant transmissability, if that’s a word)… because, complimenti a tutti, every instrument plays so clearly, beautifully physically, and in such sintonia… and because I love the verve and subtly played intent of the singing, something between Tom Waits and Johnny Rotten…”