The Dixie Swingers

Mobile Acoustic Jazz Band

Who’s Who in the Zoo

The band has performed at a number of interesting events this year including the Nederburg Wine Auctions, The J&B Met at Kenilworth Race Course, the North Sea Jazz Festival (Cape Town) and the recent Paulaner Brauhaus Oktober Beerfest at which the band premiered its own composition “The Paulaner Polka” in honour of the new 2004 brew.

Our regular trombone player is Willie Haubrich, an American originally from San Diego. He settled here, married a local girl and is now a proud father of two boys and a girl. Musically Willie occupied the principal trombone position with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra until it’s very unfortunate close; plays for a variety of music groups being much in demand such is the expert quality of his playing. In addition he is a composer and an arranger with many excellent works to his credit. We feel lucky to have his expert contribution to the band.

Pat ‘Curly’ Stilton plays the sousaphone which is the bass instrument in the band. Most often they can be seen in America style military bands with the large bell that faces forward (also the Navy band in Simonstown).

Curly trained at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal, United Kingdom. As a musician marine he travelled the world on board various Royal Naval ships. On completion of his service he de-mobilized here in Cape Town where he joined the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra and later the Cape Performing Arts Board Orchestra when it was formed. He returned to military life as a tuba/sousaphone player for the Navy Band in Simonstown where he still instructs and occasionally performs.

Stuart Goodwin is our multi talented clarinet/alto/tenor saxophone player. A professional for almost sixty years Stuart has performed in virtually all music combinations. He is in great demand and plies his services in a variety of groups so we’re lucky to have him.

Ed Backhouse is the trumpet player. As with our other members, he has performed as a professional for all of his adult life, first with pit orchestra then police in London UK, then Navy Band, Capab, CTSO and a variety of professional bands mainly in Cape Town

Vernon Varty uses more modern banjo chord structures to add yet another dimension to the sound. He uses more of a guitar technique to enhance the tuba and soloists.

Prof Doug Pitt, Dean of Commerce at UCT, has been playing tenor banjo semi professionally in bands throughout the UK for many years. He is a devotee of classic jazz and is both an ensemble and solo instrumentalist He has a huge repertoire of tunes and speciality numbers dating back to the 1920s'.