Dr. Jester and the Kings of Swing

We can offer a female lead singer who also plays bass trumpet performing jazz standards, bossa nova, and light motown and funk. We can tailor our set to the type of event and venue and perform for settings such as jazz clubs and nursing homes for example. Dr. Jester, when appropriate for the venue, also gives small fun historical and informational tidbits to pull the audience in for engagement, and often people want to get up and dance with their loved ones. The band consists of a drummer, bass player, guitarist, keyboards, and Dr. Jester as vocalist and needs electricity to power amplifiers and speakers. We are able to bring a full PA and lights for an additional fee. We will consider outdoor settings. We do not do weddings or wedding receptions. We can be dynamic enough to be on a stage as a complete act or in the corner of a dark jazz club playing great music.

For recordings, please see the website (link hidden)

Featuring jazz vocals with bass trumpet and guitar, Dr. Jester and the Kings of Swing delight audiences with old school sounds and a side of education, too.

Dr. Jester and the Kings of Swing feature songs from the American Songbook mixed with jazz, and bossa nova. Dr. Jennifer Jester is vocalist, musician, music therapist, and educator. She specializes in low brass and prefers to play the bass trumpet to add beautiful musical colors to the pieces. She likes to describe her horn playing for this group as “Ella Fitzgerald meets Louis Armstrong and runs into Chris Botti.” Jennifer’s music of choice is steeped in jazz, rock, pop, Americana, bluegrass, country, folk, new-grass, and contemporary pop. The Kings of Swing are generally made up of Chuck Oettel on guitar, Rick Reinhart on piano, Bruce Campbell on upright bass, and Woody White on drum set. These fine musicians each have a story of their own, but musically they play jazz favorites throughout the decades with great style and flair that is enjoyable to listen to in any setting. Each of the Kings have been playing in the central PA region for over 40 years and in many cases, they have been playing together off and on during that entire time. In fact, Chuck and Woody played together in high school! Each of them are well versed in jazz, funk, swing, and you'll even hear some hints of rock and Motown. Each of them maintains an active schedule of performing in various bands in the region.

Lighting is determined by the type of venue and setting. We are able to bring some basic lighting if needed. If lighting is available, a basic stage lighting plot with darker moody colors to set the scene is welcome.

We can be versatile with staging as long as area is safe and free from water. We do not have our own stage.

We utilize a basic PA setup and are able to bring our own system for small to medium sized situations. This is something that would need to be discussed to see if our PA fits the environment or if the person booking needs to provide a PA.