Down for the Count

Down for the Count was founded in London in 2005 by Mike Paul-Smith, a pianist and musical director who still manages every booking. The collective draws on 30 professional musicians and has played at more than 1,000 events, including eight sold-out shows at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.

The repertoire covers swing, jazz, soul, Motown and pop, along with the Great American Songbook of Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Count Basie. Set lists are built around the couple's brief, and first dance arrangements can be prepared for any song.

There are nine named line-ups. They include the Vintage Strollers, an acoustic roaming trio, The Get Downs, a swing and soul party band, a 19-piece Big Band with 13 horn players, and a 28-piece Swing Orchestra with strings that is among the largest live wedding ensembles in the UK.

Every note is played live, with no backing tracks and no click tracks. Whole-day packages bring together ceremony musicians for the processional, signing and recessional, roaming entertainment for the drinks reception and a party band for the evening.

The collective has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Claridge's, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, the V&A Museum, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and at festivals including Montreux and North Sea Jazz. It travels throughout the UK and internationally.