One Jump Ahead are an adaptable jazz and blues band who love performing and who can rapidly make a dance floor seem irresistible to young and old alike. Formed by singer/saxophonist Kit Packham in 1984 to play jazzy R&B with a sense of humour and a twinkle in their eyes, they were soon covering Rat Pack, Swing, Jazz, Rhythm & Blues, Rock’n’Roll, Soul and Vintage Pop.

The repertoire has well over 300 numbers and is still growing. In addition to popular covers of recordings by Louis Jordan, Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner, Fats Domino, Louis Prima and similar jump/jive icons, they tackle everything from Sinatra to Satchmo, and Sonny Rollins to the Rolling Stones. Kit has always enjoyed writing his own songs too, which have been critically acclaimed in the music press. There are currently over 30 of these in the band’s playlist, and they can be heard on the 6 albums they’ve recorded over the years.

From a humble debut in a Deptford pub, the band rapidly progressed to leading London music pubs of the day - the Dublin Castle, the King’s Head, the Half Moon, etc - and moved on to nightspots like Dover Street Wine Bar, the 100 Club and the Mean Fiddler. Festival appearances soon followed including the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia, the Guinness Jazz Festival in Cork and the Barbican Easter Jazz Festival where they opened for Humphrey Lyttelton’s band.