Big band tribute to Stockgrove musician raises more than £15k for charity

Friends, colleagues and fans of a Stockgrove musician who died of motor neurone disease in 2020, came together for a tribute concert in his memory earlier this year.

And now his widow Kathy Gifford has presented a cheque for £15,000, most of which goes to fund research looking for relief and a cure for MND. The remainder goes to the Bedfordshire branch of the MNDA whose volunteers provide equipment, advice, relief and personal support as they did though Nick’s illness. The Just Giving NickCareConcert page is still open for donations to the MNDA.

Nick Care, of Stockgrove, who taught at Aylesbury Music Centre for over 30 years, died aged just 62 in 2020 following a brave battle with MND.

The 1,200 seat Waterside in Aylesbury theatre was sold out for ‘Nick Care’s BIG Band Paean’ held on March 5,.

As a teacher for the Aylesbury Music Centre (AMC), Nick was instrumental in Aylesbury becoming known as a centre for excellence of youth music.

Five of Nick’s bands, spanning ages 10 to 18, won 40 national and international awards. His Aylesbury Music Centre Dance Band won the BBC Big Band competition four times.

Nick’s bands performed live on BBC Blue Peter seven times and internationally at Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals five times. They also played Buckingham Palace, The Royal Albert Hall, London Palladium and BBC Proms in the Park. Some youngsters performed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Nick also helped Warwick Davis with his band conducting. Guest soloists with Nick’s bands included Sir John Dankworth, Georgie Fame, Julian Joseph and Django Bates.

Aylesbury born Jules Buckley returned home to lead the concert which featured a staggering number of Nick’s former students and friends performing in the spectacular tribute concert.

Grammy award-winning curator, conductor, orchestrator, composer and hugely respected musical innovator Jules played in Nick’s bands from the age of nine to 18. He now has two No. 1 albums, a staggering discography of over 70 albums and 20 BBC Proms concerts, seeing him collaborate with international musical legends such as Paul Weller, Chaka Khan, Robbie Williams, Stormzy, Arctic Monkeys, Quincy Jones, Tori Amos and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Nick Care's BIG Band Paean featured 160 performers with ages ranging from eight years old to retirees, who were mainly friends and alumni from Nick’s AMC Bands. The numerous alumni who are now professional musicians, included Mark Armstrong (Professor at the Royal College of Music, Artistic Director of National Youth Jazz Orchestra) and John and Matt Calvert (Quincy Jones, Goldie). Friends performing included Mark Nightingale on trombone (Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Madonna), and Mike Lovatt on trumpet (Aretha Franklin, Seth MacFarlane, Gary Barlow). The professionals played in performance with the dozens of alumni who now enjoy music as a great leisure time activity, as well as students from Turnfurlong Junior School, for whom it was their first ever concert performance.

Nick’s widow Kathy Gifford, who also worked closely with Nick at the AMC, was the event’s producer, and alongside the professional Waterside theatre staff, there were seventy five volunteer helpers tasked with looking after all of these performers and the audience. The whole concert is available on YouTube: search ‘Nick Care Paean’.