Rodger Fox Big Band: Oscar Lavën and Damian Forlong

The two musicians are part of the Rodger Fox Big Band (RFBB), and we caught up with them to talk about honouring Rodger Fox’s legacy and the band’s tribute to Ray Charles.

Oscar and Damian come into our offices early one Thursday morning and I can’t help commenting on the early hour for musicians who work evenings (and knowing that Oscar had a late gig the night before!).

DF: “It’s about leading by example and it’s something we learned from Rodger … no matter how late the gig is, you get up in the morning, and you do what needs to be done.”

Damian and Oscar both hail from the Bay of Plenty and have shared memories of Rodger’s encouragement of young musicians with Damian recalling Rodger coming to visit his school, “and now we’re both in the band”.

DF: “There’s a saying that as a trombone player, if you get a gig, you leave when you die.”

OL: “I joined just before the band went to Monterey Jazz Festival – Rodger called me and asked me to join and I said ‘ABSOLUTELY’. That was in 2017, but it feels like I’ve been in the band much longer and that trip really was the highlight of my life so far.”

Rodger died in May 2024, and Damian says the band members, while devastated by the loss, knew he would want the show to go on and there were forward bookings to fulfil. “Just a few days after his death was the Palmerston North Jazz Festival and a friend of his turned up with his band to play at the gig.

“Rodger had done everything in terms of running the band and we had to work it out along the way. We played all the gigs he had booked and it has continued.”

OL: “It still sounded like RFBB, and we were still playing the same way so we decided this needs to keep going.”

DF: “A band gets a particular sound and that’s its personality and for us that is Rodger.”

But says Oscar, no-one wants to be the Musical Director out the front. “Rodger’s brother Chris stepped in initially and did a stellar job, but now it feels wrong to have anyone out there so I’m conducting from my seat and that works fine.”

DF: “If Erna (Ferry) or any of the family said to stop we wouldn’t keep doing it.”

Erna is joining the RFBB for the Wellington Jazz Festival gig and has been a part of developing the concept.

DF: “A few months back we were talking about what we would do for the Jazz Festival and Louis TM (RFBB pianist) suggested we look at a concept, and the idea of a Ray Charles tribute came up. We’ve been doing a lot of crossover gigs and Erna knew Tony Lindsay (former Santana lead singer) was doing Ray Charles tribute shows in California so suggested we get him to come out.

“Rodger had previously sorted all the international guests so once again we’ve had to work it out and Tony is flying economy… with a bit of extra legroom”

I ask what audiences might expect at the Rodger Fox Big Band tribute to Ray Charles.

DF: “It will be a mix of his big band earlier work from the 50s and 60s, as well as his more modern stuff and there’s even a country tune in there. It’s a journey through his musical life. A big part of Ray Charles gigs were the Raelettes so we have The Beatgirls joining us as backing singers.”

Both Oscar and Damian are looking forward to the Jazz Festival with a hint of trepidation.

OL: “I’ll be strapping myself in and holding on ‘til the end. The most important thing for me is making sure my instruments are in the right place at the right time!”

For Damian, he will be playing in RFBB and in Dads Army New Orleans Trombone Special at Rogue and Vagabond alongside running the 37 gigs at Capital Blues Club.

“37 gigs seemed like a good idea at the time,” he laughs. “We’ve installed a special instrument – a recently restored 1950s Hammond organ and Miles Crayford will be playing it each night.”

OL: “The jazz festival is such a great celebration of the Wellington jazz scene all concentrated into five days. It’s a supercharged version of our lives and it offers a great gateway into jazz. So often I hear ‘I didn’t think I liked jazz, but that was great’, and then we see those people coming to the regular gigs and suddenly people in New Zealand are caring about the artform.

“And then there are the jam sessions which are always great. We get to play with people we don’t know, and we’ve even had a couple of times when headliners turn up and join in – in 2022 MonoNeon’s band turned up and jammed with us.”

Oscar adds that he’s also looking forward to one other special gig – his album launch at Rogue and Vagabond with the Elegant Calamity Orchestra.

And a final question for Oscar – you’re known around town for your flamboyant style – do you have anything special planned for the festival? “Well, it’s all about clashing patterns, but I reckon the pink suit will get an airing.”

The Rodger Fox Big Band plays Ray Charles: A Tribute with special guests Tony Lindsay, Erna Ferry and The Beatgirls on Sunday 19 October at Meow Nui. You can find more information about gigs featuring Oscar Lavën and Damian Forlong at jazzfestival.nz

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