Joanna Forbes L’Estrange (singer-songwriter, formerly with The Swingles) and Alexander L’Estrange (award-winning composer/arranger and jazz multi-instrumentalist) have been performing together for 30 years as the duo L’Estranges in the Night. Having met as music undergraduates at Oxford, sharing a desk in the cello section of the university orchestra, they bonded over their mutual love of all styles of music and formed their jazz duo, initially in order to gain free entry into Oxbridge balls during their student years. Professional bookings soon followed to provide entertainment at formal dinners, private parties and corporate events.
During Joanna’s tenure as Musical Director of the five-time Grammy® Award-winning vocal group The Swingles, Alexander joined them for its 40th Anniversary “Retrospective” Tour and together they performed throughout America, Europe and Asia as well as at Ronnie Scott’s. They released their debut album New things to say: Songs of L’Estrange & Legrand in 2011, launching it to a sell-out audience at Soho’s Pizza Express Jazz Club. The album is dedicated to the memory of Michel Legrand’s sister Christiane, the original soprano with The Swingles, who died that same year. In homage to Joanna’s Swingle heritage, their set lists always include a couple of 1960s-style swung Bach numbers.
Highlights have included performing and recording with some of the top jazz musicians in the business including Dave Newton, Alan Barnes, Clark Tracey, Mark Armstrong and Simone Rebello. In 2019, they released a recording of Will Todd’s Mass in Blue (Convivium label) featuring L’Estranges in the Night and guests as the band and Joanna as the soprano soloist. In that same year, they made their Carnegie Hall debut. Closer to home, they have appeared for festivals including Jersey Jazz, West Green House, Stockwell Live! and in Joanna’s home town of Guildford.
During lockdown, L’Estranges in the Night stayed busy, writing and recording in their home studio. Their L’Estrange family music video Stay at home (based on A-ha’s Take on me) received tens of thousands of hits in a matter of months; they also released a Christmas single Green Christmas for which they were joined by their sons Toby (double bass) and Harry (drums). Joanna and Alexander are currently back in the studio, writing their next album.
