Meet Down for the Count's Musicians: Marvin Muoneké

Published: 24 Apr 2024

It's time to catch up with one of our star vocalists - the wonderful Marvin Muoneké!

 

How/when did you first get involved with Down for the Count?

It was in June 2021, and I was invited to perform with the All-Stars. They were doing a performance at the Merlin Theatre in Frome in Somerset, which is not too far from where I live in Weston-super-Mare.

 

What was your first experience of jazz and swing music?

My first experience of jazz and swing music was actually when I was watching cartoons as a kid. When I was about four years old, I remember the first jazz tune I ever heard was a tune called Is You or Is You Ain’t My Baby in a Tom and Jerry Cartoon. It was a scene where Tom is serenading a potential love interest outside her window, and he’s playing the double bass and he’s singing this song, and I was instantly hooked by it.

The jazz bug really bit me when I was 15, when I got deeper into jazz. I started listening to Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, and then I started from the 1920s and progressively worked through the decades. I then started at my local school jazz band playing the piano, and then my confidence for singing came back when I was around 15 or 16. I then did my first public singing performance, which was Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon. I didn’t go to a conservatoire or music school, or anything like that.

 

What is your favourite jazz album/song/recording?

My top three would have to be: Sinatra at the Sands, Come Fly with Me, and Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook. There are a lot more that I could say, but these are my favourites for the moment.

 

What other musical projects are you involved with outside of Down for the Count?

I run my own quartet, and we play a mix of jazz standards and original songs as well. I am currently looking to put together a big band where we play my own arrangements.

I am currently also working on my third album as well, which I am hoping to have finished by the end of the year.  

 

Who are your musical influences?

Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, Mel Tormé, Louis Armstrong, Harry James - that’s ten already! Billy May, Quincy Jones, Nelson Riddle, Don Costa, Gordon Jenkins - there are so many others too.

 

What is the best gig you’ve ever been to?

Naturally 7! They’re a vocal acapella group, there’s seven of them, and they mimic the sounds of the instruments like guitar, bass, drums etc. They fully perform everything with their voices basically. They were playing at The Playhouse in Weston-super-Mare and I went to watch them.

Another great artist I have seen recently is Curtis Stigers. He was on tour and he came to The Playhouse as well in Weston-super-Mare with his quartet. They played some amazing songs, great saxophone player as well, great songwriter - it was all great.

 

What has been your favourite Down for the Count performance? 

I have two favourites! 

The first one is the first time I performed at St. George’s Hall in Liverpool, I think in 2022. 

The second one was the recent Ronnie Scott’s show, which is the first time I have ever played there. It was Mother’s Day, so my mother was there as well. It was a proud moment for her. 

 

What is your favourite song to play with Down for the Count?

My favourite is You’re Sensational. It’s a beautiful song - the way it was arranged is lovely, and it’s a lovely song to just listen to as well. 

 

What is the best part about being involved with Down for the Count?

I love the genuine camaraderie between everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re only doing a few dates on a tour or the whole thing, everyone is happy to work with you and chill with you. Everyone looks out for each other and has fun together. What you see is what you get, we all have a lot of fun on and off stage together.  

 

 

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