A music teacher from Croydon will lead a live streaming session of the Len Phillips Big Band from Abbey Road studios this Saturday (March 20) it what is hoped will mark an end to crowd-less concerts for the expert jazz musicians involved.

Joe Pettitt heads Rock, Pop and Jazz at Trinity School Croydon, and said the live-streaming concert will be the first of its kind from the iconic studio that hosted The Beatles.

"It's extremely exciting. We're going to be in Studio 2 which is the iconic 'Beatles' studio but also where a load of other huge artists like Ella Fitzgerald and other Big Band musicians have recorded in the past," he told the Croydon Guardian.

"No one's ever done a live stream from there before so this will be the first Big Band stream from Abbey Road. We're really looking forward to it.

"Matt Ford is a brilliant singer and he'll be singing Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett... and Nicola Emmanuel who's going to be singing some Ella Fitzgerald, including two pieces that were recorded in that studio including a Beatles Can't By Me Love cover," Joe added.

The Croydon music teacher took over the band in 2010 when founder Len Phillips retired.

Len sadly passed away in January and Joe said the Abbey Road session will also be a tribute to the band's namesake.

"We lost Len Phillips, the guy who set up the band, in January. We wanted to do something fitting and Abbey Road seemed like the perfect choice really.

"Len started the band in the 80s when Big Bands were not fashionable and dying out a bit.

"Apart from being a good musician and knowing lots about Big Bands he was a great businessman and he could sell the band, and from the ashes of lots of other bands he started something that created a working, professional band that got more and more work and got better and better," Joe said.

The band have received rave reviews from household names including Len Goodman, who said it was "a joy to be up close and personal" with the band during a previous live gig.

Since the pandemic, however, they have pivoted to live streaming gigs to comply with safety restrictions and help slow the spread of Covid-19.

"We've been doing live streams throughout the pandemic either with or without an audience. Sometimes in a back garden or in a concert hall. We hope this will be the last time we do one without an audience so we hope to go out with a bang.

"The emails and the hand-written letters from people who have watched us supporting what we're doing has been really enthusiastic. It's allowed me to provide work for professional work for musicians who are obviously having a very difficult time at the moment," Joe said.

The Croydon teacher has since returned to school and said he welcomed a rest for his eyes that in-person teaching provides away from the screen.

The live streaming event kicks off at 2.30pm on Saturday and will be streamed free from the band's YouTube channel and on Facebook.

"I don't think you'll ever hear anyone who listens to a Big Band say 'I don't like that'. It's joyful. I hope people who might not buy a ticket to go and watch Jazz live at Ronnie Scotts or something can stumble across it might have a look and give us a look."

Click here for more info on how to watch.