91Èȱ¬

Award-winning cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, percussionist extraordinaire Dame Evelyn Glennie, former 91Èȱ¬ Young Musician of the Year, Nicola Benedetti, and the 91Èȱ¬ Concert Orchestra are among the stellar line-up of stars to join CBeebies' new music sensation, ZingZillas, in their daily, show-stopping Big Zing.

Launching this Easter, ZingZillas features Zak, Tang, Panzee and Drum – four primate friends who live to create great music and get youngsters across the nation bopping, jiving and swinging on down to music from across the globe.

Gorilla and lead singer Zak provides vocals, while musical genius and lead guitarist Tang the orang-utan creates the toe-tapping, finger-clicking compositions.

The band is styled by chimpanzee bass guitarist and keyboard player Panzee, and monkey percussionist Drum always lays down a great beat.

During each episode, the tropical island glade is visited by a different musical guest, including some of the biggest names on the international music scene – flautist Sir James Galway, opera star Sarah Connolly and scat singer Dame Cleo Laine, with her husband, the late Sir John Dankworth, in his last television performance.

The series also features artists from the world of pop and rock, including A's Daniel P Carter (also host of 91Èȱ¬ Radio 1's Rock Show), Infadels' Matt Gooderson and Jamiroquai's Stuart Zender.

Other illustrious musical guests include Weekend Wogan's resident pianist, Elio Pace, didgeridoo player Dhinawan, slide guitarist Michael Messer, sitarist Jonathan Mayer and taiko drummer Joji Hirota – not to mention specialist groups including The Swingle Singers, Jugnu Bhangra, The Amazing Bavarian Stompers, Silk Street Hot 7, Kickin' Alice and Last Choir Standing finalists The ACM Gospel Choir.

Composers Banks & Wag were given the task of writing all the original music for the show. From Bhangra to blues, scat to salsa, this was a huge musical job tackled with relish.

"It's been a dream gig," confesses Chris Banks, "an opportunity to write big melodies, multiple harmonies and rich arrangements in so many different styles. We wanted to really push the boat out, to go for something bigger and more complex than you usually hear on children's TV.

"Plus we got to work with so many amazing musicians. One week it's Julian Lloyd Webber or Dame Cleo Laine, the next it's Elio Pace or Stuart Zender, or the 91Èȱ¬ Concert Orchestra. You can't really go wrong with talent like that!"

The ZingZillas take inspiration from the visiting musicians and incorporate them and their sounds into each show-stopping Big Zing. Ranging from a full concert orchestra to a lone harmonica, this series embraces and celebrates musical genres from around the world.

Kay Benbow, Head of CBeebies Production, adds: "ZingZillas puts music from across the globe at the heart of the every episode, bringing our primate band together with some internationally acclaimed musicians.

"The show is a veritable musical feast introducing new sounds, new instruments and musical ideas into the lives of CBeebies' young audience, inspiring them to jump up, join in and create some music for themselves. The ZingZillas band of energetic primates aims to get under-sixes across the nation making music – ZingZilla-style!"

The show's Early Years Education consultant, Linda Bance, sums up: "The ZingZillas team have worked hard alongside music specialists to provide a high-quality musical experience that pre-schoolers deserve. With its engaging storylines, colourful endearing characters and high-quality musical experiences, I hope that by watching and becoming interested in the music adventures of the ZingZillas, pre-schoolers will be enlightened as to the many different types of music and sounds there are all over the world.

"I hope it will feed their imaginations, inspire them to try out new ideas and be curious and creative. We should not underestimate the power of music in our pre-schoolers' lives."

Notes to Editors

With its exemplary blend of high production values, core music education principles and lively, inspirational content, ZingZillas is just one of the programmes that demonstrates the 91Èȱ¬'s commitment to making outstanding children's content.

CBeebies is dedicated to delighting and surprising its young audience and it remains the UK's most watched and loved channel for the under-sixes, with almost half of the target audience tuning in each week (parents and carers with children aged 0-3 and four- to six-year-olds in digital homes).

The CBeebies website attracts more than 800,000 unique users a week, peaking at more than one million unique users in February last year, and last May saw the launch of the specially designed, child-friendly CBeebies iPlayer.

FW