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It looks like the leader of the now Syd Lawrence Orchestra is beginning to
set people on fire. An article in the Moonlight Serenader (the magazine of theGlenn
Miller AppreciationSociety) written by Brian Sutcliffe, gives a wonderful report of
the band performance he witnessed at The Chichester Festival Theatre. He began his report by saying that "after Ernie Wise had died " quoting from the National press, "that the world
had lost a wonderful way of giving us sunshine, making us happy".
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The reason I am such a devoted fan of the Syd Lawrence orchestra like ten's
of thousands of others, who I guess live in the past when it comes to music, is that I could not believe this orchestra
could re-create the sound of those great swing era orchestras so accurately that it was just like listening to
the actual band of the past . The poor quality recordings of the thirties and forties gave us the mood that these
band created but the sound, the true sound ,unless we were fortunate enough to see them, we could only imagine.
Syd Lawrence brought the past forward to us.
Those of us that were too young or just in the wrong country to be able to see the realthing were taken back to
those time. We were thanks to Syd, Time Travellers in Music. To hear Glenn Millers pure sound live, was surely the highlight for me, but then to be treated to the sound
of other great bands like Tommy Dorsey, Rus Morgan, Count Basie, Ted Heath and many more was truly a bonus. I have not heard any other band that plays so well as this orchestra
since those greats have past.
Bands of the sixties and seventies which tried to re-create the greats, never quite got there. Why is that when
you hear the Syd Lawrence
Orchestra you
just have to stop and listen. I guess its just being the best, your instinct knows that your listening to musician
of the most highest degree of perfection.
So after that deviation,.......... I get like that sometimes when I talk
about the Syd Lawrence Band.
Where is Chris Dean going to take the band? We began to
worry that those favourites we love to hear at every concert would go. Would the sidemen of the orchestra gradually
move on and new less professional ones replace them? Would the band begin to lose its smart presentation? Would
the bookings start to drop? Would I be the only one left in the audience? AAAhhAhhhhhhhhh............. Its all right folks I'm awake now, dropped off for a minute and had a bad
dream.
Well no need to worry if you've seen Chris Dean and the Syd Lawrence
Orchestra perform. Wow! I can hardly contain myself I want to get up
there waving my arms around conducting the band it excites me so much. After a concert and back at home, the records
are on and their I am again jumping around like an idiot conducting the imaginary band. My wife usually ends up
removing the earphone from my head and turning off the tape recorder as I have fallen asleep in bed dreaming that
I was Chris Dean and this was my Band, All mine....
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