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Savoy Orpheans
The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London. The band was formed by Debroy Somers, an ex-army bandmaster, in 1923. Both the Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band were under the management of William de Mornys. The Orpheans were later led by the violinist Cyril Ramon Newton, and by the pianist Carroll Gibbons.Rust, Brian, "The Savoy Orpheans at the Savoy Hotel, London": sleeve notes to disc 1 of World Record Club LP set SH165/6, issued 1971 On 15 June 1925, Somers conducted the Orpheans in the first British performance of George Gershwin's ''Rhapsody in Blue'', alongside the Savoy Havana Band and Gershwin himself on piano. The performance was broadcast live by the BBC. When de Morny's contractual arrangement with the Savoy Hotel company ended on 31 December 1927, the Orpheans disbanded. In early December 1927 there were newspaper reports of the Hotel management denying the rumour that the Savoy Orpheans, Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Dance Band
British dance band is a genre of popular jazz and dance music that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms during the 1920s and 1930s, often called a Golden Age of British music, prior to the Second World War. Thousands of miles away from the origins of jazz in the United States, British dance bands of this era typically played melodic, good-time music that had jazz and big band influences but also maintained a peculiarly British sense of rhythm and style which came from the music hall tradition. Often comedians of the day or music hall personalities would sing novelty recordings backed by well-known British dance band leaders. Some of the British dance band leaders and musicians went on to fame in the United States in the swing era. Thanks to Britain's continuing ballroom dancing tradition and its recording copyright laws, British dance music of the pre-swing era still attracts a modest audience, which American dance music of the same period does not. Not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Mendham
Alex Mendham (born 13 September 1989 in Essex, England) is an English singer, saxophonist, and bandleader. He is best known as the founder and leader of Alex Mendham & His Orchestra. Founding his orchestra in 2010, Mendham, who has been described as ''a very classic British gentleman with a flawless and sophisticated attire'', has risen to become Britain's premier bandleader recreating the glamorous, romantic music of the 1920s and 1930s by replicating the authentic aura of every song using careful arrangements and instruments from the era. Performing in elegant attire from the Art Deco era, Alex and his Orchestra performed as the house band at London's luxurious Savoy Hotel, is frequently featured on BBC Radio and appeared on stage to sell out audiences in the UK, Europe and USA. He has been featured on the BBC and in journals including Forbes. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic that devastated the livelihoods of musicians, Mendham signed to Decca Records for a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by Carte's family for over a century. The Savoy was the first luxury hotel in Britain, introducing electric lights throughout the building, electric lifts, bathrooms in most of the lavishly furnished rooms, constant hot and cold running water and many other innovations. Carte hired César Ritz as manager and Auguste Escoffier as '' chef de cuisine''; they established an unprecedented standard of quality in hotel service, entertainment and elegant dining, attracting royalty and other rich and powerful guests and diners. The hotel became Carte's most successful venture. Its bands, Savoy Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band, became famous, and other entertainers (who w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debroy Somers
Debroy Somers (born William Henry Somers; 11 April 1890,1939 England and Wales Register in Dublin – 27 May 1952, in London) was a British twentieth-century big band bandleader. He had trained as a musician at the Duke of York's Royal Military School in Chelsea, and continued his studies in Dublin under Signor Michele Esposito at The Royal Irish Academy of Music in 1904. At the age of 15 he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment as a boy bandsman before retiring in 1913. He rejoined his old regiment in 1916 retiring as a sergeant musician in 1918; being demobilised in Wiltshire.British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 His period of celebrity stretched from the 1920s to the 1940s. He appeared in numerous films, including ''Second Choice'', ''Stars on Parade'' and ''Aunt Sally'', and founded the 11-piece dance band The Savoy Orpheans. On 15 June 1925, Somers conducted the first British performance of George Gershwin's ''Rhapsody in Blue'' from the Savoy Hotel w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savoy Havana Band
The Savoy Havana Band was a British dance band of the 1920s. It was resident at the Savoy Hotel, London, between 1921 and 1927. History The band was formed by the American saxophonist Bert Ralton (''aka'' Bert Louis Ralton; ''né'' Albert Lewis Ralton; ca. 1885–1927) in 1921. Originally there were six players including Ralton. It was later increased to ten players. From 1924 it was led by the English violinist Reginald Batten. Both the Savoy Havana Band and their colleagues the Savoy Orpheans were under the management of Wilfred de Mornys. Among the players was a young American saxophonist, Rudy Vallée, whose attempts to become a vocalist were discouraged by his fellow-players. Another member of the ensemble was the pianist Billy Mayerl. On 15 June 1925, alongside the Orpheans, the band played in the first British performance of George Gershwin's ''Rhapsody in Blue'' with Gershwin himself on piano. The performance was broadcast live by the BBC. The owner of the Savoy Hotel, Ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carroll Gibbons
Carroll Richard Gibbons (January 4, 1903 – May 10, 1954) was an American-born pianist, bandleader and popular composer who made his career primarily in England during the British dance band era. Image of Gibbons from the W.D. & H.O. Wills ''Radio Celebrities'' cigarette card series">cigarette_card.html" ;"title="W.D. & H.O. Wills ''Radio Celebrities'' cigarette card">W.D. & H.O. Wills ''Radio Celebrities'' cigarette card series Early life and career He was born and raised in Clinton, Massachusetts, United States, one of three children of Peter and Mary Gibbons. In his late teens he travelled to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1924, he returned to London as a relief pianist with the Boston Orchestra for an engagement at the Savoy Hotel in the Strand. He liked Britain so much that he settled there, and later became the co-leader (with Howie Jacobs) of the Savoy Orpheans and the bandleader of the New MayFair Orchestra, which recorded for the Gramophon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ''Rhapsody in Blue'' (1924) and ''An American in Paris'' (1928), the songs " Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards " Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera '' Porgy and Bess'' (1935), which included the hit " Summertime". Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark, Henry Cowell, and Joseph Brody. He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and with Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris, intending to study with Nadia Boulanger, but she refused him, afraid that rigorous classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style; Maurice Ravel voiced similar objections when Gershw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhapsody In Blue
''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City. Whiteman's band performed the rhapsody with Gershwin playing the piano. Whiteman's arranger Ferde Grofé orchestrated the rhapsody several times including the 1924 original scoring, the 1926 pit orchestra scoring, and the 1942 symphonic scoring. The rhapsody is one of Gershwin's most recognizable creations and a key composition that defined the Jazz Age. Gershwin's piece inaugurated a new era in America's musical history, established Gershwin's reputation as an eminent composer, and eventually became one of the most popular of all concert works. The ''American Heritage'' magazine posits that the famous opening clarinet glissando has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rupert D'Oyly
Rupert may refer to: People * Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert" Places Canada *Rupert, Quebec, a village *Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay *Rupert River, Quebec *Rupert's Land, a former territory in British North America United States * Rupert, Georgia, an unincorporated community in Taylor County *Rupert, Idaho, a county seat and largest city of Minidoka County * Rupert, Ohio, an unincorporated community in Union Township, Madison County *Rupert, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place (CDP) in Columbia County *Rupert, Vermont, a town in Bennington County * Rupert, West Virginia, a town in Greenbrier County Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha *Ruperts, Saint Helena, a village in Jamestown District, Saint Helena Fiction * Rupert, a teddy bear owned by cartoon character Stewie Griffin on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Rupert, a squirrel in the 1950 Christmas film ''The Great Rupert'' * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Let's All Go To Mary's House
''Let's All Go to Mary's House'' is a 1925 popular song written by Con Conrad & Leo Wood which was recorded in the UK by the Savoy Orpheans and by Jay Whidden and His New Midnight Follies Orchestra. It's a jazz dance song which exhibits the standard style of that time, and includes a reference to the Charleston which was less than a year old at this song's publication. The arrangements of the recordings mentioned uses the syncopation and popular orchestration typical of the time. It often appears on compilations of 1920s-era music as any internet search will reveal. A cover version was released on the 2007 album '' Pour l'Amour des Chiens'' by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. See also *Jazz *1925 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1925. Specific locations * 1925 in British music * 1925 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1925 in country music *1925 in jazz Events * January 1 – First day of radio ... 1925 songs Jazz son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New Savoy Orpheans
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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