The well-known and loved under the name The Syd Lawrence Orchestra, but in reality a Big Band and under the leadership of Chris Dean, came to Manchester's Stoller Hall this evening with their latest tour, 'Mistletoe And Miller'; a title which indicates the two greatest influences of the evening's repertoire... Christmas and Glenn Miller.
Originally from Manchester, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra has gone on to become one of Briatin's best loved Big Bands, and there is no denying that from the sounds they produced this evening, that is no empty boast.
Leader Chris Dean was multi-tasking with ease this evening as he segued between compere, trombone, and even singing a couple of the songs too. In true Big Band tradition all of the band members got their names credited at some point as well as giving each member the chance to shine with a solo or riff. This evening there was also a guest appearance from Sarah Eyden who sang along with the band on several of the numbers.
We started in festive mode with the Mistletoe And Miller Overture, a compilation of several Christmas tunes played in the style of Glenn Miller, and staying with Miller we heard Little Brown Jug, The St Louis Blues, American Patrol, Pennsylvania 6-5000, and of course both The Moonlight Serenade and In The Mood. The band always stayed in known territory and the chartered waters of the great Big Band era, never once playing any of the much more modern fayre being written for this ensemble, and this was a wise choice as these were the kind of tunes that the vast majority of the audience (made up of majority pensioners) had come along to hear.
Sarah Eyden gave us renditions of (among others) Santa Baby, Say Si Si, and Blue Moon, whilst Chris Dean crooned his way through (among others) Almost Like Being In Love and Story Of A Starry Night. My favourite song of the evening came from Eyden as she sang 'Sentimental Journey', but my two favourite pieces the whole evening were orchestral ones. First was a rather interesting experiment, which saw Arty Shaw and his band playing 'Begin The Beguine' on a screen above the band, and half way through they took the sound out of the video and replaced it with the live SLO band - very clever. My other favourite piece was a faithful rendition of Mancini's classic theme tune to The Pink Panther; a series of films I adore, starring the one and only Peter Sellers.
Another highlight was an experiment in polyphony when the band came down into the audience playing either side of us, behind and in front of us during 'Tuxedo Junction'.
An evening of back-to-back Big Band favourites played effortlessly and masterfully by the Syd Lawrence Orchestra. One not to miss for fans of this genre!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 21/12/19
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