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.[1] 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.[2]
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, Savoy Havana Band and the Sylvians were to leave. Reg Batten, of the SHB, stayed on at the Hotel and led a band with the clumsy name "Savoy Orpheans (1928)". This would indicate legal tussles over the rights to the original name. It was not until 1931 that pianist Carroll Gibbons returned from working at MGM in Hollywood and, with saxophonist Howard Jacobs, formed a new ensemble "the Savoy Hotel Orpheans" for the hotel. The music writer Brian Rust wrote of this group, "it was a purely straight, typically smooth supper-club band."[1]
The owner of the Savoy Hotel, Rupert D'Oyly, called the original Orpheans and their colleagues, "probably the best-known bands in Europe."[3] Among their popular songs was "Let's All Go to Mary's House" from 1925. D'Oyly Carte's judgment was echoed by Rust, who wrote in 1971 of the original Orpheans: "their very name personifies the Dancing Twenties … and their broad versatility … made this imprint in a way that no band had done before and few have achieved since".[1]
The Savoy Orpheans name was revived by the Savoy Hotel in April 2022, and Alex Mendham was appointed bandleader and musical director of the > reformed group
.
^ abcRust, Brian, "The Savoy Orpheans at the Savoy Hotel, London": sleeve notes to disc 1 of World Record Club LP set SH165/6, issued 1971
The SavoyOrpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London. The band was formed by Debroy...
The hotel became Carte's most successful venture. Its bands, SavoyOrpheans and the Savoy Havana Band, became famous, and other entertainers (who were...
by the BBC. The owner of the Savoy Hotel, Rupert D'Oyly Carte, called the original Savoy Havana Band and the SavoyOrpheans "probably the best-known bands...
closely associated with Carroll Gibbons and the SavoyOrpheans, a band who regularly played at the Savoy Hotel in London, with whom she made many studio...
set out by air from New York with the American portion of New York's SavoyOrpheans band for a tour of English variety theatres. In June they record "My...
airplane at a Long Island airport with the American portion of New York's SavoyOrpheans musical unit during the week of May 23, 1927. In the UK, they met up...
featuring members of the SavoyOrpheans, he later became the co-leader (with Howie Jacobs) of the Orpheans, the resident band at the Savoy Hotel until their...
at the Savoy Hotel in London on June 15, 1925. The BBC broadcast the performance in a live relay. Debroy Somers conducted the SavoyOrpheans with Gershwin...
provided light music for afternoon tea in the Thames Foyer, while the SavoyOrpheans played dance music in the evenings, with a nod towards jazz. In the...
attended the Russian ballet, met Stravinsky and Gershwin, heard the SavoyOrpheans at the Savoy Hotel and wrote an experimental string quartet heavily influenced...
with Jack Buchanan and Elsie Randolph As Time Goes By (1932) with the SavoyOrpheans and Carroll Gibbons, piano You're Blasé (1932) from the revue Bow Bells...
Denny Dennis), Tommy Kinsman, Harry Roy, Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans (vocal by George Melachrino) and Jay Wilbur (with vocals by Sam Costa)...
arrangements attributed to Stone can be heard on particular records by the SavoyOrpheans (1927) and Ray Starita and his Ambassador's Band (1928). During 1927–1931...
the SavoyOrpheans Portraits of Frances Day at the National Portrait Gallery, London "I'm for You, a Hundred Percent" (1932) – with the SavoyOrpheans Frances...
band. In 1927 he moved to England and landed a job playing with the SavoyOrpheans and then gigged with Bert Firman and Bert Ambrose. The British Musicians'...
as Mother Pat Fitzpatrick as Child Carroll Gibbons as Leader of the SavoyOrpheans Chibnall p.271 Chibnall, Steve. Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British...
Jack Wilson Maurice Winnick Eric Winstone Peter Yorke The Savoy Havana Band The SavoyOrpheans "Musicians index". www.mgthomas.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-08...
despite lacking the entry qualifications. The SavoyOrpheans is formed as a resident dance band at the Savoy Hotel, London, by Debroy Somers. Kenneth J....
band The SavoyOrpheans. On 15 June 1925, Somers conducted the first British performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue from the Savoy Hotel with...
its own European tours. In 1927-1928, he worked in England with the SavoyOrpheans and ensembles associated with Bert Firman. Returning to the United States...
and Billy Thorburn. In 1944 she worked with Carroll Gibbons and the SavoyOrpheans. For three weeks she toured France, Belgium and Holland with Geraldo...
and led his own band in Budapest, Berlin and London. He was with the SavoyOrpheans for a brief time and then joined Billy Mason in 1930. Art played and...
102 Savoy Havana Band "Ogo-Pogo" Strong 1925 103 Sir Harry Lauder "Keep Right on to the End of the Road" Lauder/Dillion 1925 104 SavoyOrpheans "Charleston"...
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