Marching & Waltzing

Compact Disc DLCD 113

Cassette DLCT 113

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Off We Go

by Johnny Douglas And His Orchestra

Tesoro Mio

by Johnny Douglas And His Orchestra

Freitags Waltz

by Johnny Douglas And His Orchestra

The Light Horse March

by Johnny Douglas And His Orchestra

Old Favourites for old-time dancing with BRYAN SMITH & HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA.

Following the success of the radio programme, Marching & Waltzing, Dulcima Records have compiled a selection of marches and waltzes specially recorded by Bryan Smith and His Concert Orchestra for traditional old-time dancing. Bryan Smith began playing the piano when he was 3 years old. He was educated at the Guildford Branch of the Trinity College of Music. From age 8 to 12 he regularly appeared at the Moss and Stoll theatres playing piano, piano accordion and xylophone on the same bill as artists such as Flanagan and Allen, Elsie & Doris Walters, Humprey Lestoque and The Western Brothers. Bryan formed his own band when he was 12 years old and was known as the youngest band leader in the UK. His career took him all over the world playing piano and conducting orchestras for world class functions.

Bryan was a fully qualified dance teacher and adjudicator, licenced by the ballroom Council for Ballroom, latin, American, old time and modern sequence dancing. He was a life member of the society of Australian Teachers of Dancing and was qualified in Australian New Vogue Dancing.

Bryan was connected to the P&O Cruise Line for 23 years. With his orchestras he played for all types of dancing during the cruises and was very well-known on the SS Canberra for his sequence dancing promotions and concert productions for which he conducted the Bryan Smith Canberra Concert Orchestra. He recorded two albums with that orchestra.

Back home Bryan Smith and his Orchestra toured both the UK and Australia, broadcasting and promoting albums. He was involved with programmes for the BBC, Independent radio and television and Worldwide radio and television. He recorded 50 EPs and Singles and 128 albums. This album ‘Marching and Waltzing’ was released on the Dulcima label in 1993.

Disc 1

Off We Go – Baynes, 2.22
Fire On The Horizon – Knorr, 2.23
Tesoro Mio – Becucci, 2.35
Medley: Wine, Woman & Song, Voices of Spring, Roses From The South – Strauss, 2.35
Good Old Vienna – Schrammel, 2.23
Gipsy Blood – Renner, 2.26
Medley: Dollar Princess – Fall, Dorfkinder Waltz – Kalman (The Village Children Waltz), 2.50
Thrills – Ancliffe, 2.37
Here Goes – Baynes, 2.24
Gaily Through The World – Macbeth, 2.26
Freitag’s Waltz – Noris (Friday’s Waltz), 2.21
Montags Waltz – Noris (Monday’s Waltz), 2.28
The Light Horse March – Von Blon, 2.30
Here, There And Everywhere – Bosc, 1.37
Wiener Lipizzaner – Noris (The Lipizzaner of Vienna), 2.19
Fairy Dream Medley: Dans La Nuit – Scoma, In Southern Seas – Savasta, Traumbild – Von Blon, 2.38

Reviews…

Alan Bunting, Journal Into Melody

Off we go, Fire on the Horizon, Tesoro Mio, Here Goes, Gaily Through the World, Light Horse March, Here There and Everywhere etc…
When I first came across this album, I nearly passed it by thinking that, despite my age, old time dance music wasn’t really my scene. Then I took a closer look at the titles and realised that there were several very interesting items on it, not graced with a new recording in many a long day. Top of the list has to be Macbeth’s Gaily through the World which I hadn’t heard since I last played my treasured Boosey & Hawkes white and green labelled 78. Bryan Smith’s orchestra isn’t quite as large as The New Concert Orchestra and the tempo, designed for dancing, is slightly slower but this catchy tune is, for me, the best on the disc. Close behind comes Baynes’ Off We Go which has a middle passage featuring a nice sax section and some nifty xylophone work, and the same composer’s rather similar Here Goes. The Strauss waltzes must, I’m afraid, be dismissed as “strictly for dancing” – I know that this CD isn’t aimed at “our” market but it would have been nice if, instead of Strauss, we could have had some more Charles Ancliffe. Thrills is one of his best known waltzes but he wrote many more including Festive Days of which a new recording would be very welcome. He also composed numerous marches none of which are currently available on CD. Two marches that are here and worthy of note are Von Blon’s Light Horse March and Here There and Everywhere by a composer I haven’t come across before, Bosc. Of more recent vintage are the charming Monday’s Waltz and Friday’s Waltz complete with accordion, written by the ‘Brian Smith’ of Germany, Gunter Noris. Although intended for dancers, this collection is well worth the attention of light music enthusiasts seeking to add to their collection newly recorded material not thitherto available on CD. (Dec 1993)