Cyril Laurie (20 April 1926 – 18 April 2002) was an English
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
clarinettist and bandleader.
Biography
Born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England, of Latvian/Jewish immigrant stock, Laurie was a bandleader and self-taught clarinet player. He put together his own band in 1947;
George Melly
Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...
debuted in this ensemble in 1948. He played with Mike Daniels in 1949-50 and led the Cy Laurie Four in 1950, with Fred Hunt and Les Jowett. Laurie was a leading figure in the post 1945
trad jazz
Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a revival ...
boom in the UK.Cy Laurie Obituary ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' Retrieved 21 May 2020.
He ran his own club in Windmill Street, Soho, London from 1951 and headed a seven-member ensemble; sidemen in this group included
Chris Barber
Donald Christopher "Chris" Barber OBE (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with " Petite Fl ...
Al Fairweather
Alastair Fairweather (12 June 1927 – 21 June 1993) was a British jazz trumpeter, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Educated at the city's Royal High School and Edinburgh College of Art, Fairweather served his National Service in Egypt.
In 194 ...
,
Graham Stewart
Graham Stewart (born 1975 in Perth, Scotland) is a Scottish radio and television broadcaster who currently presents Reporting Scotland for BBC Scotland. He has previously presented on BBC Radio Scotland, Radio Clyde and on various Edinburgh
...
and Colin Smith. Cy Laurie's Club was in a basement (previously Mac's Rehearsal Rooms) in Ham Yard in Great Windmill Street, opposite the Windmill Theatre, which went on to become the famous subculture club ''The Scene'' in the 1960s. The 5*Ham Yard Hotel now stands in its place.
He quit music from 1960 to 1968, and travelled to India to study meditation with the
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918
. He returned in 1968 to lead another ensemble at the end of the decade. His career saw a resurgence late in the 1970s; he toured in ensembles as a soloist and sometimes led his own groups. He played with
Eggy Ley
Derek William "Eggy" Ley (4 November 1928 – 20 December 1995) was a British jazz musician known for his work with soprano and alto saxophones, as well as for his vocals and his career as a radio producer.Max Collie in the 1980s. He continued performing into the 1990s. In 1996 to celebrate his 70th birthday he put together a celebratory reunion gig at London's
100 Club
The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...
. It had been noted that his performances "displayed an acute ear for changing musical fashions".Cy Laurie Biography ''
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
''. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
Death
Laurie died on 18 April 2002, and was survived by his partner Ronnie (Veronica).