Internationally famous throughout the 1950’s as one of Britain’s leading jazz clarinetists and bandleader, Cy’s style of playing and individual approach to Jazz made him one of the most popular figures British Jazz had known.
Born in London’s East End, the son of a watchmaker, Cy's early life carried no hint of the mark he was to make upon the world of Classic Jazz. It was the latter part of the 40’s when Cy’s clarinet was first heard in and around London. He formed his first group in 1948 which was to start a trend in British Jazz for the coming decades.
Through his unique musical ability and dedication, he led the field in Classic Jazz and laid down a standard and style that was soon to be followed by many of the up and coming musicians throughout Britain.
His club, The Cy Laurie Jazz Club, off London’s Piccadilly Circus, became a Mecca for jazz devotees from all over the world and the “in” place to go.
His Blue-Hot style of jazz soon brought him national fame as one of Britain’s top jazz attractions. Radio, Television, Records, Films and Concert Tours all over Europe were included in his rise to success. Cy Laurie became virtually an institution in the world of jazz and to promoters and agents his name meant an instant sell-out.
Throughout the fifties, many gifted musicians played under Cy’s leadership, including Chris Barber, George Melly, Lonny Donegan, Diz Dizley, Beryl Bryden, Alan Elsdon and many more.
His retirement from the field of music in 1960 at the peak of his jazz career was a blow to the whole jazz scene and a bitter disappointment to his many thousands of fans. Cy had decided to give up playing to persue his ardent interest in meditation and philosophy.
It was not until around the early 70’s that Cy was to be heard playing again, this time only on a casual basis and mainly in the Essex area where he lived. This mini come back lasted but a few short years, just long enough to establish to his listeners that he had not lost one jot of his virtuosity.
After another few years lay-off, he once more returned to the scene in the late 70’s, again expecting to keep his musical activities on a casual basis, but it soon became obvious that he could no longer limit his appearances to his local scene.
The constant increasing demand for Cy to appear at venues much further afield resulted in him establishing himself as a celebrated feature artist travelling extensively all over Great Britain, America, Europe and particularly Scandanavia, proving again and again how his individualistic and inventive clarinet playing could still excite audiences wherever he appeared, be it at concerts, Festivals, Clubs etc, or through his Radio and TV performances, presenting to his listeners his own inimitable interpretations of the true roots of Classic Jazz.
