Happy Monday Dotties! Another start to a week of wedding inspiration.

Find all our wonderful vendors in our Polka Dot Directory  and our Honeymoon Directory who are just as keen as ever, and would love to work with you and offer you their support and expertise. Choose from Jewellery and Photographers.  We also have Flowers,  Wedding Planners and Styling & Hire and check out our Honeymoon Directory – for services in Australia and overseas.

Check out the Polka Dot Directory for wedding vendors who will love your wedding as much as you!

Choosing entertainment that reflects your taste and sets the atmosphere for a great night is one of the more important choices you will make. Orlando Combo Jazz Band say it perfectly – “Playing vintage Swing & Lounge Jazz from ‘The Jazz Age’, ‘Great American Songbook’ and cool sounds of the ‘Blue Note’ records label – through to old school Rhythm & Blues, New Orleans brass band street music and retro dancefloor Soul & Motown classics – Group size ranging from our compact Trio to a full Sextet, playing both instrumental & vocal repertoire.” Show us your best moves and dance till you can dance no more.

We asked Lucas of Orlando Combo Jazz Band to tell us a little about himself and the band:

Weddings are the best to work on because….

Weddings are truly unique, one-off events that gather people of all ages in the one spot with the sole purpose of celebrating the joy and romance to give the couple the best party possible. There is really no other occasion quite like it.

What is something people would be surprised to know about your job or something that challenges you about your job?

Performing in a genre such as Jazz (or classical a well), requires constant, daily practice on the instrument which people are often surprised to hear that even professional musicians still have to practice daily to maintain performance level and to keep learning new repertoire. This can also be a challenge to carve out time when things get busy. This is also unpaid time so has to be factored in the practicalities of living expenses etc.

What is it about the creative process that you most enjoy?

Usually when we are booked the general repertoire is within our genre of Jazz but we really enjoy delving in more specifically to narrow down some particular artists or eras of Jazz that the client enjoys (and some artists to avoid too also helps us tweak the repertoire!). It is then highly rewarding on the night or the feedback post wedding to hear that we nailed the music brief.

What are you hilariously bad at?

I am very illiterate when it comes to modern tech, electronics etc so on occasions when we are asked to for example play a recorded song from an iPhone or such (that we don’t perform as it is totally different genre from us), this is when I get most nervous queueing up the equipment in case some tech problem occurs. Ironically I am more comfortable playing an instrument in front of an audience than pressing play on a device!! A true technophobe, probably no surprise being an old school acoustic Jazz musician.

When you were small what did you dream of being and where have those dreams taken you?

Really, playing music from a young age has always been the goal…of course the fantasy of large crowds and a touring band is the dream when you are young but the reality of that is not so rosy. Being a consistent, working musician in an amazing world class city like Melbourne is really a privilege and performing at weddings is a large part of being a working musician and is not taken for granted. While we have toured internationally and interstate, with a family of my own now just working in Melbourne and surrounds is ideal.

Visit Orlando Combo Jazz Band’s pages to find out more about our Vendor Of The Week.

Orlando Combo Jazz Band is a member of the Polka Dot Directory. 

Feature image: Via Why Live Music Changes the Feel of a Wedding, Photographer –  Jeremy Blode Photography