Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 17 hours ago
Reginald Foresythe And His Orchestra play his composition "Anything You Like".
Although somewhat more conventional than other Foresythe sides, the arrangement is still pretty advanced - and certainly unconventional - compared to British dance band recordings at the time, but then this can't be readily categorised as a dance band side! Foresythe's recordings and compositions fall between several musical genres, making them difficult to categorise…..and they are left out of discographies as a result.
There is often a fugue-like feeling to Foresythe's scores. In this respect, his arrangements sometimes bring to mind the 1950s recordings of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet….certainly not in terms of jazz, but in their contrapuntal compositional style.
This side is unique among Reginald Foresythe's recordings in that it features a vocalist! The lyrics were written by Edgar Blatt.
REGINALD FORESYTHE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Reginald Foresythe, piano and arranger, directing: Bill Shakespeare - trumpet; Frank Weir - clarinet; Harry Carr - alto sax, flute; Bert Crane - tenor sax; Dick Ballinger - baritone sax; Anthony Baines - bassoon; Jack Collier - string bass; Dudley Barber - drums; Barry Gray - vocals
Recorded London, November 6th, 1936
TB.2618-1…….Anything You Like…….Decca F-6291
Reginald Foresythe And His Orchestra play his composition "Anything You Like".
Although somewhat more conventional than other Foresythe sides, the arrangement is still pretty advanced - and certainly unconventional - compared to British dance band recordings at the time, but then this can't be readily categorised as a dance band side! Foresythe's recordings and compositions fall between several musical genres, making them difficult to categorise…..and they are left out of discographies as a result.
There is often a fugue-like feeling to Foresythe's scores. In this respect, his arrangements sometimes bring to mind the 1950s recordings of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet….certainly not in terms of jazz, but in their contrapuntal compositional style.
This side is unique among Reginald Foresythe's recordings in that it features a vocalist! The lyrics were written by Edgar Blatt.
REGINALD FORESYTHE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Reginald Foresythe, piano and arranger, directing: Bill Shakespeare - trumpet; Frank Weir - clarinet; Harry Carr - alto sax, flute; Bert Crane - tenor sax; Dick Ballinger - baritone sax; Anthony Baines - bassoon; Jack Collier - string bass; Dudley Barber - drums; Barry Gray - vocals
Recorded London, November 6th, 1936
TB.2618-1…….Anything You Like…….Decca F-6291
