The genuine live Jazz experience
from Melbourne’s best working band

The genre is Jazz but more specifically the sound is a special blend of Swing/Rhythm & Blues/Bossa Nova/Soul/Motown and Rock & Roll. Inspiration and repertoire comes from the swing of Louis Armstrong, the big band era and the roaring Jazz of the 1920’s/’Great Gatsby’ period, the cool sounds of Miles Davis, George Benson and the ‘Blue Note’ record label era, ‘Great American Songbook’ standards and show tunes of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Michael Buble, smooth bossa nova of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the old school Rhythm & Blues and retro Rock & Roll party starters of the 1950’s and 60’s by Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Elvis and Chuck Berry, New Orleans style brass band roving street music and the dance-floor soul and Motown classics and vintage party tunes of Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Al Green and The Beatles etc. Our repertoire is carefully selected to suit our instrumentation as we are a 100% live band – no backing tracks, synthesizers or cheesy-tired-typical function band material.

Dear Lucas

Thank you to Orlando Combo for a great addition to last night’s AbaF Awards.

The performance and repertoire selected was perfect for the tone of the evening post formalities and I was chuffed to see a few people dancing away.

I hope that you guys enjoyed the evening. Our MC mentioned your group by name and we published details in our event program – I hope that some further work follows.

Thanks again for your support with a very special evening on the AbaF calendar.

Kind regards Damien Hodgkinson
Executive Director Operations Australia Business Arts Foundation
Peninsula, Docklands

Orlando Combo provides all the necessary equipment for the band to perform. This includes high quality and compact amplifiers, lighting and vocal PA (which can also be used by clients for speeches/announcements and iPod/recorded set break music). We are fully covered with Public Liability Insurance and all equipment is safety tagged and tested.

For end of year Christmas functions Orlando Combo has a host of very hip Jazz versions of traditional Christmas tunes (in addition to our regular repertoire and only if suitable for the attending guests).

Please go to the contact page to check availability, obtain a quote or with any other queries you may have. Alternatively contact Bandleader/Manager Lucas Evans anytime on (+61) 0410 466 439.

More client recommendations can be found on the references page.

Answers to FAQ’s can be found at the bottom of this page.

If you are looking for a group that can supply the style and class that only a Jazz combo can provide but are concerned it may be too laid back for later in the evening (if dancing is anticipated at your event), then fear not – Orlando Combo has earned a reputation for being the most dance-able Jazz band in town. We specialize in making a seamless transition from sophisticated lounge Jazz to accessible dance-floor Soul, retro Rhythm & Blues and Rock & Roll classics when required. Please be aware though that we are certainly not a ‘Top 40’ style cover band.

We are also highly experienced at working in conjunction with a DJ – we play sets of authentic, quality live Jazz for the early part of the evening and then ‘handball’ to the DJ to takeover for the high energy Pop dance sets. The best of both worlds!

With all the advancement in musical technology and popularity of DJ’s and solo or duo musicians performing with recorded backing tracks we strongly believe that there is still no substitute for the unique atmosphere that can only be created by highly skilled musicians performing live. It is true there is some risk in booking live entertainment for an event as if it is the wrong band it can be a disaster and actually have a detrimental effect, but book the right band and your guests will have a night that they will be raving about long into the future.

Welcome back to the roaring 20’s!! Are you planning a Great Gatsby/1920’s swing era theme for your corporate event in 2024? Orlando Combo has vast repertoire from “the Jazz Age” and can structure the night including our music and presentation around this theme. Click here for Stomping Swing dance hall 1920’s style ………or Swing Frenzy ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing….(If It Ain’t Got That Swing)’ @ ABC TV’s ‘Miss Fisher’ After Dark jazz nights @ Ripponlea Estate ballroom ……….or Tango ‘Besame Mucho’ at the ABC tv’s ‘Miss Fisher After Dark Jazz nights’ at Ripponlea Estate ballroom

Please note: When choosing a band for your function make sure you investigate that it is a set line-up and not just a band name with multiple rotating members. Orlando Combo is not a ‘franchise’, we are an actual single band that only takes on one booking at a time (some groups take multiple bookings for the same date all operating under the one band name). We are also not an agency so you will be dealing directly with the groups bandleader/manager, Lucas Evans who will also be performing at your event. The core members of Orlando Combo began studies together at Australia’s premier music school, the Victorian College of the Arts in 1995 and have studied, performed, toured and recorded together ever since, our history of recordings and references dating back to the 1990’s will attest to this. Also be aware that all of our video and audio materials are either live concert or live studio recordings. We never use overdubs or samples to enhance our sound; whether it is in the studio or performing live.

Follow us on instagram.com/orlandocombo or www.facebook.com/OrlandoCombo for news and updates.

Please find FAQ’s below

How do I book Orlando Combo for my event?

To confirm a booking we request a deposit. The booking is only tentative until the deposit is received, at which point the date is 100% locked in. You will then be emailed a detailed receipt for your records. The deposit is not refundable except if for extreme reason (for example serious injury the entire band!) we have to cancel. Please note that in over 20 years we have never cancelled a booking.

Rest assured that once your booking date is confirmed that it will not be cancelled by us to take on another supposedly more preferential opportunity that may arise. Please refer to our many references for a proven track record of how Orlando Combo operates and have the peace of mind of booking Melbourne’s most trusted ensemble.

For corporate bookings we then ask for the remaining balance to be transferred 7 business days before the event date.

I (Lucas Evans, Band-leader/Manager) always make phone contact early in the week of a booking to go over all of the finer details but no doubt you will have various questions before then so please feel free to email or call anytime.

How long do you play for?

For full length functions it is standard for the band to do 4 sets over 5 hours, allowing for formalities such as speeches etc. Sets are usually 45 minutes is length but we can alter this to fit in with your running order and play the equivalent time around the official events.

Do I need to provide the band with a running order?

You can be as specific or casual as you like! Give us a ‘to the minute’ running order for us to follow or leave it all up to us (or anywhere in between), we’ll know what to do. Clients usually like to give us a general timing of the significant formalities like speeches etc and let us fill the gaps and fit our sets in around these.

Often running orders don’t go exactly to plan (due to the odd extended speech! or fitting in with the food service) so even a rough guide for us means we can keep an eye on things and play when is appropriate. We will work in conjunction with your function manager throughout the night to ensure everything runs smoothly so all you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy an unforgettable night with your guests.

Do you provide a PA and set break music?

We supply all the necessary equipment for the band to perform. This includes high quality and compact amplifiers, lighting and vocal PA (which can also be used by clients for speeches/announcements and set break music). We always have appropriate recorded background music to play on our set breaks to maintain the atmosphere but clients can also supply as with the music of their choice.

Are you a fully live band?

Our repertoire is carefully selected to suit our instrumentation as we are a 100% live band – no backing tracks, synthesizers or cheesy-tired-typical function band material.

With all the advancement in musical technology and popularity of DJ’s and solo or duo musicians performing with recorded backing tracks we strongly believe that there is still no substitute for the unique atmosphere that only highly skilled musicians can create when performing live. It is true there is some risk in booking live entertainment as if it is the wrong band it can be a disaster and actually have a detrimental effect, but book the right band and your guests will have a night that they will be raving about long into the future.

What is you dress code?

Sharp ‘vintage style’ presentation in keeping with our musical genre. Our standard attire for private events is lounge suit.

We are having our function in a small venue, will volume and space be an issue?

Orlando Combo prides itself on delivering Jazz entertainment with the appropriate mood and volume for all types of events. We have provided music for special occasions of less then 20 guests in some very small spaces and volume or set up space is never an issue. We have the expertise and musicianship to play at very low volume levels when required. Our equipment is high quality but compact.

Do you take double bookings and who will actually be playing at our event?

Orlando Combo is not a ‘franchise’, we are an actual single band that only takes on one booking at a time (some groups take multiple bookings for the same date all operating under the one band name). This is not how we operate.

We want people to dance!

We specialize in making a seamless transition from sophisticated Jazz to accessible dance floor Soul and Swing classics (if required) to appeal to a range of ages. If you are looking for a group that can supply the style and class that only a Jazz combo can provide but are concerned it may be too laid back for later in the evening, then fear not – Orlando Combo has earned a reputation for being the most dance-able Jazz band in town when required. Please be aware though that we are certainly not a ‘top 40’ style covers/Pop band.

Do we need to provide food for the band?

For bookings that are 3 hours or longer we request that a meal be provided to each band member to help keep our energies up. (The venue/caterers will be experienced with this). This is standard procedure when booking musicians for private events and is much appreciated. Some venues offer a reduced rate for ‘crew’ or musician/photographer meals, this is something you could check with them.

A helpful hint!

When designing your room layout and seating plan please note that having the band (even if we are playing quietly during food service) too close to the nearest table can be a bit uncomfortable for them. If space allows it can be good to have a bit of distance between the band and nearest tables and also not have your older guests too close to the band so they can also talk comfortably with others and enjoy the ambiance!

I would love my function to have the sound and style of a Jazz/Soul group but some of my guests will also want to dance to some Modern Pop/Club music as well as the Jazz/Soul band?’

If this is you then please note that clients can also provide an iPhone/Laptop playlist with music of their choice which can be played through the band’s sound system either as background set break music or at high volume for an additional dance set when the group is on a set break later in the evening. This can be a way of ‘covering all bases’ by catering for all your guests musical tastes without engaging a DJ for hundreds of dollars when only a limited amount of DJ repertoire is required. The bands PA is equivalent to a professional DJ’s system.