Dearest J.L.L.O. Friends and Fans,

It has taken us 8 long years of hustle and struggle and sheer determination..plus an awful lot of luck..to get the Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Orchestra up an running.
Beyond the mere securing of the rights to use the music and the name, it was also a matter of finding the right musicians, with the talent and heart required to be part of such a  project.
And then of course came the sifting through all the material Jimmie left us..his manuscripts and charts..many with  hand-written annotations by  the great Sy Oliver, Eddie Wilcox, Eddy Durham, Bud Estes...
And there were many, many fragments of original arrangements of songs that had to be recontructed into full band orchestrations based on the original scores and sheet music annotations for just two or three instruments...including some of the original & outstanding "Snooky" Young [trumpet ]and Willie Smith [saxophone] passages.

To say it was a "challenge"... the hours and hours of patient research...in the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, the Historical Jazz Archives of several universities.. and the pursuit of old recorded material from sources in Europe as well as the USA..well..it would be an understatement.
We have to praise the efforts of one man in particular, our fearless [band-]leader Robert Veen, for having had the drive, the  courage and the conviction which  brought Jimmie's music back from the mists of memory and for giving  us the privilege to be a part of the Lunceford legacy..a chance to take it even further.
As we say..it has taken us 8 long years to get  here...
and now that we ARE here, we are hoping you, our fans, will help us STAY here.
The best way to do that is to help us spread the word that we are back, that we are looking to hook up with old friends and "family" in the jazz world..and also to make brand new ones.
Most of all, we are counting on you to help us create enough interest..no..."Excitement!" about our band, our  legacy and our show.."A Night at the Cotton Club"..enough provable demand for our band to come play in your neighborhood ....that big jazz-club and theater owners just have to sit up and take notice...that local jazz-radio DJ's will give us air-play..that International Jazz festivals will invite us.
So please send our MySpace URL out to everyone you know..[and everyone They know!] and help us generate that buzz..that "vibe"...that guarantees we'll be swinging down the lane towards your local concert hall one day very soon.
Thanking you sincerely for all your efforts and energy.
We LOVE you and we cherish your support.

-Sincerely
-The Jimmie Lunceford legacy Orchestra