Big Band Bonanza

[clive heath]

While checking out the Spike Hughes English Decca tracks on youtube I came across several sides by Fred Elizalde spiced up no end by Adrian Rollini's bass sax. the link is to "Dixie" and others are available including at least one with A. Bowlly on gtr. . One of the better features of the thread title programme was that it reminded us of what a good singer this guitarist was! I wasn't aware that he ended up with his own show in the States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwrRV9r9HyQ

Talking about the States I dare say Peter Ind felt he had arrived all over again when he recorded with Lee Konitz in 1954 and in 1956, I have the LP recorded in March 1957 with Billy Bauer, Dick Scott and Lee Konitz on Atlantic 1273 ( Mole Jazz probably) "The Real Lee Konitz" 4* in All Music Guide.

[Ian Thumwood]

the Elizalde is intriguing and very similar to a lot of the kind of white jazz made around the 1930's. I quite like the trumpet solo, which shows the influence of Bix but the ensemble is like so much white jazz from the 1920's in that is appeared to be pulling in a different direction to Henderson, Ellington, Moten, Redman, etc. I'm always intrigued by the fact that the harmonies always seem quite adventurous in these white bands whereas the rhythm seems so sedate. I'm a fan of this kind of jazz but bemused that none of these musicians seemed to build much of a career in the UK.

[John Wright]

There were Americans in the Elizalde band (on 'Dixie') who couldn't build much of a career in the UK because they soon returned to USA - Rollini, Quealey, Davis. The others were very important British dance band musicians in the 1930s.
Harry Hayes (who I met in 1978) was a reliable reed player for the best British bands in the 30's and formed a splendid jazz group in the 40's.
Norman Payne was the finest British trumpeter in the Bix style, obvious from some records he made with Ray Noble at HMV. You're right about Payne he didn't make a lot of recordings (I wrote up a webpage about him and his brother, see below).
Rex Owen didn't really do jazz later, he featured mainly in the bands of Roy Fox and Carroll Gibbons.
Ronnie Gubertini drums, again not really a jazzman but played with several top dance bands in the 30s.
Guitarist Len Fillis was South African and was an important studio player in Britain for nearly 10 years. He directed a lot of his own recording groups but chose to depart from jazz and got heavily into steel guitar playing Hawaiian style - I've been compiling his discography.

http://www.jabw.demon.co.uk/fillis.htm

http://www.jabw.demon.co.uk/npayne.htm

[Ian Thumwood]

Interview with Mike Gibbs..

.http://www.allaboutjazz.com/michael-...rson.php?&pg=1

I thought that the album with Bill Frisell was ok-ish and not the classic that I had hoped for. There are some cracking moments on it such as the re-working of Charlie Christian's "Benny's Bugle" but it wasn't quite the sensational disc I had anticipated.