History
The band was formed by the American saxophonist Bert Ralton (aka Bert Louis Ralton; né Albert Lewis Ralton; ca. 1885–1927) in 1921. [1] Originally there were six players including Ralton. It was later increased to ten players. From 1924 it was led by the English violinist Reginald Batten. Both the Savoy Havana Band and their colleagues the Savoy Orpheans were under the management of Wilfred de Mornys. [2]
Among the players was a young American saxophonist, Rudy Vallée, whose attempts to become a vocalist were discouraged by his fellow players. Another member of the ensemble was the pianist Billy Mayerl. [2] On 15 June 1925, alongside the Orpheans, the band played in the first British performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with Gershwin himself on piano. The performance was broadcast live by the BBC. [3]
The owner of the Savoy Hotel, Rupert D'Oyly Carte, called the original Savoy Havana Band and the Savoy Orpheans "probably the best-known bands in Europe." [4] When de Morny's contractual arrangement with the Savoy Hotel company ended on 31 December 1927, the band went on tour, and disbanded in 1930. [2]
They appeared in the 1930 film After Many Years .
Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City. Whiteman's band performed the rhapsody with Gershwin playing the piano. Whiteman's arranger Ferde Grofé orchestrated the rhapsody several times including the 1924 original scoring, the 1926 pit orchestra scoring, and the 1942 symphonic scoring.
Ben Pollack was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland, and Harry James. This ability earned him the nickname the "Father of Swing".
Gertrude Astor was an American motion picture character actress, who began her career playing trombone in a woman's band.
Jack Jackson was an English trumpeter and bandleader popular during the British dance band era, and who later became a highly influential radio disc jockey. The BBC's nickname "Auntie" is often credited to Jackson.
"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is a popular song copyrighted in 1937 by its composer, Irving Berlin, and first recorded by (i) Ray Noble, Howard Barrie, vocalist, and (ii) Red Norvo, Mildred Bailey, vocalist. The song – sung by Dick Powell and Alice Faye – debuted on film February 12, 1937, in the musical, On the Avenue.
Sylvester Ahola, a.k.a. Hooley, was a classic jazz trumpeter and cornetist born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. His parents, Sophia and John Ahola, were born in Finland. He became most popular in England rather than the United States, and he first began performing with Frank Ward and His Orchestra. In 1925 he started playing with Paul Specht and His Orchestra, with whom he did a two-month-long tour of England that following year. For the next couple of years he performed with bands like The California Ramblers and Adrian Rollini and his band.
William Herbert "Bert" Woodruff was an American actor of the silent era.
Brian Arthur Lovell Rust was an English jazz discographer.
Timeless Records is a jazz record label based in the Netherlands.
Anne Lenner was a popular English female vocalist, who sang with the British dance bands of the 1930s and 1940s. She is most closely associated with Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Orpheans, a band who regularly played at the Savoy Hotel in London, with whom she made many studio recordings. The British bands played a softer version of the swing jazz popular in the USA during the 1930s and 1940s.
Carl Theodor Auen was a German film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1914 and 1938. Auen was a member of the Militant League for German Culture and also a member of the Advisory Council (Präsidialrat) of the president of the Reichsfilmkammer.
The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London.
Charles Remue was a Belgian clarinetist, alto saxophone player and bandleader of early jazz, who, while leading a band called Chas. Remue & His New Stompers, recorded what are widely considered to be the first jazz discs by a Belgian band.
Karl Harbacher (1879–1943) was an Austrian actor.
Debroy Somers was a British twentieth-century big band bandleader.
Francisco Saverio "Frank" Guarente was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.
This is a summary of 1921 in music in the United Kingdom.
Norman MacPhail Blair, who most often used the pseudonym Maurice Elwin in his professional work, was a British dance band singer and songwriter who was popular between the First and Second World Wars. He used over 60 different pseudonyms, both as a singer and composer, including John Curtis, Maurice Kelvin, Donald O'Keefe, Guy Victor, and Max Wynn, as well as sometimes using the name Norman Blair.
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