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British modern jazz - before bebop...
1919-1950 record sleeve Jazz in Britain 1919-1950 is the title of a 4CD set issued by Proper Records to accompany the republication of a book of the same name first published in 1984. The author of the book is Jim Godbolt who assembled the CD compilations and wrote the accompanying booklet.
Both the book and the CD set have received criticism but there is some music here that may appeal to those interested in early modern jazz. Among the musicians, who mostly have one title on the CDs, are:
Gerry Moore, Danny Polo, Freddy Gardner, 'Snakehips' Johnson, Johnny Claes, Harry Parry, Cyril Blake, MM Competition Band, Alan Dean, Buddy Featherstonhaugh, Vic Lewis & Jack Parnell Jazzmen, George Shearing, 'Jiver' Hutchinson, Ted Heath, Harry Hayes, MM Columbia Jazz Rally, Victor Feldman, All Star Sextet, Ronnie Scott, Johnny Dankworth and Carlo Krahmer. Full CD track list...

The relevant discographical pages have been amended to show details of the records included on these CDs...

British modern jazz before bebop...
The period fom the late 1930s up to bebop and Club Eleven in 1948 is an interesting period in British jazz history as bands and musicians tried to move forward from the dance band music of the 1930s. Swing also came from the USA, and luckily most of the prominent bands from this period can now be heard via CD.

Kenny Baker made his first record in 1941. He was in the RAF during the second world war but recorded with The George Shearing Sextet, Buddy Featherstonhaugh and Harry Hayes, all early modern jazz pioneers. In 1946 he made his first record as leader and never looked back. In the 1940s he was very much a swing trumpeter and never became an out and out modernist. He recorded with many types of musicians and became the acceptable public face of modern jazz trumpet playing...Kenny Baker discography...

Buddy Featherstonhaugh made his first recordings in 1935 with a twelve piece band known as his 'Cosmopolitans', but only one 78rpm record was issued. Returned to the studios again in 1943 with his 'Radio Rhythm Club Sextet and recorded regularly until 1945 playing tenor sax and clarinet. He was out of music 1947 - 1951 but returned in 1956 playing baritone sax. biography and discography....

Harry Parry recorded with his own band from 1941 to 1949 and used many progressive jazz musicians including George Shearing, Tommy Pollard, Lauderic Caton, Dave Wilkins and Joe Temperley to name a few. The titles chosen for recording varied enormously in style but became progressively more 'modern'. Parry never made the transition to bop, its arrival in 1949 saw the end of his recording career. biography and discography...

Harry Hayes had a long career both as sideman and leader. His recordings made with his band in 1946 and 1947 are among the earliest signs of modern jazz in Britain. biography, picture and discography...

Johnny Claes led a band in and around the war years that was notable for the number of high quality modern jazz musicians he employed at various times. These included Tommy Pollard, Denis Rose, Norman Stenfalt, Ronnie Scott, Harry Hayes, Aubrey Frank and Pete Chilver who broadcast with Claes in the war years. The band made few records and only Pollard, Stenfalt, Hayes and Frank were captured on record with the band. picture and discography...

George Shearing flirted briefly with British modern jazz in the 1940s, first with Harry Hayes band and then in a fine sextet under his own name before making his final trio records in Britain in 1948. biography and discography...

Ted Heath began recording with his band in 1945 and used a number of jazzmen in his early days. He played a commercial swing type of music that gave occasional solo outings for some of his musicians. In 1948 he recorded a number of titles that ventured into a big band 'bebop' type of sound. biography and musicians...1949 recordings...

George Chisholm was a versatile trombonist who appeared as a sideman on countless recording sessions from the 1930s through to the 1960s. He could fit into all types of jazz group although he was probably at his best in a mainstream setting. He led a few recording sessions up to 1945 and a couple in the mid 1950s. details...

Black British Swing. One of the features of the late 1930s and the war years was the presence on the London club scene of a number of exiled West Indian swing/jazz musicians. Prominent players included Dave Wilkins, Leslie 'Jiver' Hutchinson, Frank Deniz, Yorke de Souza, Lauderic Caton, Carl Barriteau and Bertie King and they remained after the war finished, some of them in the fledgling bop scene. British musicians who played in some of these bands included Jimmy Skidmore and Kenny Baker. For various reasons these bands made few records and many of those that were made were of poor acoustic quality.
Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson's West Indian Dance Band was the best known and most recorded, unfortunately with record sales in mind, these were commercial offerings rather than the swing that his band was renowned for. more...

Vic Lewis recorded with bands of all jazz persuasions from 1937 to 1992 with a fifteen year gap and 'classical interlude' in the middle. He skirted the bop scene, concentrating on the Chicago style of music and formed his first swing band in 1946. His inspiration was the music of Stan Kenton and through the British bop explosion he led a big band playing the music of Stan Kenton, Shorty Rogers and Gerry Mulligan which continued until the early 1960s. There are three discographies on this website, one for his music up to 1939, another up to 1948 and a third for the period from 1949.

Even the Melody Maker formed a band of 'modern' musicians, with the intention of helping the war effort on behalf of Britain's Merchant Navy, the proceeds from the sale of the record went to provide comforts for the sailors. This is almost a 'who's who' of musicians pushing forward to the more modern jazz sounds.
Melody Maker's Competition Band - May 31st, 1942 (Decca)
Dave Wilkins, Kenny Baker, Tommy McQuater (tp), George Chisholm, Woolf Phillips (tb), Harry Parry (cl), Harry Hayes (as), George Evans, Aubrey Frank, Reggie Dare (ts), George Shearing (p), Joe Deniz (g), Tommy Bromley (b), Jock Cummings (d).
Red Duster Rag*/Red Duster Rag.
(*Hep Records CD - Kenny Baker, Birth of a Legend '41-'46)
(*Proper Records 4CD Box set - Jazz in Britain 1919 - 1950)


A number of musicians came through from the 1940s bands into the bop and post bop era - including some unexpected ones More...

1937 Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson formed his 'West Indian Dance Band' that over the next few years, playing swing, became increasingly popular. The band was unique in that the musicians were black. In 1938 they were recording commercially, first for Decca, later for HMV.

1941 Harry Parry began recording with his Radio Rhythm Club Sextet, the first of a number of sextets he led that featured a number of top jazz musicians of the time, including Tommy Pollard and Dave Wilkins. He recorded more or less continuously until 1949.

The First English public jam session took place...details...

Bandleader Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson was killed, with many others, in an air raid on the Cafe de Paris in London while he was playing for dancers.

1942 The Buddy Featherstonhaugh RAF Sextet began recording, by 1953 it had become the Radio Rhythm Club Sextet. The RAF Sextet continued to record until 1945.

The Melody Maker formed and recorded a band of 'modern' musicians, with the intention of helping the war effort on behalf of Britain's Merchant Navy, the proceeds from the sale of the record going to provide comforts for the sailors.

Harry Hayes and his Band made their first records and continued until 1947. The titles recorded with Tommy Whittle in 1946/7 are among the best of early British jazz records. Earlier recordings had the benefit of George Shearing.

Ted Heath and his Music made their first commercial records. It was not until 1949 that Heath made his first records that could be classed as jazz.

The Vic Lewis and Jack Parnell's Jazzmen started recording and continued regularly until 1945.

Trumpeter 'Jiver' Hutchinson revived the all-black British swing band concept using a number of musicians who had been in the 'Snakehips' Johnson band with Hutchinson. They were billed initially as Leslie 'Jiver' Hutchinson's All-Coloured Orchestra

1945 Vic Lewis recorded with musicians from Sam Donahue's US Navy Band as well as a number of jam session's.

1946 Vic Lewis recorded the first of his many big bands.

1947 The BBC broadcast it's first 'Jazz Club' bebop session. A BBC series called 'Accordian Club' featured the early bop efforts of the Tito Burns Sextet in an unlikely setting.

The Melody Maker in conjunction with Columbia Records held a 'Jazz Rally' that brought together the 'modern' jazz musicians of the day.


This page was last updated during March, 2014.
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