[Dixielandjazz] Ray Noble with Al Bowlly

[Fred Spencer]

Dear Len,
Ray Noble was the house band of His Master's Voice in Britain before WW II.
He came to the USA in 1934 but the American Federation of Musicians would
not allow him to bring anyone more than Al Bowlly, and his drummer manager,
Bill Harty. He played in the Rainbow Room in New York City with a band
assembled by Glenn Miller that had some of the best US jazzmen in
it --Claude Thorinhill, Pee Wee Irwin, Bud Freeman, Will Bradley,  Johnny
Mince, and others. If this was the band you mean, it could certainly
swing..Ray stayed  in America, as you say, but Al Bowlly went back to the UK
and was killed in a London air raid in 1941. There is more about this in my
book, "Jazz and Death. Medical Profiles of Jazz Greats" (University Press of
Mississippi, 2002). Regards.
Fred
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Len Nielsen" <lennielsen at telus.net>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 12:41 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Ray Noble with Al Bowlly


> Hi All
>
> It is a quiet evening in Victoria after a beautiful sunny warm spring
> day spent in the garden turning soil and planting flowers. A pair of
> Bushtits are busy building a nest in a soon to flower, purple lilac
> tree. They build a sock like nest which hangs from a twig, is about 8
> inches long and has an entrance hole at the top about an inch below
> where it is attached to the tree. They are currently using fibre glass
> insulation borrowed from an abandoned batt for their renovations. The
> female disappears into the nest with her treasure and the whole nest
> vibrates and agitates with her industry. I imagine that she is arranging
> furniture. :) I only posted this because there seems to be nothing else
> discussed on the list at the moment. :)
>
> The tune "Who Walks in When I Walk Out" has been a favorite of mine
> since I first heard it on a CD By 'Hot Jam' entitled 'Come and get it'.
> The group has John Banker, Jeff Barnhart, Tom Boates and sometimes list
> mate Scott Black among others. The tune is excellent and the CD is
> excellent and one that I can play any number of times without getting
> tired of hearing it. My personal quality test.
>
> I started looking for other versions of the tune and one that I found
> was by Al Bowlly and Ray Noble. I didn't expect too much from this
> version as I kind of remembered Ray Noble from the fifties as a big band
>   leader and the music behind the Edgar Bergen TV show of that time. I
> think I had him pegged as a 'Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye' type. You
> know, quality music but not a lot of pizzazz. I was really surprised at
> how jazzy and swinging their sound is on this tune. They have many good
> solos and the rhythm sections puts out a good strong steady beat
> throughout. I have not seen them mentioned on the list and wondered if
> there are any fans out there and if so, can you tell us about any other
> recordings they made in a jazz mode?
>
> Len Nielsen
> Victoria Canada
>
>
>
>
>
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