[ Tommy Edwards Orch. ]
Currently no information on this British active in Coventry ca. 1940. Tommy's brother George had first trumpet chair and was billed as the "Midlands Ace Trumpeter". In private correspondence, famed trumpeter Ron Simmonds has recalled the bandsmen as:
       Dougie Rowbotham (drums)
       Stan Yardley (piano)
       Tommy Edwards(bass)
       George Edwards (trumpet)
       Ron Simmonds (trumpet)
       Alf Anslow (trumpet)
       Albert Marsden (trumpet)
       Ted Hughes (trombone)
       Len Jackson (alto)
       Pete Warner (alto)
       Harold Robery (tenor)
       Hughie Hildrew (tenor)
       Jack Farrel (guitar)
       Peggy Stannard (vocals)

      [ Ray Ellington Quintet ]
b. 1915, London, England, UK, d. Feb. 28, 1985
né: Harry Pitts Brown
Overview:
Ray's father was Harry Pitts Brown (ca. 1877 -- 1920), an African American music-hall comedian and entertainer, and his mother was Eva Stenkell Rosenthal (b. ca. 1879), a Russian Jew. He was only four years old ( the youngest of four children) when his father died. Ray was brought up as a strictly Orthodox Jew. During 1924 -- '30, he attended the 'South London Jewish School', before entering show business at age 12, when he appeared in an acting role on the London stage. From 1951 to 1960, the Ray Ellington Quartet had a regular musical segment on the popular "Good Show", and he is still best remembered for this segment of his career. He experimented with many musical genres throughout the show's history, but was clearly greatly influenced by Louis Jordan's "Jump Blues" style. Ellington's was one of the first British groups to prominently feature the electric guitar, and may have been the very first jazz band in the UK to use an amplified bass.

In private correspondence, a personal friend of Ray Ellington, Mr., Roy Holliday, who also often played opposite Ellington in various ballrooms, has recalled: .

       " He began playing drums as a teenager, and by 1937 was good enough
       to replace Joe Daniels in Harry Roy's popular band. He remained with Roy
       for almost five years, although his personal musical taste tended more
       towards the new jazz styles. He became a physical training instructor during
       World War II. Soon after the end of the war he was playing in "be-bop" bands
       in London clubs. He formed his own quartet at this time and made a number
       of records, and sometimes accompanied visiting American jazzmen.

       His quartet in the late 40s comprised Dick Katz (piano), Coleridge Goode
       (bass) and Lauderic Caton guitar who was replaced by Laurie Deniz, and
       they were able to play swing, jumping R&B and popular jazz. From the
       start Ellington incorporated comedy and novelty vocals into his repertoire
       but the group's musical base was always strongly bop-influenced. Throughout
       the 1950s the quartet was regularly featured on The Goon Show on BBC
       Radio, usually with Ellington singing, and he also took small acting
       roles in theprogramme along with George Chisholm who was a member of
       Wally Stott's orchestra, that accompanied the programes.

       By the 60s,despite having had several chart sucesses with his then singer
       Marion Ryan (Mother of the pop stars, the Ryan Twins) Ellington was much
       less in demand, but he continued playing until shortly before his death
       in February 1985. His son, Lance Ellington, played trombone with the
       National Youth Jazz Orchestra and also sang as a member of the pop duo
       "Coffee And Cream".

In August 1953, Ellington signed a young singer, Marion Ryan, to sing with his combo, and she was his singer when his group supplied the music for Granada's "The Goon Show". It was her exposure with Ellington on TV that afforded her the opportunity to record, and become a TV star in her own right. She became the resident singer on the long running famous "Name That Tune" TV show. The Ray Ellington Orchestra is known to have appeared in the 1946 British film 'Walking On Air'. (Marion Ryan, b. Feb. 4, 1931, Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England, UK, d. Jan. 15, 1999, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. (heart failure - a consequence of pneumonia. Her twin sons, singers Paul and Barry, were born Oct. 24, 1948, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK. Paul Ryan died Nov. 29, 1992. Age: 44 ).
The Big Band Database thanks Mr. Roy Holliday for sharing his memories of Ray Ellington.

      [ Fred Elizalde Orch ], (1920's)
b. Dec. 12, 1907, Manilla, Phillippines; d. January 16, 1979
Frederico "Fred" Elizalde was born to a rich and influential family. A relative was the official representative of the Philippines at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth. He began playing piano at an early age and composed a Minuet at age 4 years. He and his brother, Manuel ("Lizz") spent their early years in the very best of schools in the U.S.A. He went to study in Madrid, Spain and at 14 years of age he was at St.Joseph's College in London for 2 years.

He then went to Stanford University (Calif.) at age 16., where he led the Stanford University Band at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. Not happy with this career move, his parents shipped him off to Cambridge Univ. in England, where he immediately took over the "Quinquaginta Ramblers". Fred quickly gained attention for his playing and compositional skill and he was signed by (Bert) Ambrose.

His next big step came when he signed to play at the Savoy Hotel In London. (He played in the second room; the Savoy Orpheans remained the 'Main Band'.) Fred sent his brother Manuel to the USA to find some 'hot Jazz' musicians, and "Lizz" found some good ones. At the Savoy Elizalde's orchestra featured many American musicians, including some men out of the original The California Ramblers, Adrian and Art Rollini, Max Farley, Chelsea Quealey, Fud Livingston, Bobby Davis, and others.

On Sunday, June 23, 1929, 'Fred Elizalde and his Savoy Music' gave a concert (featuring singer Al Bowlly) at the Shepherd's Bush Pavilion. A 'souvenir programme' of "The Melody Maker for the Invitation Concert for Musicians" listed the following musicians then in the band.
  Fred Elizalde   Leader
  Chelsea Quealey   First Solo Trumpet
  Norman Payne   Second Trumpet
  Nobby Knight   Third Trumpet
  Jack Collins   Trombonist
  Bobby Davis   First Alto Saxophone
  Max Farley   Second Alto Saxophone
  Fud Livingston   First Tenor Saxophone
  Arthur Rollini   Second Tenor Saxophone
  Adrian Rollini   Bass Saxophone
  Phil Cardew   Arranger & Relief Saxophone
  George Hurley   First Violin
  Ben Frankel   Second Violin
  Len Lee   Third Violin
  Mario Lorenzi   Harp
  Jack Hill   First Bass Guitar
  Tiny Stock   First String Bass
  Bill Busby   Second String Bass
  Billy Mason   Piano
  Ronnie Gubertini   Drums
  Al Bowlly   Vocalist & Guitar

Incidentally, the programme also listed the song played that day (quoting from the program):
  1. "Singapore Sorrows"
  2. "She's One Sweet Show Girl"
  3. (a) "A Precious Little Thing Called Love" (b) "Let's Do It" (c) "The Broadway Melody"
  4. "Viljah" Valse
  5. The Jazz Band(a) "Savoy Stomp" (b) "Nobody's Sweetheart"
  6. "Lover Come Back To Me"

  Interval of 10 Min

  7. "At The Turn Of The Tide"
  8. "Sweetheart Of All My Dreams"
  9. Fred Elizalde Will Play Some Piano Solos: Also "In A Mist"
  10. "Bataclan" In Three Movements, This Is The First Performance Of "Bataclan" Which Was Composed By Fred Elizalde For This Concert

  God Save The King

Here's an interesting photograph of Fred Elizalde and His Anglo-American Orch., It's interesting because is shows his use of a 4-man Sax line. Also, because that first seated man on the left is Adrian Rollini holding his Bass Sax. And, here you can listen the that orchestra (with Rollini playing Bass Sax) playing a few of their hit releases, including

   "Crazy Rhythm": (450 kb): Fred Elizalde & His Anglo-American Orchestra, with Adrian Rollini taking the Sax solos.
   "Nobody's Sweetheart": (174 kb) Fred Elizalde & His Anglo-American Orchestra. Here's another song with that band playing
   "Shy Anna": (503 kb) Fred Elizalde & His Anglo-American Orchestra, and here they are playing
   "Under The Moon"; (548 kb) , (a lovely little tune that grows on you). (All songs digitally re-engineered by Mr. Verne Buland.)

These songs well illustrate the high level of musical expertise by British popular bands in the 1920s - '30s. He was at the Savoy from Jan. 1st, 1928 until July 1929. While at the Savoy he signed an unknown singer, -Al Bowlly, who would go on to become the world's most recorded Popular Song vocalist. Here's another intesting publicity photo of the 1928 Elizalde Orch.. Vocalist Al Bowlly is 4th from the Left in the back row, and 2nd from the Right in back row is Adrian Rollini. Others in the band at this time included Norman Payne (tr) back row 2nd from left in above photo, Phil Cardew (ts), Harry Hayes (cl,as), Ben Frankel (vn), Len Fillis (bj, g) and Cecil Norman (piano).

In 1928, he won The 'Melody Maker' poll for the inappropriately titled tune "Heart of a Nigger" (sic), which -equally inappropriately- was changed to "Heart of a Coon" (sic). He made several trips to France and Belgium for residencies. The "staid" audiences at the Savoy didn't appreciate Elizalde's music and he took the band on the road to Northern England and to Scotland between Sept. and Dec. 1929, after writing the scores for two movies. Fred then wrote the music for the short lived "Intimate Revue" in March 1930. After this, the band broke up and Elizalde moved to Biarritz (France) where he began to study and compose classical music.

In 1931, he did a world tour and returned to England, where in 1932 he made some recordings before returning to Spain. In Spain he wrote the opera "Le Pajara Pinta" and studied with Manuel de Falla. He then conducted various orchestras in Spain. It was during this time that he reverted to using his real name of Frederico Elizalde. In 1933 made a brief return to London for recordings, moving back to Biarritz in 1934. In April 1935 his "Sinfonie Concertante" was premiered.

He composed and conducted throughout Spain in 1935 and '36, and then served as an officer in the Basque Regiment of Franco's Army during the Spanish Civil War. He was wounded at Oviedo, decorated for bravery, and was invalided out of the army, and returned to the Philippines in late 1937.

In the late 1930s, he returned to Paris and remained confined in his chateau during the German occupation where he continued to compose. It is difficult to understand what the German's had against him, considering he fought for General Franco's side, but along with other notable artists, he was on the German's list of people to be watched. (As unbelievable as it may sound to us today, the Nazis were probably wary of him because he played the "decadent" music of America and Britain.)