In Britain, the American Dance and Jazz band influences were strongly felt, spurred on by the April 19, 1919 visit of the 'Original Dixieland Jazz Band' to the London Hippodrome.

But by the mid-1920's, American style pop music had become firmly established in virtually all of Europe. Quite probably, Britain was the stronghold of this new music, producing more music and of a higher quality than anywhere else. In fact, many other European musicians were looking to the English bands for their inspiration. By the late '20's and early '30's, Berlin and Paris had established big band traditions of their own.

Germany:  Things were stirring on the continent proper. In the early part of the century, Ragtime had become popular in Germany, and by the early 1920's Jazz and Dance bands were springing up.

Generally speaking, it is safe to say that American style Dance and Jazz bands caught hold in Germany in the mid to late 1920's and the bands flowered in the '30's. Germany was the dance band center of Europe until rise of the Nazis. Musicians from Britain, U.S.A., Canada, Denmark, Holland, Russia, Sweden, and even from Turkey were all working in Germany.

This period of German culture is rather unique, and has been chronicled elsewhere. The ambiance of 1920s Berlin was as flamboyant as the 'Roaring Twenties' of the U.S.A. Jazz and music of every conceivable type and style was heard in the clubs, cafes, and dance halls of Berlin. Here's a night photograph of the famed Potsdamer Platz, and the Palais De Dance/Atlantis. The composer Kurt Weill and his lyricist Bertold Brecht were active writing opera and avant garde style music. Later, Kurt Weill would escape the clutches of the Nazis and emigrated to America, where he would write such popular favorites as "The September Song". (for the play 'Knickerbocker Holiday') and "Lost In The Stars" (Title song of Play). Still, curiously despite their excellence, few if any German bands became well known in either America or Britain.

In France, 'Ray Ventura's Collelgians', was probably the best known orchestra. A Dutch group, 'The Ramblers', must be mentioned as also must the fine Belgian bands of Fud Candrix and Charles Remue. Even Switzerland had it's 'Teddy Stauffer and the Teddies'.

POLAND:
"Jazz" was rather slow in coming to Poland. The first "Jazz" orchestra was perhaps the now legendary "Karasinski & Kataszek" band. Still most Polish orchestras did not play Jazz publicly. It was left to some enthusiastic musicians to gather and play improvisations in after hours clubs. Basically, Polish Jazz took root after 1933, with the ascendency of the Nazi party in Germany. Many good Jewish musicians emigrated to Poland where Polish Jazz was strengthened by such emigres as Ady Rosner's trumpet, Erwin Woheller's saxophone and Arkady Flato's swinging band. (Perhaps, Ady Rosner was the only Polish musician to gain some All-European fame.) Other artists of the '30s, included Emil Bruh, Wladyslaw Kowalczyk, and Art Tumel. By the end of the '30s, and the start of the 1940s, the "Swing" style came to Poland. Jazz and Swing interest was further enhanced when the public came to see the then new "Sound" pictures.

It was an interesting time for Polish jazz musicians. On one hand they had to become acquainted with new "Jazz" and "Swing", styles , as well as with the American arrangements and improvising techniques. On the other hand they were the target of aesthetical and propaganda campaign. In 1939, this productive period came to an abrupt end when Hitler's and Stalin's armies invaded Poland. It was the start of WWII.

Czechoslovakia also had bands that were up to the European standards. Italy had quite a few bands that could compare favorably to those of the other European nations.

Scandinavian popular music had a somewhat uneven development. In Sweden, Arne Hulphers, Harry Arnold and Haken von Eichwald formed very fine orchestras. While Denmark had the Kai Ewans and Erik Tuxen bands. Neither Norway or Finland produced any bands with anything more than just local fame.

World War II brought all this musical development to a close, and when the war was over, the era of the big bands had begun to fade.

Russia
Interesting note :
Joseph Stalin, premiere of the old USSR, was quoted in the Kremlin backed newspaper, Pravda, as saying " .....that if a person is against jazz, he cannot be a communist." But, regretfully, with the close of WW2, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who succeeded Stalin, "...so disliked jazz that he once walked out of a Benny Goodman concert after the first set, saying he felt sick. " --Russian jazz historian Aleksei Batashev.

Russia Overview:
As elsewhere in Europe, Russian Jazz began in the early 1920s. While visiting Paris, in the early 1920s, Valentin Yakovlevich Parnach, became fascinated with Jazz, and brought it back to Russia. Upon his return to Russia, he organized the first "Jazz" band. On October 1, 1922, the first Russian Jazz concert took place. (His orchestra later became a part of "Meyerhold's Revolution Theatre Collective".) In retrospect, we must consider him to the the leading pioneer in the field of Russian Jazz.

In early 1926, Frank Witer's Orchestra, featuring Sydney Bechet, became the first American Negro Jazz band to tour the Soviet Union. A bit later, Witer was followed by Sam Wooding's "Chocolate Dandies". Both bands were excellent, but curiously most Russian musicians were largely indifferent to the "New" music. This was probably due to the vast cultural differences between Russia and other Western nations.

1927 was the real turning point in Russian Jazz development. Leningrad became a true cradle of Soviet Jazz when Leopold Teplitsky's "First Concert Jazz Band" was formed there. In Moscow, Alexander Tsfasman led the "AMA - Jazz Orchestra".

In April or May 1928 (Brian Rust in his book "Jazz Recordings 1897-1942" gives the date at December 1926) Gregoire Nakchounian and His Russian North Star Orchestra recorded in Berlin (or Leipzig) Germany.

By 1929, Gennady Landsberg and Krupyshev were leading the "Leningrad Jazz Capella". (In the 1930s, this band would be resident on the Leningrad radio, They were the first group to create a Soviet Jazz repertoire.) Later, Boris Krupyshev's bands would also perform in Leningrad (today again called St. Petersburg.)