British dance bands developed a unique style of popular jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and dance music during the 1920s and 1930s that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms thousands of miles away from the true origins of jazz. The result was a melodic, good time music that certainly had jazz influences but also maintained a peculiarly British sense of rhythm and style which came from the music hall

Music hall

Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...

 tradition. Often comedians of the day or music hall personalities would sing novelty recordings backed by well known British dance band leaders. Famous British dance band performers and band leaders include: Bert Ambrose, Bertini

Bertini

- People :*Adriana Bertini, Brazilian fashion designer*Alba de Céspedes y Bertini , Cuban-Italian writer*Catherine Bertini , American public servant famous for her work in highlighting the pivotal role of women in food distribution...

, Billy Cotton

Billy Cotton

William Edward Cotton , better known as Billy Cotton, was a British band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the dance band era. Today, he is mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio and television personality, although his musical talent emerged as early as the 1920s...

, Roy Fox

Roy Fox

Roy Fox was an American dance bandleader whose period of greatest popularity came during his years performing in England.Roy Fox was raised in Hollywood, California...

, Geraldo, Carroll Gibbons

Carroll Gibbons

Carroll Gibbons was an American-born musician, bandleader and composer who made his career primarily in Britain. He was born and raised in Clinton, Massachusetts. In his late teens he travelled to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music...

, Henry Hall

Henry Hall (bandleader)

Henry Hall was a British bandleader. He played from the 1920s to the 1950s.-Biography:Henry Hall was born in Peckham, South London and served in both the Salvation Army and the British Army...

, Jack Harris

Jack Harris

Jack Harris may refer to:* Jack Harris , Scottish professional football player and manager* Jack Harris , Canadian MP* Jack Harris , American radio personality based in Tampa, Florida...

, Jack Jackson

Jack Jackson (British radio)

Jack Jackson was a British trumpeter and bandleader who became a highly influential radio disc jockey....

, Joe Loss

Joe Loss

Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss LVO OBE was a British musician and founder of the Joe Loss Orchestra.-Life:Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israel and Ada Loss, were Russian Jews and first cousins. His father was a cabinet-maker who had an office...

, Charlie Kunz

Charlie Kunz

Charles Kunz was an American musician.Kunz was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1896, the only son of a master baker who played the French horn. He made his debut aged six and made his first appearance as a prodigy aged seven...

, Victor Silvester

Victor Silvester

Victor Marlborough Silvester OBE was an English dancer, author, musician and dance band leader. He was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first half of the 20th century, and his records sold 75 million copies from the 1930s through to the 1980s.- Early life...

, Jack Hylton

Jack Hylton

Jack Hylton was a British band leader and impresario.He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage...

, Ray Noble

Ray Noble (musician)

Ray Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day...

 and Debroy Somers. Some of these went on to fame in the USA in the swing era.

Many popular singers rose to fame when employed as vocalists with these bands. Names like Al Bowlly

Al Bowlly

Albert Allick Bowlly was a Southern-African singer, songwriter, composer and band leader, who became a popular Jazz crooner during the 1930s in the United Kingdom and later, in the United States of America. He recorded more than 1,000 records between 1927 and 1941...

, Chick Henderson, Alan Breeze

Alan Breeze

Alan Louis Breeze was a singer with the Billy Cotton Band Show.He was born in West Ham, London, to Louis Breeze, a concert and oratorio singer and a member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and Isobel, who taught with the old London County Council.At the beginning of his career, Breeze sang in...

 and Denny Dennis were featured in recordings but were not mentioned on the record label. Instead, they were included with the description "with vocal refrain". Today, an experienced listener can usually identify the voices of these otherwise anonymous singers.

The Squadronaires

The Squadronaires

The Squadronaires is a Royal Air Force band which began and performed in England during and after World War II. The official title of the band was 'The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra', but it was always known by the more popular title "The Squadronaires"....

, a Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 band which became the best known of the English military dance bands of the time, is an example of such a band. The Squadronaires had hits like "There's Something in the Air" and "South Rampart Street Parade." They played at dances and concerts for service personnel and also broadcast on the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 and recorded on the Decca label. Many of the members formerly played as side men in Bert Ambrose’s band, and they continued to be popular after the war under the leadership of Ronnie Aldrich

Ronnie Aldrich

Ronnie Aldrich, born Ronald Frank Aldrich was a British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, and composer. The only son af a store manager, he was three years old when he started playing the piano...

.