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Name and Details Photograph
Max Bacon. (UK) Max was the larger-than-life drummer with the Ambrose Orchestra for many years, who also had a unique Jewish-style humour. Prior to joining Ambrose in late 1927, he had been with Leon van Straten's band in 1926 and also was briefly with Fred Elizalde's band (which seems to be made up of Ambrose musicians) and Al Starita's Kit-Cat band (probably a temporary substitute for Eric Little). He was a regular member of Ronnie Munro's band which recorded for Parlophone and Imperial from 1926 to 1929, and also with Arthur Lally's band at Decca in the early 1930s. His stint with Ambrose lasted until 1940 and his wry comments may be heard on a number of comedy titles, including the famous number "Cohen the Crooner (The Crosby of Mile-End)" which is extant on film. On leaving Ambrose, Max went into variety, and also acting, taking small parts in films and television shows.  
Joe Badis. (UK) Joe was the drummer in Sid Phillips' band "The Melodians" which Sid formed in the mid-1920s and existed until 1932 when it was taken over by Harry Leader.  
Arnold Bailey. (UK) Saxophonist and violinist in Herman Darewski's band in the late 1930s.  
Frank Bailey. (UK) Frank played bass in Dare Lea's band during 1934 and later played in Harry Leader's band in 1937-38.  
Jeff Bailey.(UK) Saxophonist, violinist and arranger for Alan Green in 1931 (at least).  
Tom Bailey (UK) - pseudonym on "Broadcast" records for  Tom Barratt (q.v.).  
Barney Baillie. (UK) Trumpeter in Don Marino Barreto's Cuban Orchestra from 1942.  
Jock Bain. (UK) A time-line of trombonist Jock Bain's career, based on his known recordings, follows:
Roy Fox and his Band                                             October 1935 - August 1938
Jack Harris and his Band                                         April 1939 - September 1939
Harry Roy and his Band                                           July 1942 - August 1942
Ambrose and his Orchestra                                     August 1942 - November 1944
Ted Heath and his Band                                          December 1944
Geraldo and his Orchestra                                      January 1945 onwards

Jock also made some records for Maurice Winnick (March 1944) and was on the "Jive Rhythm Orchestra" recordings under Josephine Bradley's direction (November 1943) and also on the recordings made under Nat Temple's direction in April 1945 (Nat was also a member of Geraldo's Orchestra).
 
Arthur Baker. (UK) Arthur was the drummer in Billy Cotton's band for many years, joining the band in mid-1930 and leaving in late 1943.  
Arthur Baker. (UK) Banjo and guitar player, Arthur Baker was with Debroy Somers from January to October 1930. He subsequently played in Nat Gonella's first band in late 1934 and then with the Krakajax in 1935 and 1936.  
Cyril Baker. (UK) Cyril was the pianist in Alf van Straten's band which played at Quaglino's Restaurant  in 1939.  
George Baker. (UK) George Baker was a classically-trained baritone who was a mainstay of the HMV catalogue, taking part in their Gilbert & Sullivan Operetta recordings for many years, usually in roles where excellent diction was required to put across the humour in the words. He was occasionally used by dance bands, especially Jack Hylton's, for tunes that needed a serious interpretation. He showed his ability for humour, though, in Jack's recording of "Eleven More Months And Ten More Days" in which he takes the leading role.  
Howard Baker. (UK) George Howard-Baker was known in the 1930s as "The Gig King" for his ability in providing top-class dance bands for almost any occasion. Although highly thought of at the time, he left few recordings for us to judge him in retrospect - 8 titles for the scarce "Hudson" label in 1934, and 2 titles for the semi-private "Teledisk" label which include Vera Lynn's first recording, "It's Home", in February 1935. Howard himself was a trumpeter and saxophone player, though I suspect he generally confined himself to organising and conducting. As well as launching Vera Lynn's career, he discovered Dorothy Squires in October 1935, though they made no recordings together at the time.
Ken Baker. (UK) Tenor Saxophone player with The Krakajax in 1935 and 1936  
Kenny Baker. (UK) Trumpeter Kenny Baker is one of the younger musicians to be mentioned here, being born March 1st, 1921. He made his recording debut with Lew Stone in 1941. His timeline is:
Lew Stone and his Band                                     July - November 1941
Josephine Bradley's Jive Rhythm Orch               November 1943
Frank Weir and his Sextet                                   December 1943
Carl Barriteau and his Orchestra                         January - June 1944
George Evans and his Orchestra                         July - November 1944
Ted Heath and his Band                                      December 1944 - 1948
Ambrose and his Orchestra                                 January - September 1945
Kenny Baker and his Band/Baker's Dozen          1948 onwards

I suspect the Ambrose sessions were at a time when Ammy wasn't maintaining a regular band and these, like the Josephine Bradley session, were made by a group of top recording musicians. He died  on December 7th 1999.
 
Tom Balderson. (UK) Trumpeter Tom Balderson joined Oscar Rabin's band in the Summer of 1938, staying with him until at least the end of 1940, maybe later. He subsequently joined Harry Roy's band in November 1941, remaining until the end of 1942, returning to play in the band in 1944.  
Maurice Baldiserri. (UK) In an interview given some years ago, trumpeter Maurice Baldiserri said that he was the first trumpet on all of the early Filmophone dance records. The musical director on these recordings between January and May 1931 was Nat Lewin, so Baldiserri may have been the trumpeter in Lewin's band at the time, anyway. The other musicians are, so far, unidentified. Following these sessions, Baldiserri joined Harry Roy's band in October 1931, remaining in the band until early 1932. At this time, he went to Rome both as a holiday and to help to cure his ill-health. He remained there for some years, and formed his own band there in December 1936.  
Les Baldwin. (UK) Tenor Sax player in Lew Preager's band, which played at the Hammersmith Palais de Danse. The band didn't start recording until June 1944, by which time Baldwin was already in the band, remaining with it until at least the end of 1945.  
Harry Balen. (UK) Balen joined Roy Fox's Band in September 1935 as the sole violinist. Previouly Fox had not employed any string players. Harry stayed with Fox until he disbanded in August 1938, during which time he also played on one recording session (that is certain) directed by Phil Green for Parlophone. Prior to joining Roy Fox, Balen had been in the studio band directed by George Glover in 1933 for a couple of sessions for Sterno Records.  
Dick Ball. (UK) Bassist Dick Ball is generally associated with Ambrose's Orchestra, with which he spent a number of years. A timeline, based on his known recordings, follows:
Marius B. Winter & his Hotel Cecil Orchestra           December 1928 - 1930
Eddie Gross-Bart & his Ambassador's Club Band     September 1930 - January 1931
Eddie Gross-Bart & his Cafe Anglais Band               February 1931 - August 1931
Lew Stone's "Durium" Dance Band                         March - April 1932
Jack Allen's "Great Foster's" Band                          June 1933 
(no recordings)
Harry Jacobs & his Berkeley Hotel Orchestra          September 1933
Ambrose and his Embassy Club Orchestra              October 1933 - March 1937
Jack Harris and his Orchestra                                  July 1937 - May 1938
Ambrose and his Orchestra                                     April - November 1941.

Dick also made many recordings under Jay Wilbur's direction for the "Rex" & "Crown" labels between June 1935 and May 1936 and one session for George Scott-Wood in 1934.
 
Edward (Ted) Ball. (UK) Saxophonist Ted (or Ed) Ball was a member of one of the "interim" Savoy Orpheans at the turn of the 1930s. It is unlikely the 1930 band he is reported as playing with (directed by Ben Evers) ever played at the Savoy, but used the name under licence. Subsequently, Ted formed his own band which played for the ABC cinema group. They made a test recording for Sterno of Al Bowlly's number "In London On A Night Like This" which was the theme song for the film "On A Night Like This" which would have been showing at the cinemas in 1933 when the test record was made. "Melody Maker" magazine for September 1932 gives a personnel for the band at the time, which may still hold true for the recording (of which no copy has been reported to date). 
The musicians are: Art Freeman & J. Gillman (trumpet & violin); Fred Greenslade (trombone); Harry Fisher (trombone & harp); Len Furminger, Sid Clements & Berg Larsen (saxophones); Maurice Smeckler (violin); Norman Warren (piano & accordion); Alf Smith (guitar); Ronnie Davies (drums).
Of these musicians, Harry Fisher had been in the 1930s Orpheans with Ted Ball., but only Norman Warren made the "big time", replacing Billy Thorburn in Jack Payne's band in 1935 when the latter became Payne's band manager. Art Freeman had previously played in Syd Chasid's band and in the later 1930s played at Fischer's Restaurant for Tommy Kinsman.
 
Joe Ball. (UK) Joe was the drummer in the Corner House Ragtime Band, one of the  earliest dance bands, which was a Clifford Essex group, directed by banjoist J. J. Ashton.  
Fred Ballerini. (UK) Fred was a superb tenor saxophone and violin player who, sadly, rarely made many records. He was a member of Tommy Kinsman's band at Fischer's Restaurant in 1936-38 which recorded for Octocros and he plays some fine "hot" fiddle on the records. He later (1944) was a member of Frank Weir's excellent little band at the Astor Club, which made some records for Decca.   
Dick Ballinger. (UK) Dick played saxophone in the Embassy Six in the late 1920s.  
Tony Balmforth. (UK) Tony or Tommy Balmforth (reports vary) played trumpet in Jack Harris's fine band  in 1939  
Freddy Bamberger. (UK) Pianist Freddie Bamberger joined Jack Hylton's band in December 1931 remaining with the band until the middle of 1932 when he & drummer/dancer Neville Bishop both left to form a variety act.  
Claude Bampton. (UK) Claude Bampton was a multi-instrumentalist (playing clarinet, saxophone, piano and accordion) and arranger who was a member of the award-winning Cavendish Dance Band at the start of the 1930s. He subsequently formed his own band which played and recorded some modern compositions by Bampton himself and also some Duke Ellington titles. The band played at the Prince's Theatre in the 1936. Claude Bampton subsequently led a band of blind musicians which included the talented pianist, George Shearing.   
Tommy Band. (UK) Trumpeter Tommy Band generally worked in theatre-pit dance bands, being with Percival Mackey at the Dominion Theatre for "Follow Through" in the autumn of 1929. In late 1934 he was with Harry Perritt, who provided the music for Jack Buchanan's shows. In September 1937, Tommy joined Bram Martin's band at the Holborn Restaurant for about a year.  
Dudley Barber. (UK) Drummer in Barney Gilbraith's quartet at the Cocoanut Grove in mid-1939.  
George Barclay. (UK) (1901 - 1989) Singer George Barclay was a farmer's son from Aberdeen who had sung with Arthur Mouncey's band before travelling to London with Archie Alexander and his band. Archie looked after his artists well, but made sure they kept to the binding contract he drew up, charging extortionate fees to other bandleaders if they wanted to use George. When George made some records with Charlie Kunz, I believe Archie was most displeased. The two bandleaders must have come to some arrangement, however, as George made a huge number of records with Charlie between November 1934 & March 1937. At the same time he recorded for Mantovani and Harry Leader. Subsequently he made occasional recordings with Victor Silvester, Felix Mendelssohn and George Scott-Wood's Six Swingers. He was resident singer with Billy Thorburn's band from January 1939 until July 1940. On top of all this, George also broadcast with Alf van Straten, Lou Preager and Ronnie Munro. He was quiet in his manner and speech, mainly because he discovered that few people could understand his broad Scottish accent. In response, HMV dubbed him "The Shy Singer". In 1952, George and his wife ran a pub before retiring to Peckham, South London. George Barclay.jpg (21560 bytes)
Geoff Barker. (UK) Bass player in Joe Orlando's band at the Gleneagles Hotel in 1937.  
Norman Barker. (UK) Norman was a saxophonist who played in Billy Merrin's Commanders from September 1935 until mid-1937. Subsequently he played in Mantovani's Tipica Orchestra from January 1939 until December 1941.  
Charlie Barlow. (UK) Lead saxophonist in Bertini's band at the Tower, Blackpool, joining the band in late 1933.  
Bert Barnes. (UK) Pianist and arranger Bert Barnes made his first recordings while a member of Percy Chandler's band in 1931. The spring of 1932 found him on the arranging staff for Henry Hall's New BBC Dance Orchestra. The following years he was providing arrangements for Ambrose as well. In April 1934, he joined Ambrose full time, as pianist and arranger, a position he held until the end of 1937. During this period he also attended recording sessions for Jay Wilbur at "Rex" records.  
Binnie Barnes. (UK) Personality singer who made a solitary appearance as a dance band singer with Harry Roy's band on a session in February 1933.  
Frank Barnes. (UK) Saxophonist who played tenor sax in Billy Cotton's band, from October 1931 until June 1936. He subsequently played in Joe Orlando's Gleneagles Hotel Band, at least in 1937 when the band were recording.  
Fred Barnes. (UK) Tenor saxophone player in Howard Jacobs' band in September 1937.  
George Barnes. (UK) Pianist in the York-based band directed by Jack Prendergast.  
Warwick Barnes. (UK) Warwick Barnes was the drummer in Bert Firman's band at the Carlton Hotel from mid-1925 until early 1926 after which he joined Debroy Somers' newly formed band, remaining with the band until the end of 1929. His subsequent career is currently unknown. He was also regularly used by both Harry Bidgood and Nat Star for their studio sessions at Vocalion and Sterno.  
Rube Barnet. (UK) Alto-saxophonist in Lew Stone's band in October 1942  
Albert Barnett. (UK) Director of a band which made 2 titles for Pathe's Actuelle label in 1926 featuring 2 dances which Albert and his partner Nora Chilo had originated.  
Alfred Barnett. (UK) Bass player in Claude Bampton's Bandits in 1935-36.  
Stanley Barnett. (UK) Saxophonist-leader of the band which played in the restaurant of the famous Madame Tussaud's waxworks museum in London. The band played there during 1933 and recorded some excellent jazz records for Edison Bell Winner. In November 1934, Barnett opened at Prince's Restaurant with a new band. He was also director of the house band at Winner, the records being issued variously under his own name or that of composer Howard Flynn who was one of the directors of the company.  
Frank Baron. (UK) Pianist in the little band playing at Hatchette's club in 1939-40  
George Baron. (UK) Banjo player in a small group known as Andy's Southern Serenaders (directed by Harry Leader) which made some records for Parlophone in 1935.  
J. Barraclough. (UK) Trombonist in Jay Wilbur's "Hi Gang" orchestra in 1942.  
Tom Barratt. (UK) Singer Tom Barratt was present on a large number of recordings, especially dance band ones, from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s, mainly those directed by Nat Star and Harry Bidgood for Sterno & the Vocalion Group respectively. He was also vocalist on many Edison Bell sides and those directed by Debroy Somers and Stan Greening for Columbia & Regal. Almost nothing is known about him or his career outside of recordings, but it is thought his main work lay in the music halls or the theatre. Tom Barratt.jpg (65002 bytes)
Don Marino Barreto. (UK) Pianist and Bandleader whose cuban-styled orchestra made a number of recordings for HMV between 1941 and 1943  
Zelda Barrie. (UK) Singer who made only one dance band recording, with Joe Loss in 1942.  
Don Barrigo. (UK) Saxophonist Don Pedro Barrigo was the backbone of Lew Stone's excellent band for many years. Here is a timeline of his recording career:
Don Parker and his Band at the Piccadilly & Kit-Cat March 1926 - November 1926
Syd Roy and his RKOlians                                         December 1929 - 1930
Percival Mackey and his Kit-Cat Band                       August 1931 - November 1931
Howard Jacobs and his Orchestra                             September 1933
Maurice Winnick and his Ciro's Club Band                September 1933 - Feb 1934 
Don Barrigo and his Band                                         January 1934
Louis Simmonds and his Cafe Anglais Band             May 1934
Lew Stone and his Band                                           January 1935 - January 1941
Nat Gonella and his Georgians                                 January 1935 - July 1939
Harry Roy and his Band                                            March 1941 - April 1941
Frank Weir and his Orchestra                                   August 1944
 
Carl Barriteau. (UK) Born in Trinidad in 1917, Carl Barriteau learned the clarinet during his upbringing in an orphanage there. He joined the Trinidad Police band in 1935 then was brought to England a couple of years later by fellow West Indian Ken Johnson and was a member of Ken's West Indian Orchestra at London's Cafe de Paris until the famous bombing of the venue in 1941 which killed Johnson and also seriously injured Barriteau himself. For a year he free-lanced for many British bandleaders such as Lew Stone, Geraldo, Percival Mackey, Ambrose, Joe Loss & Jack Payne before forming his own band in 1942. He toured and recorded with his band until 1949 when he became resident band at The Eldorado Ballroom in Leith, Edinburgh. He then disbanded and joined Cyril Stapleton's band in 1951 before reforming his own band a tear or two later. In the late 1950s Carl & his wife, Mae, went to live in Germany, touring & playing round Europe before emigrating to Australia. Carl Barriteau died in Australia on August 24th, 1998.

Information gleaned from the following website for which many thanks....
http://www.swingtime.co.uk/Reviews/kenjohns/kencarl.html

 
Sid Barron. (UK) Banjo & guitar player recruited briefly by Fred Elizalde in 1930. The only two titles recorded by the band at the time were unfortunately never issued.  
Errol Barrow. (UK) Pianist in Ken Johnson's West Indian Orchestra in 1938.  
Pete Barry. (UK) Bass player and vocalist in Sid Millward's band, recording in 1938.  
Sidney Bartle. (UK) Drummer in George Elrick's band in 1937 and 1938, and subsequently did a spell with the Savoy Hotel Orpheans in 1939 and 1940.  
Bill Barton. (UK)  Barton generally played tenor saxophone, doubling clarinet and violin. His first recordings were with Bert Ralton's Havana Band between November 1925 and September 1926. Barton was on tour in South Africa with Ralton until the middle of 1927 when, on his return to England, he joined the Savoy Havana Band until it disbanded in December 1927. March 1928 finds him on tour with the "Original Savoy Orpheans" in Germany. Barton then remained in Germany, forming his own band and recording for Ultraphon until 1932. During the period between his tour of S.A. and his leaving for Germany, he was a regular player in the studio bands directed by Bert & John Firman for  Zonophone records.  
Gilbert Barton. (UK) I suspect Gilbert Barton is a classical musician as he is only an occasional player on dance band recordings, and plays flute & piccolo - not instruments usually associated with dance bands. He was a member of Jack Hylton's massive orchestra in August 1936.  
Jock Barton. (UK) Multi-instrumentalist Jock (some sources say his name was "Jack") was mainly a trumpet player, but he also doubled on piano-accordion. He was with Jerry Hoey's band at the Piccadilly Hotel for at least the whole of 1931. By June 1933, he was playing for Charlie Kunz's newly-formed band at the Casani Club, where he stayed until the Autumn of 1934.  
Pamela Baselow. (UK) I assume Pamela was a "straight" singer. She made one recording which is appropriate to us here - in July 1922, accompanied by Jack Hylton's Queen's Dance Orchestra. The title was "In Romany", issued on HMV C-1085.  
Bert Bassett. (UK) A real "old-timer", Bassett was a top-line banjo player at the start of our period. He played briefly in the Savoy Quartet in 1915, a pre-cursor of the dance bands, consisting of 2 banjos, piano and drums. In 1921 & 22 he was a member of Jack Hylton's early Queen's Dance Orchestra.  
Doug Bastin. (UK) Doug was a saxophonist and trumpeter (quite an unusual combination). He was a member of Arthur Rosebery's band at the Kit-Cat Restaurant during 1929 and the first half of 1930.  
Leslie Bates. (UK) Tenor saxophone player, Leslie Bates was a member of the Savoy Havana Band from September 1923 until the summer of 1927  
Elizabeth (Betty) Batey. (UK) Singer Betty Batey was discovered by top Northern bandleader Peter Fielding in the 1930s. She later joined Joe Loss, making many recordings with his band during WWII.  
Reg Batten. (UK) Reg was a classically-trained violinist, but is much better known as the leader of the Savoy Havana Band from September 1923 until they left the Savoy Hotel in December 1927. There was a short period during about 1925 when he "swapped" with Debroy Somers and became director of the Savoy Orpheans. Later, he tried to enter the Classical music field, but was unable to make his mark, and so returned to dance music, playing with Howard Jacobs' band and recording with him in 1937. Whilst with the Havana Band, he also occasionally sang. There are two records on which he sings solo; "Who Wouldn't?" on HMV B-5123, and "I'm A Little Blackbird Looking For A Bluebird" on HMV B-5130. He also sang in duets with the saxophonist Joe Cassidy and in the vocal trio.  
Dick Battle. (UK) Dick was a member of Fred Elizalde's Cambridge Varsity Band, playing trumpet and flugelhorn. The band recorded 4 sides for Brunswick and 2 for HMV during 1927, all of which are rare.  
Al Baum. (UK) Alto-Saxophonist Al Baum played for Tommy Kinsman at Fischer's Restaurant between March 1935 and February 1937, recording many sides for the hard-to-find Octacros record label. From April 1939 until late 1939 he played in Jack Harris's band.  
Eddie Bave. (UK) Alto and baritone sax player, Eddie, was a member of the Savoy Orpheans  from April 1927 until their disbanding in November 1927, also apparently playing in the Sylvians, at the Savoy Hotel at the same time.  
Jack Baverstock. (UK) Jack was the pianist in the RAOC Blue Rockets (directed by Eric Tann) which made some recordings for HMV in 1942 & 1943.  
Eric Bayliss. (UK) Eric was a bandleader and, with his band , made two recordings for Panachord in 1927. It seems reasonable to assume his was a provincial band, but I would obviously  welcome any information  
Sidney Baynes. (UK) Composer and conductor Sidney Baynes isn't usually associated with this sort of dance music, but in 1928 he was directing the pit orchestra for the production of "Clowns in Clover" and recorded a medley of the main tunes from this show as a foxtrot for HMV. Later on, in 1931 he was leader of a band described as his "Radio Dance Band" which recorded 8 titles for Edison Bell Winner. Sydney is much better know for his delightful light orchestral compositions such as "Destiny" and "Ecstasy".  
Reggie Beard. (UK) Reggie played double-bass in one of the two large bands which Jack Hylton was running at the start of WWII.  
Ken Beaumont. (UK) vocalist and guitarist Ken Beaumont made few records, which is a great pity as he has a very pleasing musical voice. He recorded just a few sides (mainly as a vocalist) with the following bands: Larry Brennan (April - July 1934), Joe Orlando (March - October 1937), Henry Hall (guitar only- April 1939), Oscar Rabin (January 1941) and Billy Ternant (1943-44). However, I don't believe that he was a regular vocalist with any of these bands.  
Cliff Beaver. (UK) Cliff was a guitar player and was a member of Maurice Winnick's 1944 band whose recordings for Decca were never issued.  
Eve Becke. (UK) Born 1910, singer Eve Becke started her professional career in the late 1920s as a chorus girl before joining Jack Hulbert's organisation. She was in the chorus of "The House That Jack Built" and "Folly to be Wise". After a three-and-a-half year period as a cabaret artist, she joined Jack Hylton's organization in variety and subsequently sang on a handful of his records. However, these weren't her first recordings; her debut was in 1932 singing "Was That The Human Thing To Do" with Roy Fox's band (at the time directed by Lew Stone). She subsequently made a number of recordings for the "Sterno" label, including some with Charlie Kunz' Casani Club Orchestra. she was in some demand on records, making some with Ray Noble, Jay Wilbur and Teddy Joyce, starring with the latter in the film "Radio Parade of 1935" as well as making other films at this period. in 1936 she married an Italian Count Eugenio Ugo Caneva di Rivarolo, who fell in love with her voice after hearing her on the radio. They lived in London where Eve concentrated on broadcasting and occasional recordings with the Geraldo and Louis Levy orchestras. During the war, they moved to Italy, but the Count was killed in 1944 and Eve returned to London and resumed her career, broadcasting again with Geraldo and Louis Levy.
My thanks to Charles Hippisley-Cox and the late Tony Clarke for this information.
 
P. Belisante. (UK) A violinist who played in Marius B Winter's earliest band in 1923  
Alec Bell. (UK) Alec was the bass player with Alex Freer's band, at least in May 1934 when this Glasgow-based band recorded for Decca.  
Arthur Bell. (UK) Arthur was a composer and arranger. One of his compositions (and arrangements) was "Etude" which was recorded by Lew Stone and his band in 1935.  
Billy Bell. (UK) Billy was a versatile musician, being able to play banjo, guitar and bass. It is as a guitar player he is best remembered, though if the Rust and Forbes "British Dance Band" discography is to be believed, he made a huge number of records both as a double bass and tuba player. Here's a quick rundown of his likely dance band recording career:

Emlyn Thomas's London Band...............................1923 to possibly 1925 (banjo)
Bert & John Firman's Zonophone house bands......1927 - 1932 (tuba)
Nat Star's studio band for Homophone........ various sessions 1929 to 1931 (banjo)
Jack Harris' Grosvenor House Hotel band.........May 1931 to May 1932 (bass and tuba)
Jay Wilbur's house band on Rex & Crown records.. various from 1933 - end 1941 (bass)
Phil Green's band................................................. one session in April 1935 (guitar)

 
T. Bell. (UK) Tenor Saxophone player in Will Hurst's band in the spring of 1927 when the band was at the Palace, Blackpool.  
Jim Bellamy. (UK) One of the elder statesmen of the dance band era, bas and tuba player, Jim Bellamy was born in 1875 and so was 46 by the time he joined the Savoy Havana band in 1921, with probably quite an illustrious career behind him, of which nothign is yet known. He played the bass saxophone and tuba at the Savoy for most of the 1920s, with the Savoy Havana Band until mid-1926, then switching places with Fred Underhaye in the Savoy Orpheans. When the Orpheans left the Savoy for a tour of the Continent, Bellamy left the band. In 1929 he was at the Piccadilly hotel, firstly with Jim Kelleher and then with Jerry Hoey when the latter took over the band following Kelleher's mysterious departure in mid-1929. Following occasional recordings for Arthur Lally in 1931, we lose site of Jim, who died, quite young, in 1934. 
I mentioned him playing the bass saxophone and this was mainly in the early 1920s when it was often used instead of a tuba, but Van Phillips, who played in the Havana band with Jim, when interviewed in the 1980s, said Bellamy would still use the bass sax occasionally in the mid-20s, and it is thought it could be him on the excellent recording of "Everybody Stomp" on HMV B-2228 recorded November 1925. This has been previously ascribed to Van Phillips, but Van said he never played a bass saxophone in his life!
 
Dave Bellman. (UK) Violinist who was a member of Nat Temple's Club Royal Orchestra in the mid-1940s.  
Al Benny. One of the many pseudonyms used by Harry Bidgood (q.v.)  
Ivy Benson. (UK) Saxophonist Ivy was the leader of Britains premier all-girls dance band. But this is not just a band of attractive ladies, rather a top-class orchestra who have remained popular for many years. Sadly, there are few recordings of the band with which to make a judgment. Born 1913, she formed her own band in the late 1930s after playing in Teddy Joyce's all-girls band, retaining her leadership until the 1980s, quite a formidable record. She died in 1993, aged 79.   
Bob "Bix" Benstead. (UK) No prizes for guessing that Bob was a trumpet player, or who he was named after! "Bix" Benstead was a stalwart of Oscar Rabin's Romany Band during the early 1940s, joining the band in May 1940, remaining with the band until late 1941.  
Dick Bentley. (UK) Singer Dick Bentley was quite a well-known radio personality in the 1930s, but only made one commercial recording as a dance band singer, with Phil Green's orchestra in 1938. Green was responsible for quite a lot of radio work at the time, mainly with the Ovaltine programmes on Radio Luxembourg and, I think, Bentley was one of his regular vocalists on the programmes.  
Harry Bentley. (UK) Harry Bentley was a very popular crooner during the first half of the 1930s. He also played drums. Apart from being the regular singer with Jack Harris at the Grosvenor House (1931-32) and Charlie Kunz at the Casani Club (1933-34), he was also sought after for many recording sessions, including a memorable occasion where he was called by Billy Merrin at very short notice as Sam Browne (who had been booked for the session) had had to leave due to having a very heavy cold. Harry turned up at the Studio in his pyjamas (or so the story goes) and made a first class job of the four remaining titles (January 26, 1934). His earliest known recordings were with Tommy Kinsman's band at the Florida Club in late 1929. He played drums with the band as well. In addition, he sang on record for: Stanley Barnett, The Barnstormers, Bertini, Percy Chandler, Lionel Clapper (1930), Leo Croke, Teddy Dobbs, Dave Frost, Carroll Gibbons, Harry Hudson, Louis Levy, Sud Lipton, Joe Loss, Billy Mason, Van Phillips, Lou Preager, Oscar Rabin, Arthur Rosebery, Syd Roy, Debroy Somers, Nat Star, Jay Wilbur, Maurice Winnick and George Scott Wood. Harry Bentley died in 1935, while still quite young.  
Jack Bentley. (UK) The career of trombonist Jack Bentley begins right at the end of the dance band era. He played for Jack Hylton from 1937 to 1940, then for Geraldo in the summer of 1940, for Ambrose from June 1942 until 1945 and then for Ted Heath. He also recorded for Carl Barriteau and Frank Weir (1944) and Phil Green (1943).   
Tommy Benton. (UK) Pianist Tommy Benton played for Bram Martin at the Holborn Restaurant from at least 1935 until 1939 (this is the period the band were recording). After WWII, he played regularly with Tommy Kinsman's band, often travelling to the U.S.A. with the band and playing gigs while on the States.Tommy died on October 8th, 1955, while still in his 40s.

My thanks to Tommy's nephew, Kevin Benton, for the information and photograph scan.

Julius (Jules) Berkin. (USA) . Jules was an American trumpeter who played briefly with Ambrose's Orchestra at the May Fair Hotel in the spring of 1928.  
Harry Berly. (UK) Viola and tenor saxophone player Berly played with the very top bands in the 1920s and 1930s. A timeline shows this:
Geoffrey Goodhard and his Band (at the Piccadilly Hotel)  Approx February 1925 - Autumn 1925
Jack Hylton and his Orchestra Autumn 1925 - April 1930
Arthur Lally & his Orchestra / Ambrose organisation mid-1930 - May 1931
Roy Fox and his Band (at the Monseigneur Restaurant) June 1931 - September 1932
Lew Stone and his Band (various residencies) October 1932 - June 1935

In addition, Harry  was well in demand for recordings, being especially part of the excellent studio band put together by Ray Noble for HMV.

 
Len Bermon. (UK)   
Clem Bernard. (UK)   
Peter Bernard. (UK)   
Rita Bernard. (UK)   
Gino Berni. (UK)   
George Bernstein. (UK)   
Simon Bernstein. (UK)   
Frank Berry. (UK)   
George Berry - Pseudonym for singer Harry Fay.  
Bertini (Bert Gutsell) (UK)   
Anita Best. (UK)   
Tommy Best.  (UK)   
Richard Betts. (UK)   
Harry Bidgood. (UK)   
Hal Bidwell. (UK)   
Frank Bierman. (UK)   
Frank Biffo. (UK)   
Ronald Binge. (UK)   
Don Binney. (UK)   
May Birch. (UK)   
Tom Birch. (UK)   
Arthur Birkby. (UK)   
John Birmingham. (UK) Bandleader John Birmingham, born about 1889, was one of the pioneering bandleaders who directed his "Big Twelve" in the early 1920s as well as directing the band at the Hotel Cecil. Sadly, as the 1920s passed he failed to keep pace with the modern ideas and had to resort to directing the bands for revues and provincial shows. It was not an unusual tale; Other bandleaders such as Leslie Jeffries, Emlyn Thomas and Victor Vorzanger all deserted the Dance Music scene before the end of the 1920s. John Birmingham made quite a good living out of his music, however, but his career and life were tragically cut short when he died from injuries sustained from falling from his balcony in May 1928.
Frederick Bishop. (UK)   
Neville Bishop. (UK)   
Reg. Bishop. (UK)   
Billy Bissett. (Canada)   
Ted Bissett. (UK)   
Stanley Black. (UK)   
Alex Blackforth. (UK)   
Jimmy Blades. (UK)   
Tommy Blades. (UK)   
Bill Blanch. (UK)   
Alan Blank. (UK)   
Joe Blank. (UK)   
Tom Blight. (UK)   
Wilbur Blinco. (UK)   
Sid Bliss. (UK)   
Kurt Blomquist. (UK)   
Harry Bloom. (UK)   
The Blue Notes. (UK)   
Len Blunt. (UK)   
Bert Boatwright. (UK)   
Jean Bobbe. (UK)   
George Boddy. (UK)   
Sam Bogen. (UK)   
Bill Boland. (UK)   
Betty Bolton. (UK)   
Jack Bond. (UK)   
Charles Bonheur. (UK) Pseudonym for singer Robert Howe.  
Tom Bonney. (UK)   
Jack Bonser. (UK)   
Laurie Bookin. (UK)   
E. Booth. (UK)   
Webster Booth. (UK)   
Dick Boothroyd. (UK)   
John Borelli. (UK)   
Charlie Botterill. (UK)   
Suzanne Botterill. (UK)   
Victor "Digger" Boulcott. (UK)   
Wally Bowen. (UK)   
Alf Bowes. (UK)   
Al Bowlly. (UK/SA)   
Dave Bowman. (UK)   
Bert Bown. (UK)   
Bill Bowness. (UK)   
Stan Bowsher. (UK)   
Len Bowthorpe. (UK)   
Harold Boyes. (UK)   
Edgar Bracewell. (UK)   
Len Bradbury. (UK)   
Tommy Bradbury. (UK)   
Norman C. Bradford. (UK)   
Josephine Bradley. (UK)   
Ron Bradley. (UK)   
Aleg Bragg. (UK)   
Cas Braithwaite. (UK)   
Bill Brakewell. (UK)   
Mona Brandon. (UK)   
Eddie Brandt. (USA/UK)   
Joe Brannelly. (USA/UK)   
Hazel Bray. (UK)   
Perley Breed. (USA/UK)   
Alan Breeze. (UK)   
Eric Breeze. (UK)   
Larry Brennan. (UK)   
Gloria Brent. (UK)   
Freddy Bretherton. (UK)   
Val Brett. (UK)   
Jimmy Brewer. (UK)   
Laurie Brewis. (UK)   
Reg Brewster. (UK)   
Leslie Brian. (UK)   
Cpl G. Bright. (UK)   
Gerald Bright - see Geraldo (UK)   
Sid Bright. (UK)   
Harry Brindle. (UK)   
Vic Brinkman. (UK)   
John Bristol. (UK)   
Herb Britton. (UK)   
Jimmy Broad. (UK)   
S. Broadhead. (UK)   
Ernest Broadhurst. (UK)   
Irving Brodsky. (USA/UK)   
Estelle Brody. (UK)   
Tommy Bromley. (UK)   
Benny Bromnick. (UK)   
Abe Bronson. (UK)   
Claude Brooke. (UK)   
Elizabeth Brooke. (UK)   
Ern Brooks. (UK)   
Freddy Brooks. (UK)   
H. Brooks. (UK)   
Vivienne Brooks. (UK)   
Albert Brown. (UK)   
Alec Brown. (UK)   
Bert Brown. (UK)   
Bob Brown. (UK)   
Cush Brown. (UK)   
Fred Brown. (UK)   
George Brown. (UK)   
Jimmy Brown. (UK)   
Les Brown. (UK)   
Sid Brown. (UK)   
Teddy Brown. (USA/UK)   
W. H. Brown. (UK)   
Sam Browne. (UK)   
Douglas Brownsmith. (UK)   
Fred Bruce. (UK)   
Phillipe Brun. (France/UK)   
L. Brusko. (UK)   
Eddie Bryant. (UK)   
Philip Buchel. (UK)   
George Buck. (UK)   
Sid Buckman. (UK)   
Andre Budegery. (UK)   
Fred Budge. (UK)   
Bert Bullimore. (UK)   
Mick Burberry. (UK)   
Dave Burchett. (UK)   
Ernie Burgess. (UK)   
Freddy Burgess. (UK)   
George Burgess. (UK)   
Jim Burgess. (UK)   
Al Burke. (UK)   
Marie Burke. (UK)   
Sid Burke. (UK)   
Maurice Burman. (UK)   
Nat Burman. (UK)   
Sid Burman. (UK)   
John Burnaby. (UK)   
Johnny Burns. (UK)   
Lily Burns. (UK)   
Norman "Tito" Burns. (UK)   
Bunny Burrows. (UK)   
Jack Burrows. (UK)    
Leslie Burrows. (UK)    
Stan Burrows. (UK)   
Bill Burton. (UK)   
William Burton. (UK)   
Bill Busby. (UK)   
Bob Busby. (UK)   
Lad Busby. (UK)   
Joan Bush. (UK)   
Teddy Butler. (UK)   
Freddy Butt. (UK)   
E. A. Button. (UK)   
Biff Byfield. (UK)   
George W. Byng. (UK)