British Jazz - The 1940s and 50s

The 1940s and 50s

World War II led to an increase in bands to entertain the troops and these bands began to refer to themselves as "jazz" groups more often. The period also saw an increased interest in American musicians who also toured in military bands. The future leading alto-saxophonist Art Pepper was among the visiting American musicians at this time. This all increased an interest in jazz which continued after the war.

In 1948 a group of young musicians including John Dankworth and Ronnie Scott, focused on the Club Eleven in London, began a movement toward "modern jazz" or Bebop. Significant instrumentalists in this early movement were trumpeter-pianist Denis Rose, pianist Tommy Pollard, saxophonist Don Rendell, and drummers Tony Kinsey and Laurie Morgan. A movement in an opposite direction was revivalism, which became popular in the 1950s and was represented by musicians like George Webb, Humphrey Lyttelton and Ken Colyer, although Lyttelton gradually became more catholic in his approach. Trad jazz, a variant, briefly entered the pop charts later. At this point both streams tended to emulate Americans, whether it be Charlie Parker for Beboppers or Joe "King" Oliver and other New Orleans musicians for traditionalists, rather than try to create a uniquely British form of jazz.

During the 1950s mass emigration into the UK, brought an influx of players from the Caribbean such as Joe Harriott and Harold McNair, though some, such as Dizzy Reece, found the shortage of genuine Jazz work frustrating - dance music remained popular - and migrated to the United States. British born players too, including George Shearing, active on the London scene since before the war, and Victor Feldman also chose to move across the Atlantic to develop their careers. Several new jazz clubs were established in London in the 1950s, including the Flamingo Club.

A domestic musicians' union ban on visiting American jazz musicians, initiated in the mid-thirties (Fats Waller had to visit the UK as a 'variety' act in 1938) was gradually relaxed from the mid-fifties onwards. This benefited the local scene as the often erratic availability of American records had meant that, unlike the rest of Europe, British jazz aficionados had long been unfamiliar with the most recent jazz developments in the music's country of origin. Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London, co-founded in 1959 by one of the earliest native proponents of bebop, was able to benefit from an exchange arrangement with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), allowing regular visits from leading American players from 1961. A key musician, pianist Stan Tracey, developed his skills and gained regular employment from backing the visiting musicians.