Pre-Swing Era

Don Redman, a highly talented musical genius with a thorough knowledge of harmony, theory, composition and arranging, made a strong impact on the big band scene. When Redman joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in 1924, his arrangements were a boom to the popularity of the Henderson band. Redman utilized the talents in the band, including those of Louis Armstrong on trumpet, Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone and Kaiser Marshall on drums. Most of his arrangements featured these soloists.

In 1927, Redman left the Henderson band to take over McKinney's Cotton Pickers Orchestra. The band soon became popular among the big lands of that time. With his guidance and direction, the band recorded hit after hit, including "There's A Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder," "Save It, Pretty Mama," "I Heard," "Sweet Leilani," "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You," and his popular theme song "Chant Of The Weed."

In 1932, after leaving the McKinney Orchestra, Redman formed his first big band and played at Connie's Inn, in New York City. The band was an immediate success and in 1933, the Don Redman Orchestra was the first black group to do a coast-­to-coast radio broadcast on the N.B.C. network.

However, in 1940, Don disbanded his orchestra to do freelance arranging. He arranged for the Dorsey Brothers, Paul Whiteman, Vincent Lopez, Bobby Byrne and many more.

In 1951, Redman was the chief arranger and musical director for vocalist Pearl Bailey. He was also an outstanding musician. In addition to his saxophone, he played the trumpet, trombone, violin, piano, drums and bass. On November 30, 1963, Don Redman died.

Sammy Kaye started his first band in 1933 and came up with the slogan, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye." The band was an overnight success, with its first major booking being at the Commodore Hotel in New York. From there, they played theaters and ballrooms such as Roseland in New York, and the Meadowbrook in New Jersey.

An outstanding feature which contributed to its success, was an audience participation of "So You Want To Lead A Band?." Contestants, picked from the audience would try their skill at leading the band. The winner would be determined by the audience's applause.

Sammy recorded three hit records that gave the band a measure of financial success, they were, "Daddy," "Harbor Lights," and the Don Cornell vocal on "It Isn't Fair." Sammy was very busy and active during the swing era, however, his contribution towards the history of jazz was negligible. Sammy Kaye died in 1987 at the age of 74.