ABSTRACT
The large swing orchestra that dominated popular music from about 1936 to about 1950; representing an international phenomenon most pervasive in the United States and in Britain. Some of the big bands had started out as smaller jazz groups in the 1920s. The typical ensemble consisted of a four-or five-piece rhythm section (piano, double bass, guitar, and percussion), four or five saxophones, three or four trumpets, and three or four trombones. There was usually a pair of solo singers (a male and a female), and often a vocal group. In America the outstanding big bands were those of Louis Armstrong, Desi Arnaz, Charlie Barnet, Count Basie, Bunny Berigan, Ben Bernie, Will Bradley, Les Brown, Henry Busse, Benny Carter, Larry Clinton, Coon Sanders, Bob Crosby, Xavier Cugat, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Eddy Duchin, Duke Ellington, Shep Fields, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Phil Harris, Coleman Hawkins, Erskine Hawkins, Horace Heidt, Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, Ina Ray Hutton, Harry James, Isham Jones, Spike Jones, Dick Jurgens, Sammy Kaye, Hal Kemp, Stan Kenton, Wayne King, Gene Krupa, Kay Kyser, Ada Leonard, Ted Lewis, Guy Lombardo, Jimmie Lunceford, Glenn Miller, Vaughn Monroe, Russ Morgan, Ray Noble, Red Norvo, Jan Savitt, Artie Shaw, Jack Teagarden, Claude Thornhill, Chick Webb, Ted Weems, Lawrence Welk, Paul Whiteman, and Teddy Wilson.
