Hal Kemp is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist in 1930s radio broadcasts and his last musical short film.

The Phantom Dancer is presented and produced by 1920s-30s singer and actor Greg Poppleton. It’s been on-air every week over 107.3 2SER Sydney since 1985.

Listen to The Phantom Dancer online from 12:04pm AEST Tuesday 21 July at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

The finyl hour is vinyl.

1920s

James Hal Kemp was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger.

He formed his first band in high school. At age 19 he led the University of North Carolina band called the Carolina Club Orchestra. They sailed to England, where they made their first recordings.

On their return journey they made the acquaintance of the Prince of Wales who sat in with them on drums. This got the band mentioned in US press reports so that on their return they received several offers of contracts.

In 1927, Kemp formed his own jazz orchestra, which at various times featured singer Skinnay Ennis, trumpeter Bunny Berigan, and pianist John Scott Trotter.

1930s

In the 1930s, with the economic and social challenges of the Great Depression, Kemp’s band became better known for more soothing “sweet” dance music. From 1932 to 1934, they performed at the Blackhawk Restaurant in Chicago and were heard regularly on radio broadcasts. They became well-known nationally and secured a contract with Brunswick Records. Most of the vocals on their recordings were by Skinnay Ellis, whose vocal style and the arrangements by Trotter, which featured staccato triplets by the trumpeters and clarinets played through megaphones, gave Kemp’s records a distinctive sound.

Kemp and his orchestra had a number of hit records, including “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” (1933), “In the Middle of a Kiss” (1935), “There’s a Small Hotel” (1936), “When I’m With You” (1936), “This Year’s Kisses” (1937), and “Where or When” (1937).[4] From 1937, Kemp recorded for Victor Records.[4] His other recordings included “Got A Date With An Angel”, “Heart Of Stone”, “Lamplight”, “The Music Goes ‘Round And Around”, “You’re The Top”, “Bolero”, “Gloomy Sunday”, “Lullaby Of Broadway”, and many others.

In 1936, John Scott Trotter left, being succeeded as arranger by Hal Mooney and Lou Busch. Ennis left in 1938, and Bob Allen became the band’s featured singer. With the rising popularity of swing bands such as those of Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, the popularity of Kemp’s orchestra declined and there were many changes in band membership, though they continued to make film appearances…

VIDEO

Your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week this week is Hal Kemp playing clarinet, alto sax and conducting his tripling trumpets band in a Warner Brothers’ short filmed one day before he was killed by a car accident, December 1940.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvcO8UM8voM

21 JULY PLAY LIST