The Big Band Woolf

Duke Ellington's visit to the UK in 1948. Bandleader Woolf Phillips is front right, Pearl Bailey front left. others unknown.

The print magazine Jazz Journal UK has now moved entirely on line. In the latest edition is an interesting article, Save This Priceless Jazz Video Collection.

I contacted the collection's owner, expressing a particular interest in the Ellington recordings in his collection and hoping to find out their destination for future reference. In his reply, Dr John Altman sent along a scan of the photograph at the top of this post and told me:

"My uncle conducted for Duke at the Palladium in 1948 when he was only able to bring Kay Davis and Ray Nance - thereafter Duke referred to my uncle Woolf Phillips as ‘my bandleader!’ "

As Woolf's obituary in The Guardian said...

"It was... an age when British musicians were worrying about transatlantic competition and the Musicians' Union placed impossible restrictions on visits by their American counterparts - which meant no Duke Ellington or Benny Goodman orchestras. So the two men played the Palladium as "visiting artists" and the band that was to Take The 'A' Train with Ellington, and accompany Goodman's clarinet was Phillips's. A British orchestra never had such an opportunity."

Quite a connection and a fascinating bit of Ducal history. There is a little more reference to the UK part of the tour in an earlier post here.

The video collection has found safe harbour and will be curated by Hamilton College in the USA.