Melody Maker All Stars...
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Melody Maker All Stars bands...
For 74 years the Melody Maker was the weekly 'trade paper' for the dance band and jazz musician as well as all those interested in the modern music scene. One of it's continuing features and talking points were the annual Readers Polls where readers voted under different categories for individual musicians, singers, big bands and a host of other categories. Esquire Records used these poll results to form and record hand picked modern jazz groups. Esquire recorded the Melody Maker All Stars as they were called, from 1951 until 1955. The first "Waxin' the Winners" record was a success and with the close co-operation of the Melody Maker editor Pat Brand the records became an annual event.
From Brian Davis' sleeve notes to Esq S321: It must be remembered that fans in those days, (the early 1950s), had an advantage no longer with us; the working big band was still in our midst. Many had regular BBC broadcasts (though less so the overtly jazz outfits), there were also the one-night stands as they toured the country's ballrooms and palais-de-dances where fans became familiar with the band's style and it's soloists. Ted Heath had the famous Sunday Swing Concerts at the London Palladium and some of the more enterprising local cinemas put on big band Sunday shows. So by and large the voters (readers) electing their top musician, swing band, sweet band or Latin band, knew what they liked and recognised quality.
Carlo Krahmer and Peter Newbrook of Esquire decided to record a band based on the 1950 Poll Winners. The 1950 winners were announced in the February 3rd, 1951 issue of the Melody Maker although Carlo had already contacted each section winner. Musician of the Year, John Dankworth, worked through the night preparing two numbers and then joined the other winners in the studio on February 3rd to make the record. The group contained nine winners and two runner-ups (Henry MacKenzie deputising for Sid Phillips, and Gordon Langhorn for Jackie Armstrong). The 78 Esquire disc 10-115 was on sale five days later! It is indicative of the period that eight of the twelve 'winners' came from the top three placings in the swing bands category - Ted Heath, Vic Lewis and Geraldo.

The second recording of the All Stars took place on March 24th, 1952, and included as many winners as possible from the 1951 poll results. Joe Muddel displaced Charlie Short in the bass section but otherwise the results were virtually the same as the previous year except that for some reason there was no baritone or soprano sax section in the poll. This time winners Kenny Baker, Sid Phillips and Jackie Armstrong were unavailable and were replaced by Jimmy Deuchar (4th), Vic Ash (3rd) and Keith Christie (2nd). Enough was recorded on this session to be issued as the first Esquire 10" LP (20-001). Jack Parnell's new band leapt to second place, just behind Ted Heath, in the swing band section and Parnell himself again won the drummer section.

From Brian Davis' sleeve notes to Esq S321: Late 1952 - early 1953, the new Parnell band continues it's rise to stardom; the now ledgendary Thursday night broadcasts of the Kenny Baker Dozen; the debut of the equally legendary Ronnie Scott nine piece outfit; the BBC Showband and it's featured soloists - all this wind of change contributed to to some exciting musical chairs in the 1953 MM Poll.
Jack Parnell won the coveted 'Musician of the Year' award as well as his usual drummer spot. From the Heath band new winners were Johnny Hawksworth and Reg Owen 'Arranger of the Year' while from Kenny Baker's Dozen, new winners were Bill McGuffie and Martin Slavin while Kenny again won the trumpet vote. Harry Klein, Kenny's baritone player won the re-instated baritone section. Ronnie Chamberlain won the re-instated soprano section. For this third recording, of the 1952 Poll winners on March 4th, 1953 there was only one dep - Les Gilbert replacing John Dankworth who was touring in Germany.

Melody Maker All Stars discography...
Treasure Chest series LP S321
The fourth All Stars get-together was on March 4th, 1954 when the winners from the 1953 MM Poll recorded another 10" LP (20-031). Many of the 1952 winners retained their top spot although John Dankworth's sensational new big band saw him voted 'Musician of the Year'. Ted Heath retained his spot as 'Band of the Year' and from the band, trombone player Don Lusher topped the trombone vote for the first time, replacing Jackie Armstrong who he had replaced in Heath's band. Victor Feldman regained top vibes place while Baker, Mairants and Parnell notched up their fourth year wins. Jack Parnell was unavailable on the recording date and so third place Eric Delaney sat in - a prophetic foreshadow of events to come.

Precisely a year later on March 4th, 1955 Esquire recorded the 1954 MM Poll Winners. This was to be the final recording by Esquire of the Poll Winners.

From Brian Davis' sleeve notes to Esq S325: The final recording date was of extended play (45rpm) length only; a performance in ballad tempo. It was in fact a ballad medley, with a single seven minute swinger on the other side. It was also a year of one or two upturned chairs and arguably the presence of popular music voters, in stronger evidence than the usual jazz minded, affected certain results. Nevertheless the hard core came up for theit fifth consecutive win.
The surprise of the year was Eric Delaney, spectacularly leading his new band from the drums, who was voted 'Musician of the Year' as well as leading the drum poll for the first time. Ted Heath was again 'Top Band' just scraping home ahead of the more committed jazz policy of John Dankworth with the Eric Delaney band in third spot. Two prominent soloists from the BBC Show Band came through as winners - Tommy Whittle (tenor sax) and Bert Weedon (guitar). Although Ronnie Chamberlain played soprano sax on the session he was runner up in the poll to Frank Weir, who played in a widely popular 'jazz inclined' style. Keith Christie and Joe Muddel deputised for winners Don Lusher and Johnny Hawksworth who were both touring Australia with the Heath Band. Joe Harriott, runner up in the alto sax section depped for John Dankworth who could not get contractual clearance to play on the recording.

Esquire had recorded five years of Melody Make Poll Winners covering the 1950 to 1954 polls and it was not until 1957 that the concept was revived by the Nixa label. They assembled a group of fourteen musicians to record two titles for their "All the Winners" LP and called them the Melody Maker All Stars although only a handful of the musicians were actually winners. Nixa produced another "All the Winners" LP in 1958 but this time there was only one track by the Melody Maker All Stars who had now shrunk to a six piece group that did, however, include five award winners.
The Melody Maker All Stars had two other recording dates in May, 1954 when they recorded a number of tracks for the American MGM and Blue Note labels. For these dates they became Aces Annonymous or Mike Nevard's Melody Maker all stars. Mike Nevard was a reporter with the Melody Maker and it is not clear what part he played in these recordings.

Melody Maker Poll Winners 1950 - 1954

Musician of the year
Trumpet:
Trombone:
Clarinet:
Soprano sax:
Alto sax:
Tenor sax:
Baritone sax:
Vibes:
Piano:
Guitar:
Double bass:
Drums:
Arranger of the year:
Band of the year:
1950
John Dankworth
Kenny Baker
Jackie Armstrong
Sid Phillips
Ron Chamberlain
John Dankworth
Ronnie Scott
Dave Shand
Victor Feldman
Ralph Sharon
Ivor Mairants
Charlie Short
Jack Parnell
Ken Thorne
Ted Heath
1951
John Dankworth
Kenny Baker
Jackie Armstrong
Sid Phillips
*** no vote ***
John Dankworth
Ronnie Scott
*** no vote ***
Victor Feldman
Ralph Sharon
Ivor Mairants
Joe Muddel
Jack Parnell
John Dankworth
Ted Heath
1952
Jack Parnell
Kenny Baker
Jackie Armstrong
Vic Ash
Ron Chamberlain
John Dankworth
Ronnie Scott
Harry Klein
Martin Slavin
Bill McGuffie
Ivor Mairants
John Hawksworth
Jack Parnell
Reg Owen
Ted Heath
1953
John Dankworth
Kenny Baker
Don Lusher
Vic Ash
Ron Chamberlain
John Dankworth
Ronnie Scott
Harry Klein
Victor Feldman
Bill McGuffie
Ivor Mairants
John Hawksworth
Jack Parnell
Reg Owen
Ted Heath
1954
Eric Delaney
Kenny Baker
Don Lusher
Vic Ash
Frank Weir
John Dankworth
Tommy Whittle
Harry Klein
Victor Feldman
Bill McGuffie
Bert Weedon
John Hawksworth
Eric Delaney
???
Ted Heath

The complete Esquire Melody Maker All Star recordings were re-issued on two LPs in the Esquire Treasure Chest series sometime in the 1980s. These were Esquire S321 titled "Waxing the Winners 1951-52-53" and Esquire S325 titled "Waxing the Winners 1954-55 + Melody Maker New Stars 1952".

This page was last updated during January, 2011.
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