Hal Kemp And His Orchestra

Hal Kemp March 27 1904 – December 21 1940 Was A Jazz Alto Saxophonist Clarinettist Bandleader Composer And Arranger. He Was Born In Marion Alabama And Died In Madera California Following An Auto Accident. Art Jarrett Took On Leadership Of Kemp's Orchestra In 1941. His Major Recordings Were "There's A Small Hotel" "This Year's Kisses" "Where Or When" "When I'm With You" Got A Date With An Angel And "Three Little Fishes". At The University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill He Formed His Own Campus Jazz Group The Carolina Club Orchestra. The Band Recorded For English Columbia And Perfect/Pathe Records In 1924-5. This First Group Toured Europe In The Summer Of 1924 Under The Sponsorship Of Popular Bandleader Paul Specht. Kemp Returned To UNC In 1925 And Put Together A New Edition Of The Carolina Club Orchestra Featuring Fellow Classmates And Future Stars John Scott Trotter Saxie Dowell And Skinnay Ennis. In 1927 Kemp Turned Leadership Of The Carolina Club Orchestra Over To Fellow UNC Student Kay Kyser And Turned Professional. The Band Was Based In New York City And Included Trotter Dowell And Ennis And A Few Years Later Trumpeters Bunny Berigan And Jack Purvis Joined The Group. The Sound Was 1920s Collegiate Jazz. Kemp Once Again Toured Europe In The Summer Of 1930. This Band Recorded Regularly For Brunswick English Duophone Okeh And Melotone Records. In 1932 During The Height Of The Depression Kemp Decided To Lead The Band In A New Direction Changing The Orchestra's Style To A That Of A Dance Band Often Mistakenly Referred To As "sweet" Using Muted Triple-Tonguing Trumpets Clarinets Playing Low Sustained Notes In Unison Through Large Megaphones An Early Version Of The Echo Chamber Effect And A Double-Octave Piano. One Of The Main Reasons For The Band's Success Was Arranger John Scott Trotter. Singer Skinnay Ennis Had Difficulty Sustaining Notes So Trotter Came Up With The Idea Of Filling In These Gaps With Muted Trumpets Playing Staccato Triplets. This Gave The Band A Unique Sound Which Johnny Mercer Jokingly Referred To As Sounding Like A "typewriter." The Saxes Often Played Very Complex Extremely Difficult Passages Which Won Them The Praise Of Fellow Musicians. Vocalists With The Band At This Time Included Ennis Dowell Bob Allen Deane Janis Maxine Gray Judy Starr Nan Wynn And Janet Blair. During The 1930s Kemp Recorded For Brunswick Vocalion And RCA Victor Records. Hal Kemp ArtistKay Kyser And Tal Henry Were Often Having A Carolinian Reunion In New York. All Three Were Great Musicians From North Carolina And Enjoyed The Olde' Time Get Together According To The Newspaper From Chapel Hill NC Where Hal And Kay Were In School. Kemp's Band Introduced Or Promoted Numerous Popular Songs Including "Got A Date With An Angel" "Lamplight" "Heart Of Stone" "There's A Small Hotel" And "Three Little Fishies" Written By The Band's Saxophonist Saxie Dowell . In 1936 Hal Kemp Was Number One For Two Weeks With "There's A Small Hotel" And Two Weeks With "When I'm With You". In 1937 His Number One Hits Were "This Year's Kisses" Which Was Number One For Four Weeks And "Where Or When" Which Was Number One For One Week. Hal Kemp's Compositions Included "Blue Rhythm" "In Dutch With The Duchess" "Five Steps To Love" "Off The Beat" And "Workout". His Brother T.D. Kemp Jr. And Sister Marie Kemp-Dunaway In Collaboration With Bandleader Whitey Kaufman Wrote "Hurry Back Old Sweetheart Of Mine" Which Was An Early Kemp Recording. Contrary To Popular Belief Hal Did Not Compose His Theme Song " How I'll Miss You When The Summer Is Gone" But Purchased The Rights To The Song In 1937. Also There Is No Evidence That He Composed "The Same Time The Same Place". On December 19 1940 While Driving From Los Angeles To A Booking In San Francisco His Car Hit Another Head On. Kemp Suffered A Broken Leg And Multiple Broken Ribs One Of Which Eventually Punctured A Lung. He Developed Pneumonia While In The Hospital And Two Days Later Died. In 1992 Hal Kemp Was Inducted Into The Big Band And Jazz Hall Of Fame. read less