Brunswick Records Artists Codexery

Ambrose (bandleader)

English bandleader of the acclaimed Ambrose & His Orchestra.

Ambrose was a bandleader born in Warsaw in 1896 to a Jewish family, who later moved to London.[1] The piece "When Day is Done" served as Ambrose's signature melody.[2]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Benjamin Baruch Ambrose
Also known as
Ambrose
Born
11 September 1896
Birthplace
Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire
Died
11 June 1971
Place of death
Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Instrument
Violin
Genre
British dance band

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

After a brief return to New York, he was persuaded to come back to the Embassy Club in 1925 by a cable from the Prince of Wales.[3] He hired top musicians including Sylvester Ahola, Ted Heath, and Max Goldberg.[4] In 1933 he returned to the Embassy Club, then in 1936 went back to the May Fair and later co-owned Ciro's Club with Jack Harris.[5] His band played at Blenheim Palace on 7 July 1939 for Lady Sarah Spencer-Churchill's coming-out party, with over 700 guests including Winston Churchill.[6]

He discovered singer Vera Lynn, who sang with his band from 1937 to 1940.[2] He later formed the Ambrose Octet and toured Britain, with his final widespread tour from May to September 1956.[7] He discovered singer Kathy Kirby in the mid-1950s and promoted her career, beginning a long personal relationship with her.[8] Ambrose collapsed and died while recording a television programme for Kirby at Yorkshire Television studios.[9]

As a child, Ambrose learned to play the violin; by age 15 he had journeyed to New York City in the company of his aunt, where he performed professionally under Emil Coleman and at the Palais Royal.[10] After returning to London in 1922, Ambrose assembled a seven-member band for the Embassy Club.[3] During his six-year tenure at the May Fair, Ambrose's orchestra cut records for Brunswick, His Master's Voice, and Decca, and collaborated with Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.[9] Ambrose stopped performing live in 1940, yet he kept making recordings for Decca up to 1947.[7]

What the cited sources add

The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music states that Ambrose's 1923 Columbia Records recording led to nothing, and that the Embassy Club's policy against radio broadcasts was a major drawback for him.[9] It also records that he teamed up with the Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce to record songs including "My Heart Stood Still"[9] The Virgin Encyclopedia reports that Ambrose and Harris employed Art Tatum for three months at Ciro's Club.[5] The same book lists other singers with the Ambrose band, including Sam Browne, Elsie Carlisle, and Denny Dennis.[2]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gammond, "Ambrose, Benjamin Baruch [Bert] (1896–1971)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ades, "This England's Book of British Dance Bands", This England Books, July 1999, p. 18–20 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music", Virgin Books, 1997, p. 37; "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music", Virgin Books, 1997, p. 37 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sid Colin, And the Bands Played On, Elm Tree Books, 1977, (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music", Virgin Books, 1997, p. 37; John Chilton. Who's Who of British Jazz (1997), p. 4 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Nicholas Shakespeare. Ian Fleming: The Complete Man (2023). pp. 200-201; Lynne Olsen. Troublesome Young Men (2007); Anne de Courcy. 1939: The Last Season (1989); Henry (Chips) Cannon, ed. Simon Heffer. The Diaries 1939-42 (2021), p. 594, 1039, 7/7/1939 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Amstell, Billy. Don't Fuss Mr. Ambrose (1986) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Kathy Kirby", The Daily Telegraph, 20 May 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music", Virgin Books, 1997, p. 37 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Ambrose (bandleader)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: John Chilton. Who's Who of British Jazz (1997), p. 4 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ambrose (bandleader) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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