Boyd Raeburn: Summer 1945

The photo below is of the famed Boyd Raeburn band of mid-1945 (to enlarge, click once on the image). Raeburn's band during this period was an orchestra in transition. For one, pianist Harry Biss had broken a goblet in his hand and had to return to New York. To fill the position, saxophonist Hal McKusick (center of the reed section in the photo) convinced Raeburn to take back the mercurial and ingenious George Handy. Raeburn agreed, and Handy's charts wound up revolutionizing the band's sound, giving it a more intensive, experimental quality.

When I came across the photo above, it didn't have a caption identifying the bandmembers. So I turned to Hal McKusick [pictured] for help:

"It was taken in July or August 1945 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, where all the new sounds of the Raeburn band began. Here are the musicians I can identify:

Front row, from left: Singers David Allyn and Barbara Cox; Lenny Green, unclear, and me  (alto saxes); Frank Socolow (tenor sax); Hy Mandel (baritone sax) and Boyd Raeburn (standing).

Middle row, from left: Jack Carman, Johnny Mandel and unclear (trombones).

Back row: Joe Berisce (bass); Irv Kluger (drums); Alan Jeffreys, unclear, Dale Pierce and Tommy Allison (trumpets).

Not shown: George Handy (piano).

Comments

[Ed Leimbacher]

As a possible supplement to Mr. McKusick's memories, I have an IAJRC record which identifies the band broadcasting from Palace Hotel in mid-July 1945 as including Roberta James, vocalist for two months who also filled in at the piano between Biss's departure and Handy's return (no mention of Barbara Cox), plus Carl Berg trumpet, Rodney Roberts trombone, and Stuart Anderson tenor sax--with all others as identified by Hal (a couple of names spelled slightly different). I have no idea if these names solve the "unclears," however.

[Bert Hellsten]

Barbara Cox was Dave Allyn's wife, who stood in as vocalist for a short period after Johnny Bothwell, Hal's predecessor, had run off to New York with the previous one. Ginnie Powell from Harry James Band, and who became Raeburn's wife then took over and remained in all future re-incarnations of the band.