Nat Gonella
Nathaniel "Nat" Charles Gonella (* 7. March 1908 in London , † 6. August 1998 ) was a British jazz - trumpet , Mellophonist , singer and bandleader of Dixieland jazz . For many years he led the big band The Georgians .
Live and act
Nat Gonella first played in an amateur band, the Archie Pitt's Busby Boys , from 1927 in various small dance bands before he became a member of Billy Cotton's band in 1929 . He played with her at Club Streetham Locarno and made his first records. In 1932 he worked at Lew Stone . In the 1930s he became very popular in interwar England with his own band, Nat Gonella and The Georgians . From 1934 Gonella recorded records (including with Ray Noble , but also with his student Johnny Claes ), toured Europe and the United States in 1939, where he recorded the tracks Jeepers Creepers or Just a Kid Named Joe in New York City , with guest musicians including Buster Bailey , Benny Carter , Billy Kyle, and John Kirby . At that time he was known as the "British Louis Armstrong ".
After the Second World War he had various bands, such as The New Georgians Band , which he revived in 1959 and with which he made significant contributions to the Dixieland Revival . He got a record deal with the EMI label and appeared in revues and on TV shows such as This is Your Life . After it had been quiet around him for a long time, he settled in Lancashire in northern England in the 1980s , recorded albums and played in local clubs. Digby Fairweather then published a biography; his old recordings experienced a renaissance in Great Britain. In the 1990s he lived in Hampshire , where he performed regularly at the Cosport Jazz Club and sang with various guest bands there. In 1994 a jazz party was held there in honor of his 85th birthday; the town of Gosport named a square after Nat Gonella.
Gonella was a role model in Britain for generations of traditional jazz musicians such as Kenny Ball , Digby Fairweather and Humphrey Lyttelton . His later vocal style was a throwback to Louis Armstrong's singing.
Nat Gonellas Georgians should not be confused with the American formation of the same name, The Georgians , which existed in the 1920s.
Discographic notes
- The Nat Gonella Story Vol. 1 - 1931-1946 (Philips)
- Nat Gonella and His Georgians (Flapper, 1935-40)
- Nat and the Boys - Jazz and Dance Music of the Thirties (Parade)
- Naturally Gonella (Cedar, 1940-42)
literature
- Carlo Bohländer , Karl Heinz Holler, Christian Pfarr: Reclam's Jazz Guide . 4th, revised and supplemented edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-15-010355-X .
- Ron Brown, Digby Fairweather: Nat Gonella: A Life in Jazz . Northway Publications, London 2005. ISBN 978-0-9537040-7-1 .
- Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz music. 1700 artists and bands from the beginning until today. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584-X .
- John Chilton: Who's Who of British Jazz . Cassell, London 1997.
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide of Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
Web links
- Works by and about Nat Gonella in the catalog of the German National Library
- German fansite
- Obituary from the Scotsman (Engl.)
- A Nat Gonella tributes (Engl.)
Remarks
- ^ Which, in the opinion of Carlo Bohländer, was "very flattered".
- ↑ According to Digby Fairweather, he had also undertaken a short but unfortunate "Flirt with the Bebop " and later worked with the comedians Max Miller and Leon Cortes.
- ↑ for health reasons he finally decided not to play the trumpet
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gonella, Nat |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gonella, Nathaniel Charles |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British jazz trumpeter and band leader |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 7, 1908 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 6, 1998 |
| Place of death | London |