Mal Hallet & His Orchestra

b. 1893, d. 20 November 1952, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Formed in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, during the early 20s, the Mal Hallett Orchestra included Toots Mondello, Andy Russo, Carl Swearingen, Bill Carlin, Nelson Arguesso, Sam Sherman, Ollie Ahearn, Frank Guilfoyle, Larry de Laurence, Frank Frieselle, Brad Gowans, Chet Gonier, Joe Holmes, Joe Carbonnaro, Frank Ryderson, Clark Yocum, Jim Johnson, Turk Murphy, Stewart Anderson, Frankie Carle, Gene Krupa, Jack Teagarden and Jack Jenney, among others. At various times the featured vocalists to play with the band included Buddy Welcome, Jerry Perkins, Teddy Grace, Charlie Blake and Clark Yocum. Hallett himself had begun his musical career as part of a band entertaining US troops in France during World War I. In the immediate post-war aftermath he also worked as a violinist in hotels and theatres. His band, inaugurated shortly thereafter, centred its activities in the New England area, with their first engagement at the American House in Boston. Further dates at the Roseland and Arcadia Ballrooms in New York confirmed their popularity, producing further work up and down the eastern seaboard of the USA. The orchestra continued in this vein until the early 50s, recording on a plethora of labels including Harmony, Paramount, Perfect, Vocalion Records, OKeh Records and Decca Records. By this time, however, their popularity had long since peaked.