Oscar Rabin Band

The Oscar Rabin Band was a British Jazz dance band that was one of the most successful bands of the 1950s. Band leader Oscar Rabin played bass saxophone, an unusual instrument then as now. His friend Harry Davis, tall, elegant and good-looking, acted as compère and conductor.

Formation

Oscar Rabin formed his first band with Harry Davis, The Romany Five, in 1922. They could be seen in those days at the Palais de Dance in Derby, England. Oscar played violin but over the next decade he formed a full size dance band in which he took up playing the bass saxophone They gradually expanded the band all the way through the tough times of the 1930s. During this period character actor Sam Kydd made his show-business start as M.C. for the band. By the time of World War II, they had become one of the most widely known of British dance bands, touring throughout the country.

Oscar, short and fat, never did front his own band, nor was he regarded as anything more than a workaday musician. His role was to run the business side of the band. His partner Harry, who occasionally played guitar, was very good with audiences. (Harry's daughter Beryl became a professional singer, and moved to the USA.) However, the combination of the two men was a successful one and audiences took to them. Ex-band member Roy Bull has recalled: "My memories of the Oscar Rabin days are all very pleasant ones, as Oscar himself was one of the most kind people I have ever met, and certainly the best band leader for whom I ever worked."

Key players

The band always maintained a high standard, with a particularly strong saxophone section. A few good key players stayed with them for a long time. People such as: Ken Mackintosh (Alto Sax); Bobby Benstead (Trumpet); Ken Wray (Trombone); Eric Jupp (Piano / Arranger); Kenny Clare (Drums); Cecil Pressling (Alto Sax). Band numbers were generally around 15, with 2 or 3 vocalists, mostly made up of constantly changing journeymen musicians.

However, occasionally better known instrumentalists joined the band, such as Don Rendell (Tenor Sax); Jimmy Deuchar (Trumpet); & Arthur Greenslade (piano / arranger). Trombonist Ken Wray would later play with Ronnie Scott's Big Band. Vocalists over the years included Dennis Hale ( who died in a car accident in South Africa after touring there with Jack Parnell's band; Marjorie Daw (who married the band's drummer, Kenny Clare); Marion Davis, who, as Marion Keene, had a successful television and show business career; Mel Gaynor; Pattie Forbes; & Johnny Worth, who became a successful songwriter under the name Les Vandyke;

Departure of Davis

In 1953, Harry Davis left the Band, and the UK, breaking up a partnership that had lasted for 30 years, and went to live with his daughter and her husband in California. David Ede, who had been with the band for around five years and was a good alto and clarinet player, took over. He was a fine arranger and also formed a vocal quartet in the band. It was asked to do a three month stint at the Lyceum Ballroom on the Strand, in central London, which residency eventually lasted over five years. A residency at the time involved six afternoon and six evening sessions a week.

Later history

In the late 1950s through the early 1960s, the band was resident at the Wimbledon Palais under the direction of David Ede and the management of Oscar's son, Bernard. Personnel included Arthur Greenslade (piano), Sammy Stokes and then Ron Prentice (bass), Freddy Adamson (drums), Don Sandford (guitar), and the usual impeccable saxes line up included Cecil Pressling (alto), Rex Morris (tenor), David Ede (alto and tenor), and Don Honeywill (Baritone). The vocalists were Ray Pilgrim, Colin Day and Lorie Mann, with Mike Redway taking over from Colin and Barbara Kay taking over from Lorie. This was the period of the Rabin Band's longest running BBC radio series, the highly successful "Go Man Go", which ran weekly for 4 years.

The band was disbanded in the mid-1960s after the untimely death of David Ede, who was drowned in a sailing accident off Blackpool. But the Rabin name in music was carried on with the Mike Rabin Band, led by Oscar's grandson.