Max Jaffa OBE (28 December 1911 – 30 July 1991) was a British light orchestral violinist and bandleader. He is best remembered as the leader of the Palm Court Orchestra and trio, with Jack Byfield (piano) and Reginald Kilbey (cello), which broadcast on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

. His career lasted 70 years, before retiring in 1990.

Childhood and education

He was born Max Jaffe in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the first child of Israel Jaffe, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, and Milly Makoff, his London-born Russian wife. Hearing the début of

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

in 1919 inspired him to take up the violin. After making his solo debut in a concert at the

Brighton Palace Pier The Brighton Palace Pier, commonly known as Brighton Pier or the Palace Pier, is a Listed buildings in the United Kingdom, Grade II* listed Pier#Pleasure piers, pleasure pier in Brighton, England, located in the city centre opposite the Old St ...

Theatre at the age of nine, he played in the pit of a silent cinema orchestra, to furnish background and atmosphere for silent films, while still at school. He studied at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

under Max Mossel, where he was a favourite of

Sir Landon Ronald Sir Landon Ronald (born Landon Ronald Russell) (7 June 1873 – 14 August 1938) was an English conductor, composer, pianist, teacher and administrator. In his early career he gained work as an accompanist and ''répétiteur'', but struggled ...

and where he won the

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

Early career and wartime

In 1928 on leaving Guildhall, Jaffa persuaded the

Piccadilly Hotel The Dilly Hotel is a historic 5-star hotel located at 21 Piccadilly in London, England. History The hotel opened in 1908 as The Piccadilly Hotel. It was bought by Le Méridien in 1986 and renamed Le Méridien Piccadilly. In 2010, Starman Ho ...

in London to take him on for a two week trial, and stayed there for five years, making his first radio broadcast in August 1929 with the Max Jaffa Solon Orchestra, aged just 17. That year he was temporarily released from the Piccadilly to play a season as leader of the Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the youngest player ever to hold the post. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he originally served as Gunner Jaffa in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, but subsequently joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and became a pilot in

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

Later career

Jaffa refreshed his violin playing after the war by studying with Sascha Lasserson, and soon joined the

Mantovani Orchestra Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' stat ...

- he was the leader and soloist on its bestseller '' Charmaine'' (1951). He would sometimes play with the Albert Sandler Trio when Sandler himself was ill, and after Sandler's death in 1948 took his place alongside the other members, cellist Reginald Kilbey and pianist Jack Byfield, to form the Max Jaffa Trio. From 1956 until 1986 his concerts from

The Spa, Scarborough Scarborough Spa is a Grade II* listed building in South Bay, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is a venue for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment, live music and events on the Yorkshire Coast. Originally built around the source of Sc ...

were frequently featured on

in shows such as ''Melody on Strings'', ''Music For Your Pleasure'' and (most notably) ''Grand Hotel'', on which he led the Palm Court Orchestra and was dubbed 'King of the

Palm Court A palm court is a large atrium (architecture), atrium with Arecaceae, palm trees, usually in a prestigious hotel, where functions are staged, notably tea dances. Examples include the Langham Hotel, London, Langham Hotel (1865), Alexandra Palace (1 ...

'.Tracey, Shiela. ''Who's Who in Popular Music in Britain'' (1984), p. 129-130 A Yorkshire Television documentary in 1986 filmed his final season as Scarborough, aged 74. Jaffa recorded the violin and orchestra version of " Dark Eyes", written by Adalgiso Ferraris. His collaboration with Ferraris included other songs, such as "Souvenir d'Ukraine" and "Gipsy Idylle". Jaffa was married (for the second time, in 1959) to the contralto Jean Grayston, a regular on-stage partner, and there were three daughters. They lived at 31 Elm Tree Road, St John's Wood, and at Argyll Lodge, High Street, Scalby, where there is a plaque. Grayston performed with Jaffa at his diamond jubilee gala concert in 1987 at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

. As late as 1989 he formed a new Max Jaffa Trio for BBC broadcasts, with Alan Dalziel (cello) and

Gordon Langford Gordon Langford (11 May 1930 – 18 April 2017) was an English composer, arranger and performer.Obituary in ''The Times'', May 01, 2017 Hodder and Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher ...

shortly before his death in 1991 at his London home. His performing library, now owned by violinist Simon Blendis, includes both published arrangements and many still in manuscript, made for Jaffa’s exclusive use, some by his pianist Jack Byfield. The CD ''Love is like a Violin: Salon Treasures from the Max Jaffa Library'', has made recordings of some of this material available for the first time.Nimbus CD NI6428 (2022)
/ref> Jaffa is cited as a member of the eclectic (and fictional) "orchestra" in The

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band or The Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde art, ...

's recording, ''

The Intro and the Outro "The Intro and The Outro" is a recording by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. It appears on their debut album, ''Gorilla'' ( 1967). It is not so much a song as a comic monologue in which the speaker introduces the musicians who ostensibly appear on the ...

''.

Selected recordings

* ''Palm Court Concert'', Columbia 33SX 1107 (1958) * ''Melodies You Love'', Music for Pleasure MFP 1165 (1959) * ''The Violin Sings'', Columbia 33SX 1387 (1962) * ''Moments of Melody'', Pye Golden Guinea (1963) * ''I'll See You In My Dreams'', Music For Pleasure MFP 1017 (1965) * ''Gypsy Carnival'', Columbia 33SX 1227 (1967) * ''Gypsy Magic'' Allegro ALL 863 (1967) * ''The Max Jaffa Trio'', Allegro ALL 846 (1967) * ''Music for a Grand Hotel'', Valentine VAL 8057 (1984)

References

External links

''Max Jaffa: Farewell to Scarborough''. Yorkshire Television documentary (1986)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffa, Max 1911 births 1991 deaths English violinists British male violinists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama People from the Borough of Scarborough 20th-century violinists 20th-century English musicians 20th-century British male musicians British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery soldiers