The Georgians were the solo band Nat Gonella founded on his departure from

Lew Stone Louis Stone known professionally as Lew Stone (28 June 1898 – 13 February 1969) was a British bandleader and arranger of the British dance band era, and was well known in Britain during the 1930s. He was known as a skillful, innovative an ...

and his Orchestra in 1934. He had already experimented as a solo artist in small groups and with the American pianist Garland Wilson but this was the first band to carry Gonella's name. In 1935, the new group made its debut at the Newcastle Empire. The band featured his brother Bruts on second trumpet, the South African Pat Smuts on tenor saxophone, Albert Torrance on alto sax, Harold "Baby" Hood on piano, Charlie Winters on string bass and Gonella's former employer Bob Dryden on drums. They recorded extensively for the

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

label throughout the 1930s, scoring hits such as "Tiger Rag", "Nagasaki", "I Can't Dance I've Got Ants In My Pants", "How'm I Doing?" "The Sheik of Araby", "Oh Monah!", "Ol' Man Mose" and Gonella's signature tune "

Georgia On My Mind "Georgia on My Mind" is a 1930 song written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell and first recorded that same year by Hoagy Carmichael. However, the song has been most often associated with soul singer Ray Charles, who was a native of the U ...

". In these recordings, he brought jazz, and particularly the stylings of his hero

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

, to national prominence through radio broadcasts and tours of the variety circuit. The Georgians were finally disbanded when Gonella was called into the service during World War II. In the 1940s, Nat Gonella formed his New Georgians who featured an extended big band, but this group lacked the swing of the smaller 1930s band.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgians British jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1934 1934 establishments in the United Kingdom