Men Who Matter In Swing

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 25, 2 December 1938, Page 3

Men Who Matter In Swing

— 4 USTRALIAN swing fans are finding Jay Whidden, the American conductor, whose pand is playing at one of Melbourne’s higgest cabarets, a very interesting personality. He is a close friend of Rudy Valee, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington, and he recently gave mempers of the Melbourne Swing Club some intriguing sidelights on these great men. Symphony conductors, said Whidden, frequently rope in Bennie Goodman if they have a very hard clarinet part. Bennie is terribly shy, and hates facing dancers. Tommy Dorsey was originally a "symphony man"; Duke Ellington was educated at Oxford, and speaks with an Oxford accent; ‘Fats’ Waller is a "low-down guy, a great feller"; the Raymond Scott Quintet are earning from £1000 to £2000 a _ Week 2ach at Hollywood. Cab Calloway (who will be arriving in Australia shortly) swung "The Stars and Stripes" while broadcasting. The station switched him off the air, and he’s never been back since. He wears a yellow suit and collar for street wear, and is a great favourite in Harlem.