If you are a fan of original big band music, then the name Abe Lyman is likely familiar to you. Lyman was a drummer turned band leader, who had a very successful career that included: playing in the hottest clubs in California; performing on the radio starting in 1922; touring in Europe in 1929; and doing soundtrack work in the early talkies. Before he left the music business at the age of 50, his career had spanned 36 years: from 1911 to 1947.
It was in the 1930s that Abe Lyman’s band, the Lyman Orchestra, could be heard every Friday night on NBC radio’s Coast to Coast program. Presumably it must have been during one of these NBC evening broadcasts that Lyman offered up his changed opinion on saxophones in early 1934. He certainly always appeared to have saxophones in his band with no problems at all prior to this.
According to the following article from the March 2, 1934 edition of the Jewish Post, Lyman was on a mission to rid American bands of saxophones….
Why the sudden hatred for saxophones you ask? Well you see it all had to do with Hitler’s reversal of the saxophone ban in Germany.
He was indeed correct, and Hitler’s reversal of the saxophone ban most likely did indeed have to do with the decline of the fortunes of the German saxophone manufacturers. As a matter of fact, according to Professor of Music at City University of London, Stephen Cottrell, by 1933 German saxophone manufacturers were applying to the new government for financial assistance due to slumping sales.1
For some reason when the information broke here in North America that the saxophone was no longer an instrumenta non grata in Germany, this caused Abe Lyman to lose his mind as it were. He decided to lobby fellow big band leaders Paul Whiteman, George Olsen, Phil Spitalny, George Hall, Leon Basco, Emery Deutsch, Eddie Paul, Fred Berens, Al Goodman, Reggie Childs, and Guy Lombardo. The goal of this lobbying effort was to get these influential big band leaders to convince all dance bands in the US to drop saxophones from their lineups.
Now I have no idea why Adolphe Hitler’s decision to allow saxophones in certain styles of music in Germany should cause Lyman to try such extreme measures.
Let’s think about this logically for a moment. What would happen to the saxophone players in orchestras? I guess they would all get stuck playing clarinet, flute, and whatever other instruments they doubled on.
Perhaps it would not affect players economically, but what about saxophone manufacturers in the US? Buescher, Conn, Martin, King, and all the other smaller saxophone makers would have been adversely affected had saxophones become instrumenta non grata in America. As a matter of fact, his lobbying efforts could have potentially brought about the same economic circumstances in the US, as had occurred in Germany due to Hitler’s banning of our instrument.
Needless to say, this never did occur. Abe Lyman’s lobbying efforts were not successful, and the saxophone remained a mainstay of the big band. As a matter of fact, as the big bands evolved, the saxophone section took on a much more prominent role.
Huh, take that Mr. Lyman…
While doing the research about Abe Lyman, I wanted to hear what the Lyman Orchestra sounded like. I was able to find the following film of them performing the Varsity Drag, circa 1927.
Now besides the fact that these guys all kind of resemble Bela Lugosi’s version of Dracula, I have to ask: What is wrong with the sax section? I know we are a rather nerdy bunch, but oh my….
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1The Saxophone, by Stephen Cottrell .
@Theo: Yup, those sax players seemed particularly uncomfortable with their horns. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a tenor player “hold” their horn like that…
@Jim: I don’t think there was ever any real danger of that… Perhaps nothing more than a publicity stunt? Or perhaps what leonAzul mentioned?
@leonAzul: I was wondering that myself…
@Alan: Most definitely. Interesting that the classic Dracula with Bela Lugosi came out a few years after this was filmed. Abe Lyman could easily have been cast as his double. I am guessing that this must have been “the look” at the time… I can only imagine what 90 years from now people will say about the popular bands of today… 👿
@Azuka: I’m with you…
Lyman’s concern makes no sense at all. After all, Hitler never banned any other instrument. Therefor, once the ban was lifted, ALL instruments were ‘good enough for Hitler.’ So, Lyman should have denounced including any instrument in a big band….. which would be really pathetic.
One could take this rationale a bit further…. der Fuehrer wore pants. Therefor, the rest of us should have refused to wear them….. and so on.
I agree that there is no logic in Lymans reaction.
And to be clear on the pants issue:
The Fuehrer wore pants, the Pope not, but neither of them banned the saxophone.
Hitler liked dogs. Hitler was a vegetarian. Clearly, we all need to eat dogs. We don’t want to be Hitler, right?
A Historian told me that history is written in shorthand.
When you go back to the original descriptions you will find slightly different facts.
Hitler was not a vegetarian but followed the vegetarian diet of his physician.
His physician also described a large amount of medicine which in our time are seen as poison.
Being a vegetarian is considered to be good for our planet. A few months ago someone calculated that for my country a diet with an average of 20 grams of meat daily is a present local sub-optimal solution.
PS. Keeping dogs is not a part of that solution.
PPS. Do not try your logic with the fact that Hitler and you are both humans.
Have I run afoul of Poe’s Law? I assumed my example was so far over the top that it would be recognized as the sarcasm that it is. Of course “bad people” don’t do “bad things” at all times. Actions need to be judged on their intent and results, not the “guilt by association” that is attributed to them by writers with an agenda.
No, Poe’s law is not the appropriate category ;
for me your example was more sardonic than sarcastic .
And my Confusian * side thought to give it a Confusian paradox twist in order
to improve the future.
*) Do not confuse Confusian with confusion.
Yes they do look sinister, especially when they smile and mug for the camera.
It seems to have been filmed in the Addams Family parlour
Fake news and alternative facts have been around a long time. Who knew?
:p
I’m sure glad Abe failed at his attempt to ban the most beautiful instrument
From the film it is visible that Lyman did not have saxophonists in his band,
however there are three clarinet players who double on the instrument.
Personally I think that the Lymans statement was not ment to free them of the saxophone, but should be seen in an emotional context; ” if it is good enough for Hitler, it is not good enough for me”.