The orchestra was founded in 1994 by the world renowned conductor Jiří Bělohlávek and under his leadership quickly became one of the best Czech orchestras with an international reputation. This has been confirmed by the orchestra's long-term success with the audiences and critics alike, regular invitations for tours abroad and recording contracts with major international labels. The Prague Philharmonia's current chief conductor and music director is Jakub Hrůša.

The average age of the musicians is currently 34 years. The young spirit of the orchestra is accompanied by genuine enthusiasm and vigour with which the orchestra performs at home and abroad.

... From www.praguephilharmonia.com

Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was a long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country. Some people criticized him for over-popularizing music, particularly when adapting popular songs or edited portions of the classical repertoire, but Fiedler kept performances informal and sometimes self-mocking to attract more customers.

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From Album: "Various Artist ~ 100 Best - Digital Sampler".

Sir John Barbirolli, CH (2 December 1899 – 29 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. Barbirolli was particularly associated with the Hallé Orchestra, Manchester, which he conducted for nearly three decades. He was also music director of the New York Philharmonic and the Houston Symphony, and conducted many other orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic. He was particularly associated with the music of English composers such as Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams. He also developed a strong reputation as a conductor of the music of Gustav Mahler.

~ Read more…

From Album: "Max Greger ~ Oscar-Melodien Zum Tanzen"

Max Greger, Jazz saxophonist,musician and conductor, born 2. April 1926 in München-Giesing,Germany.

As bandleader of his orchestra, Max Greger is a popular and well-known musician in Europe with myriad credits to his name, including film and television work. A gift of an accordion as a child first spurred his musical inclinations, and Greger ultimately studied clarinet and saxophone at the Munich Conservatory during the late ’30s. Briefly serving in the military toward the end of World War II, Greger began performing with various jazz groups. His postwar work, often in American officers’ clubs, ultimately led Greger to form his own sextet around 1948-1949, and later a big band. Performing a mixture of pop, jazz, and swing tunes, Greger had considerable success from the ’50s onward, including regular appearances on German television from 1963 to 1977, and helped establish the growing German jazz movement.

From Album: "Xavier Cugat ~ The Original Latin Dance King".

Xavier Cugat, born Francesc d'Asís Xavier Cugat Mingall de Bru i Deulofeu (1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was a Spanish-Catalan-Cuban-American bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a key personality in the spread of Latin music in United States popular music. He was also a cartoonist and a successful businessman. In New York, his was the resident orchestra at the Waldorf-Astoria before and after World War II.

Cugat was born in Girona, in Catalonia, Spain.  His family emigrated to Cuba when Xavier was five. He was trained as a classical violinist and played with the Orchestra of the Teatro Nacional in Havana. On 6 July 1915, Cugat and his family arrived in New York as immigrant passengers on board the S.S. Havana.  ~ Read more from Wiki

From Album: "Enoch Light ~ Big Band Bossa Nova (LP)".

Enoch Light (August 18, 1905 - July 31, 1978) was a classical violinist, bandleader, and recording engineer. He is credited with being one of the first musicians to go to extreme lengths to create high-quality recordings that took full advantage of the technical capabilities of home audio equipment of the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly stereo effects that bounced the sounds between the right and left channels (often described as "ping-pong"). He arranged his musicians in ways to produce the kinds of recorded sounds he wished to achieve, the first to do so. The first of the albums produced on his record label, Command Records, Persuasive Percussion, became the first huge hit based solely on retail sales. His songs received little or no airplay on the radio, because AM radio, the standard of the day, was monaural. Light went on to release several albums in the Persuasive Percussion series, as well as a Command test record.   ~ Read more from Wiki

Enoch Light's Official website

From Album: "Perez Prado ~ Cuban Originals".

Dámaso Pérez Prado (December 11, 1916 in Cuba - September 14, 1989 in Mexico) was a Cuban bandleader and composer. He is commonly referred to as the "King of the Mambo".

The mambo, reinvigorated under the name salsa, is still the signature dance of Latin popular music, and Pérez Prado, Jr., continues to direct the Pérez Prado Orchestra in Mexico City to this day.

Pérez Prado is the composer of such famous pieces as "Mambo No. 5" (later a UK chart-topper for both Lou Bega in 1999 and animated character Bob the Builder in 2001) and "Mambo No. 8". At the height of the mambo movement, in 1955, Pérez hit the American charts at number one with a cha-cha version of "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" (composed by French composer Louiguy). It held the spot for 10 consecutive weeks. Pérez had first covered this title for the movie Underwater! in 1954, where Jane Russell can be seen dancing to "Cherry Pink". In 1958, one of Pérez's own compositions, "Patricia", became the last record to ascend to #1 on the Jockeys and Top 100 charts, both of which gave way the following week to the then newly introduced Billboard Hot 100 chart.

~ Read more from Wiki

From Album: "Anos Dourados Vol.6 - Tabajara Visita Sinatra"

Severino Araújo de Oliveira (Limoeiro, April 23, 1917) is Brazilian musician, composer, conductor and clarinetist. the Tabajara Orchestra's conductor, who took over with 21 years of age.

The Orchestra Tabajara is an Brazilian popular orchestra. Founded in 1934 in the city of João Pessoa (Paraíba), the orchestra is currently active in Rio de Janeiro. 

Severino Araújo's father was master of banda in Limoeiro (PE), and who was given the rudiments of music. A child, adopted the clarinet as a favorite. In the 30s he moved to João Pessoa, which was clarinetist in the band the Police. In 1936 wrote the cry "Spine of Cod," one of his most famous compositions. Also in Paraíba, was conductor of the orchestra of Radio Tabajara, with some members of it left for Rio de Janeiro in the late 30th Only in 1945 the orchestra officially adopted the Rio de Janeiro as its headquarters. Based on North American big bands, the orchestra encourages dancing, parties and gaff from the 40s until today, totaling more than 13 thousand presentations. Besides acting in dances and parties, the Orchestra Tabajara worked in broadcast radio. With great popularity, the orchestra recorded over 100 discs of 78 rpm, breaking records for longevity, and support the work of singers like Jamelão, who recorded two albums, tributes to Lupicínio Rodrigues. During the existence of the Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro, the Tabajara was the attraction of traditional Sundays, with Sunday Flying. The repertoire consists of both classical and jazz song of the U.S. as the themes of Brazilian music. Severino Araújo, who was a student of Koellreuter, is author of several songs performed by the Orchestra, and celebrated its 80 years still ahead of the group, regulating and testing.    ~ Read more from Wiki

From Album: "Ambrose & His Orchestra ~ As Time Goes On: The War Years Vol. 6"

Benjamin Baruch Ambrose (15 September 1896 – 11 June 1971) was an English bandleader and violinist. His professional name was officially Bert Ambrose, but he was universally known simply as Ambrose.

Destined to become the leader of what was perhaps the most highly acclaimed of all English dance bands during the 1930s, Bert Ambrose was born in London but crossed the Atlantic as a lad with his auntie to settle for a few years on U.S. soil. His very first professional engagement was as violinist for Emil Coleman at Reisenweber's restaurant in New York. He then worked in a big band at the Palais Royal. By 1917 he was directing musical entertainments at New York's Club de Vingt, and remained there through 1920. Although he led a band at Clover Gardens in 1924, Ambrose maintained a steady professional presence in London during the 1920s, periodically leading bands at the Embassy Club from 1920-1926 and in the Mayfair Hotel from 1927-1933.

Having waxed a handful of phonograph recordings for Columbia in April of 1923, Ambrose began to attract attention a bit later on with titles like "Take Your Finger Out of Your Mouth," recorded for the English Brunswick label in 1927, and "Singapore Sorrows," recorded in April of 1928 for His Master's Voice. From that point onward, the act was almost invariably billed as Bert Ambrose & His Orchestra. They were well received at the London Palladium and began to broadcast live over the BBC from the Mayfair Hotel in 1928, whereupon Ambrose quickly found himself in a position of resounding nationwide popularity. In addition to English players like Ted Heath and Dennis Ratcliffe, the band was regularly fortified with American talent (vocalist Sam Browne, reedman Danny Polo, and trumpeter Sylvester Ahola). Its recording repertoire became stronger after Ambrose signed with Decca during the early summer of 1928.

As if embodying the sensibilities of an entire epoch, "Hittin' the Ceiling," "Makin' Whoopee," and "Singing in the Rain" materialized at the session of September 12, 1929. Highlights from 1930 included material in common with James P. Johnson ("Cryin' for the Carolines") and Fess Williams ("'Leven Thirty Saturday Night"). In 1931, "When Day Is Done" became the band's theme song. Ambrose made his most memorable recordings during the mid-'30s while presiding at the Embassy Club, beginning in November 1934 with "The Continental," then riding into 1935 with "Hors d'Oeuvres" and the excellent "Embassy Stomp." Authentic jazz material continued to surface between bursts of sweetness or novelty vocals, "Streamline Strut," "Copenhagen," and "Ambrose's Tiger Rag" serving as counterweights for entities like "Everything Is Hunky Dooly" and "My Hat's on the Side of My Head." On "Wood and Ivory," recorded in 1936, percussionist Jack Simpson was featured on timpani and xylophone. This appears to have become part of the signature sound of the Ambrose ensemble, for Simpson continued to knock wood with the band well into 1939.

Beginning in 1938, Ambrose led a notable octet in addition to the full-sized ensemble. He clearly paid close attention to what America's best jazz orchestras were playing and consistently made efforts to arm his band with solid material gleaned from their repertoires. Two glowing examples are from the Duke Ellington book; "Caravan" was recorded by the Ambrose band in July of 1937 and "Mood Indigo" in October of 1940. By this time, failing health made it necessary for him to partially withdraw from professional work. There were tours with the octet beginning in 1941 and he was still leading bands up until 1956, whereupon he made the decision to serve as a manager rather than acting as a leader. The most lucrative act he represented was pop singer Kathy Kirby. Bert Ambrose passed away in Leeds, England, on the 11th of June 1971. His band's best recordings are still prized for their fine arrangements, skilled soloists, and impeccable section work. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide

Anne Shelton, OBE (10 November 1923 - 31 July 1994) was a popular English vocalist, who is remembered for providing inspirational songs for soldiers both on radio broadcasts, and in person, at British military bases during World War II. Shelton was also the original singer in the English language of the song, "Lili Marlene". Little is known of the real Anne Shelton, her career with legends such as Ambrose, Glenn Miller and Bing Crosby and her private life.

The official Anne Shelton Website

From Album: "Reptile Palace Orchestra ~ On the Wings of a Skink".

The Reptile Palace Orchestra is an eclectic worldbeat band based in Madison, Wisconsin which specializes in lounge, klezmer and other Eastern European music. It began in 1994 with a gig at the Club de Wash, and since that time has become a notable fixture in the Madison music scene. Membership has varied, but the current line-up consists of Anna Purnell, Biff Blumfumgagnge, Seth Blair, Kia Karlen, Bill Feeny, Robert Schoville, Greg Smith and Ed Feeny, and included Sigtryggur Baldursson of Sugarcubes/Björk fame on their first 2 Omnium releases, Iguana iguana and HWY X Worldwide sources include their Greenman Review, their Ink 19 interview by Holly Day, their Dirty Linen appearance, their Inside World Music interview by Paula E. Kirman, a 2003 cover story in Maximum Ink and an appearance in Snapshotmusic's FolkLib Index listing. They also appeared on Balkans Without Borders which benefitted the non-profit Doctors Without Borders organization.

Among the traditional Folk dance material, the group has a song dedicated to the Freshwater Drum. Boiled in Lead members Drew Miller and Robin Adnan Anders have both played with the Reptiles, and Biff has played with Boiled in Lead. The Reptiles also share membership (Anna, Kia, Greg and Geoff Brady) with Yid Vicious a notable Madison Klezmer band.   ~ From Wiki

Reptile Palace Orchestra homepage