Ambrose (bandleader)
| Ambrose | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Benjamin Baruch Ambrose |
| Also known as | Bert Ambrose |
| Born |
11 September 1896 Warsaw, Russian Empire |
| Died | 11 June 1971 (aged 74) Leeds, England |
| Genres | Big band |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader |
| Instruments | Violin |
| Years active | 1916–1971 |
| Notable instruments | |
| Violin | |
Benjamin Baruch Ambrose (11 September 1896 – 11 June 1971), known professionally as Ambrose or Bert Ambrose, was an English bandleader and violinist. Ambrose became the leader of a highly acclaimed British dance band, Bert Ambrose & His Orchestra, in the 1930s.
Ambrose was born in Warsaw in 1896, when it was part of the Russian Empire. After a time the family moved to London. They were Jewish, his father being registered as a "Dealer in rags" in the 1911 UK census, where Ambrose was named as "Barnett' (a "Violin musician student"). He began playing the violin while young, and travelled to New York City with his aunt. He began playing professionally, first for Emil Coleman at New York's Reisenweber's restaurant, then in the Palais Royal's big band. After making a success of a stint as bandleader, at the age of 20 he was asked to put together and lead his own fifteen-piece band. After a dispute with his employer, he moved his band to another venue, where they enjoyed considerable popularity.
While at the Palais Royal, on 5 June 1918, he registered for the draft (Local Board Division 169, City of NY NY, 144 St Nicholas Ave; Registration 232). He gave as his date of birth 11 September 1896; place of birth Warsaw, Russia; nationality Russian; father's birthplace Grietza, Russia; place of employment Palais Royal, 48 St & Broadway; nearest relative Mrs Becky Ambrose, mother, 56 "Blaksley" St, London, England. He signed as "Bert Ambrose". The registrar recorded medium height, medium build, brown hair, brown eyes, and no physical disability that would render him exempt from the draft.
In 1922, Ambrose returned to London, where he was engaged by the Embassy Club to form a seven-piece band. He stayed at the Embassy for two years, before walking out on his employer to take up a much more lucrative job in New York. After a year there, besieged by continual pleas to return from his ex-employer in London, in 1925 he was finally persuaded to go back by a cable from the Prince of Wales: "The Embassy needs you. Come back—Edward".
This time Ambrose stayed at the Embassy Club until 1927. The club had a policy of not allowing radio broadcasts from its premises, however, and this was a major drawback for an ambitious bandleader, largely because the fame gained by radio work helped a band to gain recording contracts (Ambrose's band had been recorded by Columbia Records in 1923, but nothing had come of this). He therefore accepted an offer by The May Fair hotel, with a contract that included broadcasting.
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