Here is an intriguing individual I would like to connect to my own branch of the Waltham family tree, for reasons that will be readily apparent as you read further. So far, I have not found such a link.
Given the many famous Parisian venues that engaged Tom's orchestra, the many famous jazz musicians with whom he played, the famous singers he wrote songs for (Edith Piaf, for example), his accomplishments with various instruments (piano, violin, accordion) and the many recordings he made (many easily accessible on youtube), it is odd that the only biography devoted to him is a short 1985 article by Daniel Nevers.
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Tom Waltham was born in London, May 21st 1899. He applied to join the Army in February 1917, aged 17 years and 9 months; his application was approved in June. His occupation was listed on the recruitment form as "warehouseman" [Forces]. He was sent to France, and seems to have played in military orchestra there, as a result of which, he met several American musicians, including Jim Europe, Will Vodery and A. R. Etzweiller. He stayed in France at war's end [Nevers85].
He had met New Orleans jazz trombonist Emile Christian when Christian was a member of the Original Band Dixieland Jazz band which played in London around that time. The two formed a small group, playing in Paris. Later, joined by trumpeter Max Neff, the group became known as the Ad-Libs.
Waltham was admitted to Sacem (Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs) in 1920 (today, 52 of his works as composer or arranger are listed on https//www.sacem.fr). The following year, the Ad-Libs began playing at Zelli's, 16 bis rue Fontaine, Paris [Kernfeld], and did so for the next 6 years. "Tommy" paid well. While playing with the "American Five" prior to joining Waltham, Emile Christian's weekly cheque was a $75 (about $1000 in 2016 dollars, but that underestimates its real value in 1921, e.g. there were no deductions in those days). With Tommy Waltham's Orchestra, Emil earned double that, a king's ransom, becoming the highest paid sideman in the band [Traill55].
In 1922-23 Waltham and the Ad-Libs were engaged by the Folies-Bergères to accompany the futurist American dancer, Nina Payne. Folies Sur Folies premiered on 11th February 1922 and Nina appeared as an ibis in the tableaux Let Women be Beautiful and gave Cubist and Dadaist dances in The Girl of Tomorrow [Chapman1]. The five musicians - on stage dressed as pirates - were Waltham (piano, conductor, arranger), Max Brun (clarinet, saxophone), Christian (trombone, bass saxophone), Bert Matthews (drums) and an unknown trumpeter.
In October 1923, Waltham made his first recording, for Pathé: four piano solos, sandwiched between two pieces by the Rumolino's Hot Boys Band (whose pianist may or may not have been Waltham). The first discs of his band alone were made for the French company Gramophone in June 1925.
On Saturday, September 12, 1925, the Hermitage, was reopened at 72, Avenue des Champs Elysées with the Ad-Libs on stage. A photograph in the 19 October 1925 edition of the revue "Comoedia" shows the group: Max Neff (trumpet). Emile Christian (trombone, bass), Max Brun (ss,ts).Harry Parson (cl.as.bars), a third saxophonist (alto), Waltham (piano) and (probably) Bert Matthews (percussion) [Nevers85].
In January and February 1926, the Ad-Libs appeared at the Empire (41 avenue de Wagram) accompanying dancers Harry Pilcer, sister Elsie Pilcer and Dudley Douglas. A small scandal broke out when the orchestra began a few bars of the Marseillaise in foxtrot rhythm. Spectators protested, police intervened and the manager promised to remove this item, which had, in fact, been played before, and not just by the Ad-Libs. The national anthem had received the same treatment in the "Où, quand, comment" number in Maurice Yvan's operetta "Bouche à bouche" [Nevers85].
In the summer of 1926 some of the group got the chance to jam (faire du boeuf) with Paul Whiteman's orchestra on their tour of France. Later in the year, the orchestra made more recordings with Pathé, and also some radio broadcasts, one of which included Waltham's dadaist "Syncopated Nightmare, a novelty foxtrot" [Nevers85]
In 1927, the Ad-Libs went on tour, first in April to the Hôtel Negresco on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice in April, then in July to the Villa des Fleurs in Aix-Le-Bains [Chapman2] and in August the l'Hôtel de la Couronne in the same city - all most luxurious establishments and renowned for their jazz. Back in Paris for the 1927-1928 season, they played at Ciro's, the Washington Palace and especially the Cafe Paris, where they continued to play regularly in 1929 and 1930. In the second half of 1928 Emile Christian left Waltham, probably shortly after the final recording session for Gramophone. At the time the group was joined by André Billiard, A. and J. Chaudioux.
As the 20s gave way to the 30s, the Ad-Lib's sound became less "hot" and more "syrupy", and tended to tangos, waltzes and paso dobles. However, although they were dropped by the Polydor label, they apparently had no trouble finding employment - at the Café de Paris, the Pavillon d'Armenonville in the Bois de Boulogne and the Hôtel Claridge.
In 1930 the band appeared in two films: "Je t'adore, mais pourquoi?" (director Pierre Colombier, Pathé Natan, March 1930) and "Autour de votre main, Madame" (Gaumont Franco/Film Aubert, April 1930). At the end of the year, they went to Nice and played in the Casino Municipal, then the Restaurant du Grand Cercle.
Over the next years, Tom concentrated on composing and arranging, with editor Max Eschig. This activity proved more profitable than directing his orchestra. Nevertheless, Tom continued to record from time to time. In 1934, after participating in the shooting of the movie "Amiral Bizibi" he accompanied singers for several labels, e.g. Gilberte Legrand and Jacqueline Ford in children's songs of which he was co-author. It is likely that the same year, Waltham, now head of studio training, accompanied (especially for Pathé) a number of other singers. Sadly his name does not necessarily appear on these record labels.
In 1935, Tom switched his publisher to Masspacher, at the same time as his new recording contract (which lasted until 1940) with Polydor. The aesthetics of the group now followed the "jazz de scène" much in vogue at the time (Ray Ventura, Fred Adison, Jo Bouillon) but arriving later, Waltham never obtained a comparable success to his competitors. In fact, his discs were mostly produced to support the themes of Masspacher's catalogue. The group also gave radio broadcasts along the same lines. In 1937, Waltham played in the operetta "La Petite Guerre" which toured in France and Belgium.
Later that year, Tom got married, but of his spouse I know nothing*. Three years later, long settled in France and married to a French woman, Tom decided to stay put in spite of the encroaching German Army. However, he had retained his British nationality, and at the beginning of the occupation he was interned with other British and Commonwealth nationals (and Americans after December 1941) in the Camp des Internés Britanniques in the 19th century barracks in Saint-Denis.
Life in the camp was tolerable, and the thin rations were supplemented by the International Red Cross. Recreation was possible and Tom assembled an orchestra out of prisoners. He discovered that Arthur Briggs, the African-American jazz trumpeter, had been interned in the SS Polizeihaftlager for political prisoners near Compiègne. Why Briggs was there is not known; he was an American citizen (this was not yet 1941) and hardly a political prisoner. Tom petitioned the German authorities to have him transferred to Saint-Denis, and this was granted. There Briggs and Waltham were at the heart of the camp’s musical activities.
Jazz, of course, was forbidden, so the camp's cohort of jazz musicians, many of African heritage, went classical. A printed program survives of a 1942 “Concert Symphonique” including works by Albeniz, Granados, de Falla, Mozart, Handel, Franck and Liszt. Tom Waltham directed "Arthur Briggs et son Orchestre" [Bergmeier2010].
The concerts were obviously a success and were popular with German officers. One performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony by a group with many black musicians made a profound impact on the Military Commander of France, von Stülpnagel (which one? - there were two cousins of that name who held that position, and both proved to be ideologically unreliable in the eyes of the Nazi regime), who congratulated Briggs personally for his performance [Bergmeier2010].
After the Liberation, Tom became music director at Masspacher and he composed a number of songs, notably for Edith Piaf (which ones?). He retired in the second half of the 60s. He and his wife lived near Montmartre in the 18th Arrondissement. He composed and played the piano for fun. He died two days after celebrating his 75th birthday, May 23, 1974 [Nevers85].
Arthur Briggs is buried in Montmartre Cemetery in Paris. I met the very helpful archivists there in 2014; they found me Briggs' grave, but had no information on Tom Waltham.
A search for "Tom Waltham" on youtube returns at least a dozen hits, e.g. "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" with Georges Tabet.
Chris Waltham
2016.12.26
* In 1977 I visited Paris for the first time. As was my habit in those pre-internet times, I checked the telephone directory in my hotel room to see if there were any local Walthams. There was one, a Rosa Waltham. I wondered at the time if she was a widow of a British soldier who had settled in France; maybe she was Tom's widow. I would love to know.
Note added 2024-04-27: Indeed she was Tom's widow, as I learn from a post on myheritage.com. Her maiden name was Rosa Celinie Marie Braquart (1907 - 1998).
References
[Bergmeier] H. Bergmeier and R. Lotz: "James Arthur Briggs", Black Music Research Journal, Volume 30, Number 1, Spring 2010, pp. 93-181
[Chapman1] Gary Chapman: http://www.jazzageclub.com/personalities/nina-payne/
[Chapman2] Gary Chapman: http://www.jazzageclub.com/venues/the-villa-des-fleurs-aix-le-bain/
[Forces] http://forces-war-records.co.uk/
[Kernfeld] "Nightclubs and other venues." The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/subscriber/article/grove/music/J330000pg14>.
[Nevers85] Daniel Nevers, "Tom Waltham : un anglais à Paris", Sonorités n°12, janvier 1985, p. 27-32.
[Traill55] Sinclair Traill, "An informal interview with Emil Christian", Second Line,
September-October 1955
http://www.nojazzclub.org/SecondLine/V06.9.1955/OCR/V06.9.1955_0017.htm
