Despite the credits of this orchestra, on this recording, the American musician Teddy Kline seems to have played alto saxophone and clarinet as a band member, although he was a bandleader, well known in Berlin. Its leader actually was banjo and guitar player Mike Danzi. I am unaware whether this was either a steady arrangement, or whether they alternated in assuming leadership. Other famous band members included Billy Barton (tenor & bass saxophone) and George Haentzschel (piano). The "Two Jazzers" were Lászlo Mocsányi and Tibor Lakos, both of whom were born in 1903 in Budapest, Hungary, and attended the same school in their youth. At the age of 25, they made their first broadcast in Budapest. In Autumn of 1928, they made their first records with Columbia. They became quite well known in Vienna, Austria, and in February 1929 were engaged at the famous "Haller-Revue" in Berlin, followed by an engagement at the legendary "Kabarett der Komiker", also in Berlin. In Germany, the fellows recorded for "Ultraphon," began appearing on the radio on March 19th, 1929, and were popular enough to attract the attention of Terra-Film. At the end of 1930, they went back to Budapest. Prior to this time, their performances had been accompanied by well known orchestras, but they now developed their own style, performing mostly in Hungarian. In 1932, they organized the Harlem Melody Band and began recording on their own label "Radius and Weekend." The available sources remain silent about their activities after 1934, but it is estimated that they recorded something like 80-90 titles in German, a few in English, and up to several hundred in Hungarian and possibly other languages. A seemingly exhaustive discography, compiled by Ilona Abella, is available on a Hungarian web site. Tibor Lakos died in Budapest, in 1945, a young man barely in his forties. Lászlo Mocsányi passed away December 24, 1982, at the age of 79. This excellent record was made in 1929.
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