To an Englishman visiting the States for the first time, New York is an amazing place. To a musician it is even more amazing, for nowhere else in the world could I have been treated to such an orgy of music as I succeed in hearing during my two weeks’ hurried visit. Needless to say, I spent a liberal proportion of my time uptown, and had the pleasure of acquainting myself with artists whose work had previously only been made known to me through hearsay or through the always imperfect medium of phonograph records. In the course of my peregrinations through Harlem I discovered several young folks who look like being big stars of the years to come, and it is on these lesser-known luminaries that I should like to concentrate in this survey. One of the first friends I made in New York was Alex Hill, whose reputation as pianist, singer, composer, band leader and arranger is undoubtedly on the upgrade. This versatile 28-year-old musician works for the Irving Mills office as a staff arranger. He has previously held positions with Jimmy Noone, Carroll Dickerson and Andy Kirk and their orchestras, and has arranged for Paul Whiteman, Claude Hopkins and other famous band leaders. In addition he composed such numbers as "Devil in the Moon," "Dixie Lee," "Baby Brown," and "Anything for You," which must be pulling him in a pretty neat income in royalties. Watch out for Alex. One of these days he will form his own band and become a name to conjure with. He is a quiet, humorous, cultured and affable fellow and I wish him all the success he deserves.

Another lad whose future should be studded with triumphs is Teddy Hill (no relation to Alex), whom I heard swinging at the Savoy Ballroom on the evening of my arrival in New York. When I say Teddy and his boys gave me a bigger thrill than any band I had heard on records, you can imagine I mean they are good. The group is just two years old now, and contains such excellent artists as "Choo" on tenor sax and Roy Eldridge on trumpet. Talking of trumpet players, I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to Henry Allen, Jr. ("Red" Allen to most of us), and was particularly struck by the fact that "Red" is far too good a man to be lost in such a mediocre outfit as the Mills Blue Rhythm Band. "Red" at his best can play as much trumpet as Armstrong; in addition he is a charming easy-going personality with whom any band leader should find little difficulty in getting along. The other night "Red" joined Ellington’s orchestra during the temporary absence of one of Duke’s trumpeters. I should like to see "Red" placed permanently with that greatest of all bands, for he has never yet had the recognition he deserves.

Another boy whose name may mean nothing to you as yet, but who will without any doubt get right to the top before long is Theodore Wilson, the 22-year-old pianist, whose style begins where Earl Hines left off years ago. A modest, shy and exceptionally reliable individual, Wilson practices for hours daily and has developed a legitimate technique that simply makes you gasp. He is under contract to Brunswick Records, for whom he will make several discs each month, and has already formed a recording band of his own.

One evening during my stay I was taken along to the Dickie Wells Club where they have a kazoo band of little or no importance; but the drummer here, a youth of eighteen, named Eddie Dougherty, stands out as a really promising artist. Probably if an enterprising manager were to rove around all the little clubs in Harlem he would be able to get together a band of unknowns, such as this boy, who could in time be trained into a first-class aggregation.