Taps in Tempo
Despite his European name, Jan Berenska was a Midlander and something of a youthful prodigy, playing piano, violin and cello and giving his first broadcast at the age of 15 from Station 5IT (based in Witton, near Birmingham) in the days of crystal sets. He made his professional debut as a multi-instrumentalist in 1919, playing in the pit at London's Drury Lane Theatre for a pantomime. In the 1920s, he became sub-leader of the fledgling City of Birmingham Orchestra (CBO) before forming his own Berenska Pianoforte Quintette in 1930, which broadcast regularly from the BBC's Birmingham studios. In 1935, he formed a dance band which toured all over the country.
His xylophone solo, Taps in Tempo, is dedicated to Leslie Lewis, principal percussionist of the CBO. Born in South Wales, Lewis was a protégé of the orchestra's legendary timpanist, Ernest Parsons, and was subsequently engaged by the BBC as percussionist with its Theatre Orchestra in London, only to die tragically of a heart attack at Euston Station on the day he was to take up his new appointment.
Taps in Tempo is very typical of the type of xylophone solo heard on innumerable bandstands and in cafés and variety theatres throughout the 1930s and 1940s. It features a bright, catchy melody, dazzling arpeggios and scales and four-mallet chords to show off the xylophonist's technique. This arrangement was specially created for the virtuoso percussionist, Simone Rebello.