Today’s edition of 'Jazz Stars' features a story on the life of Nathaniel Gonella and a compilation of his musical compositions.

Nathaniel Charles Gonella was born in 1908 in the London district of King's Cross to the family of a taxi driver. After his father's death in 1915, his mother sent Nathaniel and his brother to the St Mary's Guardians School boarding school in Islington, where the boys first became interested in music. In 1924, Nathaniel joined Archie Pitt's youth musical group, The Busby Boys, touring with them for four years. He then joined the Rivoli Rhythm Boys Band, playing violin, clarinet, and trumpet. It was during this period that Nat became acquainted with the early recordings of Louis Armstrong and New Orleans jazz in general. He transcribed Armstrong's solo parts by ear and memorized them.

Later, Nat moved to Brighton to play in Archie Alexander's band. It was there that he was noticed by Billy Cotton, who invited him to join his big band. Within this ensemble, Nat's jazz trumpet solos were first captured on record in the track That Rhythm Man. From 1931, Lew Stone became the leader of the orchestra. Performing under his direction, Nat gradually established himself as a popular performer.

When Louis Armstrong visited London in 1932, the great artist left his trumpet at the Boosey & Hawkes music shop for cleaning. Nat managed to persuade the shop staff to let him personally return the instrument to his idol. Thus, the musicians met, and a close friendship later developed between them.

In 1933, Gonella published his own trumpet tutor book and starred in the films Bitter Sweet and The King's Cup.

In 1935, Nat formed his own band, The Georgians. The group was named after the famous version of the song Georgia on My Mind, which Nat had recorded with the Lew Stone Orchestra in 1932, and which subsequently became the trumpeter's signature tune. Initially, The Georgians performed as an opening act for Stone, but they soon began giving independent concerts. The demand for their music was enormous. In 1936, The Georgians, with their show Swing It, toured the entire country with triumphant success, performed in continental Europe, and starred in several feature films. Nathaniel Gonella became an acclaimed star of the British variety stage even before the outbreak of World War II. The band's vocalist was the film actress Stella Moya, whom Gonella later married.

With the outbreak of the war in 1941, Nat was drafted into the active army and became one of the most prominent members of the Stars in Battledress wartime entertainment troupes, established to boost troop morale. While serving in Europe and North Africa, Gonella was the personal assistant to Major Alexander Karet. After the victory, the major offered Nat a lucrative army contract, but the musician declined and left the service to return fully to his creative work.

In the late 1940s, due to changing audience tastes and the resulting financial difficulties, Gonella had to reform his band and alter its style. The musicians began playing bebop, but within a couple of years, they returned to traditional dance jazz. This coincided with a new wave of public interest in Dixieland. The Georgia Jazz Band regained its former popularity, partly thanks to their appearance on the famous show This Is Your Life.

A tour of Holland with Ted Easton's band and the song Oh Monah, which reached number 5 in the Dutch charts, made Nat a star again in the early 1970s.

In 1977, the musician moved to Gosport, Hampshire, where he became an active member of the local jazz club. In 1984, musicians from The New Georgians organized a television tribute concert for the 50^th anniversary of Nat Gonella's career, where the maestro performed his main hits with great pleasure.

Nat Gonella passed away at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital on August 6, 1998, at the age of 90. His multifaceted performing talent allowed this outstanding artist to remain on stage for 60 years.