Bandleader Alex Mendham revives Jazz Age in SF in Mark Hopkins’ Peacock Court

British bandleader Alex Mendham, who is launching an Art Deco Dance Series in San Francisco this month, has long been interested in recordings of 1930s Jazz Age radio broadcasts of bands playing the fabled Peacock Court ballroom in the Mark Hopkins Hotel.

“I’ve been involved in the music of the 1920s and ‘30s since I was 17 and performed in hotels in the U.K. that have a pedigree of hosting dance bands from that era,” says Mendham, who started at the Savoy Hotel on London’s historic Strand. “Performing in San Francisco wasn’t in the cards then, but three years ago i moved permanently to the U.S., formed an orchestra and wrote to the hotel expressing an interest in performing there and reviving the music that was played there.

Management at the Mark Hopkins, which celebrates its centennial next year, liked Mendham’s propitiously timed idea. On Oct. 25, Alex Mendham and His Orchestra start a monthly residency in the Peacock Court room, bringing back the glamorous Nob Hill tradition of music and dancing.

The tradition began with the hotel’s 1926 opening and the ornate hall—named after its gilded peacock statue—where the world-renowned house band Anson Weeks and His Orchestra performed nightly. Among its members were violinist (and eventual “Rumba King”) Xavier Cugat, vocalist Bing Crosby and his younger brother Bob Crosby, who went on to form his own band.

“Weeks was a great pianist, arranger and the first musician in San Francisco to take inspiration from what was happening on the East Coast, with people like Duke Ellington,” says Mendham, 36, whose 11-piece orchestra has performed for King Charles III and at Highclere Castle (the real-life home of “Downton Abbey”) and Hollywood’s Cicada Club. “He also was a big fan of the British bandleader Ray Noble, and he really spearheaded a movement on Nob Hill.”

NBC began nightly broadcasts from the Peacock Court in 1931, which lasted until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. The ballroom’s fame grew in 1932 when Bing Crosby with Anson Weeks and His Orchestra debuted “Please,” which became a No. 1 hit. Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Rudy Vallée and Griff Williams also appeared there.

“It became a notable hangout for celebrities if they were in San Francisco, and that would be the venue they’d go to dance,” Mendham says.

Noting that the ballroom has been renovated and restored, Mendham adds, “It looks beautiful and fabulous, every bit like it did in the 1920s and ‘30s.”

The upcoming gigs will include note-for-note recreations of original recordings made in San Francisco by Weeks and his band, some of which have not been heard since their premieres, Mendham says. The orchestra also will play songs by Bing Crosby, Goodman, the Gershwin brothers, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ films.

A different guest vocalist joins the band each month; Bay Area singer Halsey Varady is featured on opening night.

Unlike Mendham’s ensemble that performs regularly aboard the Queen Mary II in Long Beach, the Peacock Court band is composed of carefully selected Bay Area musicians.

“The repertoire is going to be a lot more authentic at this venue compared to the Queen Mary, where they didn’t really have a named house band,” he says. “I’ve been able to dig through the archives and find things this band originally played, so it’s going to be more historically accurate. I’ve had to train musicians, send them lots of samples of the original recordings, and rehearse the band to get it as precise as it can be. It’s nice to be working with musicians in the Bay Area as well.”

Although the performances will cover a gamut of period dance music—foxtrots, waltzes, tangos, rumbas—Mendham says dancing isn’t required, and that patrons simply may listen to the music.

The San Francisco residency, like his performances elsewhere, are likely to draw audiences of all ages.

“I think period films like ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’ revived interest among a younger crowd,” Mendham says. “There’s a store on Haight Street that sells vintage clothing, and the owner messaged me and said six kids, ages 18 to 30, came in and bought vintage tuxedos and dresses for opening night at the Mark Hopkins. They really get into the spirit of the period—it’s really like time travel.”

Alex Mendham and HIs Orchestra appear in the Art Deco Dance Series from 8 to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 25, Nov. 22 and Dec. 20 at the Mark Hopkins Hotel, 999 California St., San Francisco. Tickets are $40 at alexmendham.com. 

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