Guttorm Frolich
Frolich’s Banjo Quintet January 1933
Hailing from Norway and directed by one Guttorm Frølich – who taught guitar at at the Conservatory of Music in Oslo – Frølich’s Banjo Quintet consisted of three tenor banjos, a plectrum banjo and a bass fiddle.
The magazine article from which the picture comes (January 1933) notes that “The Quintet may often be heard broadcasting from Oslo.”
No mention is made however of the two archtops, which appear in the foreground. The guitar on the left of the picture is clearly a 16-inch L-5 but the one on the right had us stumped.
Our buddy Paul Fox (author of The Other Brands Of Gibson) came to the rescue identifying it as a Swedish built 1930 Levin Model 175! This recording of Avalon by Norwegian drummer and sax player Alf Søgaard (below) dates from 1941 and features Guttorm Frølich on guitar:
Some books featuring Guttorm Frolich