For many years during the exciting dance band and jazz era of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Art Christmas was often said to be Britain's leading saxophone player and multi-instrumentalist.

In the 1930s and 1940s, young musicians in their teens and early twenties would follow Art all over Britain listening to him play and trying to copy his style, especially on alto saxophone.

The Melody Maker Magazine detailed this orchestra's strengths by saying: "A ten-piece combination, its members, who are all Canadians, between them account for thirty-five different instruments.

One of this band's few surviving recordings "I'm Sitting On Top Of The World", is a vigorous effort in the "hot dance" genre and according to the book 'The Lost History Of Jazz In Canada by Mark Miller',[5] ".......is distinguished by Art Christmas' alto saxophone solo."

Art worked extensively in Britain and Europe during the late 1920s and led his own band in Budapest, Berlin and London.

"Art Christmas' alto sax playing is distinguished by a daringly virtuoso style and inventive technique that displays a harmonic and rhythmic sophistication well in advance of his time...................."[8] After Roy Fox was forced to disband due to health problems in 1938, Art worked with Arthur Rosebery from 1938 to 1939, Sid Millward's "Nitwits" and Joe Ferrie in 1939, before joining Jack Jackson (playing with the Jackson band on one recording session in November of that year).

The Jack Payne band was just too busy (with BBC shows every week and public performances all over Britain) to do much recording between 1940 and 1944 but there was a session in 1945 that Art played.

[1] After Jack Payne turned impresario and launched a new variety show called "For The Fun of It", he asked Art to join up with Donald Peers, Frankie Howerd and Max Bygraves along with many other entertainers.

One of Art's fondest memories was the performance of "Cinderella" for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the Palladium in London.