I also always wondered why the big bands died so quickly.
Interesting to hear.
I am no fan of cabaret or any other form of tax. I believe the compelling theme for taxing the rich is the simple vice of covetousness. (I want what you have and give it to me now or at least share it with everyone else - or else)
But I believe like others here that the death of the Big Band would have happened anyway.
For this reason - people love the loud sound of many instruments.
The difference to the ear between the acoustic way of doing this with many instruments vs. the electronic way of reproducing lots of sound is pretty small.
And as an unfortunate side note - electronic sound can get much louder.
Oh, I agree that the big-band trend would have gone away anyway. It was also extremely (prohibitively) expensive, having all those sidemen to pay. Indeed, another thing is that by around 1945-46, a lot of the jazzier bands starting veering in the direction of more of a be-bop sound, which has its afficianados, but the general public just never warmed up to it. Same time, some of the mainstream/hotel bands seemed to go in the other direction, more sweet than swing.
Not much middle-ground for the public, which probably found some bands either too harsh/abrasive in the be-bop jazz vein (and bands like Stan Kenton were always an acquired taste), or too syrupy/mellow, referred to as mickey-mouse bands in the Sammy Kaye mold. The “swing bands” of 1937-42 were hitting a happy medium of hot and sweet, and that’s when they attained their highest popularity.