Gene Kardos

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Eugene "Gene" Kardos (born June 12, 1899 in New York City , † July 27, 1980 ibid) was an American jazz musician ( alto saxophone , violin , vocals ) and band leader of the swing era .

Live and act

Kardos, who came from a Hungarian immigrant family, grew up in Yorkville, New York. As a child he learned the violin and saxophone; He began his career in vaudeville orchestras until he formed his first band around 1930, a Territory Band , which performed primarily in the Gloria Palast, a German-American ballroom and café located on East 86th Street in Yorkville. With the American Federation of Musicians office nearby , many professional musicians heard the Kardos band. Its musicians included u. a. Hymie Schertzer (saxophone), Vic Schoen (trumpet, arrangement), Joel Shaw (piano) and Bernie Green (arrangement and composition). The first recordings for Crown took place under Shaw's name and further sessions for ARC Records under band names such as Gene's Merrymakers, Art Kahn and Bob Causer . In the early 1930s he recorded in New York for labels such as Victor , Banner and Vocalion , as well as with Joel Shaw and Hoagy Carmichael . In the field of jazz he was involved in 57 recording sessions between 1931 and 1938. Popular titles were "A Hot Dog a Blanket and You", "Shanghai Lil", "Red Headed Baby", "My Extraordinary Gal" and "You Little So-And-So".

In the early 1930s the Kardos band played hot jazz, and in the middle of the decade they changed their style to become a hotel dance band. Among the musicians was the trumpeter Joe Hostetter ; the singer Dick Robertson was a band vocalist on numerous recordings, as well as Belle Baker ( Bei Mir Bistu Shein , 1937). After the dissolution of the orchestra in 1939, Kardos married and worked full-time at the New York Post; he also performed with a dance orchestra in the Zimmerman's Hungaria restaurant in Yorkville until the 1950s .

literature

  • The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz (1900–1950) by Roger D. Kinkle (Arlington House Publishers, 1974)
  • The American Dance Band Discography 1917-1942 by Brian Rust (Arlington House Publishers, 1975)
  • "Gene Kardos and His Orchestra", liner notes to Parklane Records LP PL100 (1985)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed August 24, 2015)
personal data
SURNAME Kardos, Gene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kardos, Eugene
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH June 12, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH July 27, 1980
Place of death New York City