Biography
Allan Reuss ranks among the most prolific guitarists ever to appear on recordings, with credits so abundant they could overwhelm a Marshall stack—an appealing prospect in its own right, beyond the incidental reward of building a personal archive. Born in New York City, he entered the professional ranks while still a child. In 1927, at age twelve and after just one banjo lesson, he played his first paid engagement for twelve dollars. He stayed with the banjo rather than switching to guitar until the close of the decade, at which point his income regularly exceeded his numerical age. George Van Eps supplied his earliest guitar instruction and readied him for the exacting standards of Benny Goodman.
Goodman maintained rigorous expectations for all players yet singled out guitarists for particular scrutiny, since a simple gesture could conjure memories of Charlie Christian. One unnamed guitarist who passed through the Goodman orchestra later flushed visibly and unleashed a torrent of profanity upon hearing the clarinetist’s name—language strong enough to unsettle Larry Flynt. Reuss first worked with Goodman during the mid-1930s, rejoined the band in summer 1936 for nearly two years, and returned once more for a twelve-month stretch beginning in summer 1943, evidence of at least a tolerable working rapport.
Outside those engagements Reuss sustained a demanding freelance schedule that included operating a teaching studio in New York City and serving as a steady session musician at NBC facilities as well as countless other dates. He also spent extended periods in the ensembles of Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, and Paul Whiteman. While touring with trumpeter Harry James, Reuss elected to settle in Los Angeles in 1945. From that West Coast base he continued balancing studio calls with private instruction while fronting his own trio. Among the brisk originals he composed, several reached jazz artists such as Lionel Hampton, including “Pickin’ for Patsy” and “Shufflin’ at the Hollywood.”
Goodman maintained rigorous expectations for all players yet singled out guitarists for particular scrutiny, since a simple gesture could conjure memories of Charlie Christian. One unnamed guitarist who passed through the Goodman orchestra later flushed visibly and unleashed a torrent of profanity upon hearing the clarinetist’s name—language strong enough to unsettle Larry Flynt. Reuss first worked with Goodman during the mid-1930s, rejoined the band in summer 1936 for nearly two years, and returned once more for a twelve-month stretch beginning in summer 1943, evidence of at least a tolerable working rapport.
Outside those engagements Reuss sustained a demanding freelance schedule that included operating a teaching studio in New York City and serving as a steady session musician at NBC facilities as well as countless other dates. He also spent extended periods in the ensembles of Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, and Paul Whiteman. While touring with trumpeter Harry James, Reuss elected to settle in Los Angeles in 1945. From that West Coast base he continued balancing studio calls with private instruction while fronting his own trio. Among the brisk originals he composed, several reached jazz artists such as Lionel Hampton, including “Pickin’ for Patsy” and “Shufflin’ at the Hollywood.”