Biography
The Arden-Ohman orchestra produced numerous popular recordings throughout the 1930s, among them the enduring American standard "I Love a Parade". Beginning in 1925 and continuing for the next ten years, the ensemble performed regularly in the orchestra pits of numerous successful Broadway productions while also committing mostly theatrical numbers to disc. Membership in the pit ensembles and the studio groups often diverged, allowing the leaders to grant the nightly stage musicians time off while daytime sessions proceeded.
Two pianists and composers established the group. Victor Arden arrived in New York early in the twentieth century to cut piano rolls, where he encountered Phil Ohman, an equally accomplished keyboardist. The pair formed a piano duo rooted in shared musical tastes and quickly built a following in the intimate clubs along 52nd Street. Their initial joint recording date yielded "Dance of the Demon", "Raga Muffin", and "Canadian Capers", the last of which found the duo playfully adopting a Mounties motif as they relentlessly pursued the melody.
In 1924 they received their first Broadway assignment for the musical Lady Be Good, an engagement that led to further pit work on Tip Toes in 1926 and Spring Is Here in 1929. Widespread recognition arrived chiefly through radio, which began with incidental music for advertisements and bulletins before the duo hosted their own program by the late 1920s. They enlarged the ensemble into a richer ensemble celebrated for both its repertoire and its polished charts, featuring vocalists such as Frank Luther.
After a temporary separation during which each musician fronted his own orchestra, the two reunited to record for Brunswick in 1935. Numbers that served repeatedly as signature themes included "Dance Of the Paper Doll", "That Certain Feeling", "Fine and Dandy", "Funny Face", and "Ooh! That Kiss". Arden later directed an orchestra supporting Dick Powell during the 1950s.
Two pianists and composers established the group. Victor Arden arrived in New York early in the twentieth century to cut piano rolls, where he encountered Phil Ohman, an equally accomplished keyboardist. The pair formed a piano duo rooted in shared musical tastes and quickly built a following in the intimate clubs along 52nd Street. Their initial joint recording date yielded "Dance of the Demon", "Raga Muffin", and "Canadian Capers", the last of which found the duo playfully adopting a Mounties motif as they relentlessly pursued the melody.
In 1924 they received their first Broadway assignment for the musical Lady Be Good, an engagement that led to further pit work on Tip Toes in 1926 and Spring Is Here in 1929. Widespread recognition arrived chiefly through radio, which began with incidental music for advertisements and bulletins before the duo hosted their own program by the late 1920s. They enlarged the ensemble into a richer ensemble celebrated for both its repertoire and its polished charts, featuring vocalists such as Frank Luther.
After a temporary separation during which each musician fronted his own orchestra, the two reunited to record for Brunswick in 1935. Numbers that served repeatedly as signature themes included "Dance Of the Paper Doll", "That Certain Feeling", "Fine and Dandy", "Funny Face", and "Ooh! That Kiss". Arden later directed an orchestra supporting Dick Powell during the 1950s.
Albums
Singles