Biography
Julius Lenzberg, known to intimates as Jules, came from Baltimore and launched his musical path by providing piano accompaniment for dance classes; his debut work, "Ball's Academy March" (1894), honored the man who employed him. Several compositions had already reached print by the time he wed and relocated to New York City in 1903; once there, he took on repeated engagements directing orchestras at Manhattan vaudeville theaters while spending summers leading an ensemble on Long Island. After establishing residence in Queens around 1910, he returned to writing music and soon completed his two landmark rags, "Hungarian Rag" (1913) and "Operatic Rag" (1914). Both drew upon earlier classical pieces yet transformed them in ways that remained inventive and skillfully executed, unlike many rival ragtime efforts that pursued comparable sources without achieving comparable artistic results.
During 1919 Lenzberg served as musical director for the George White Scandals of 1919 and simultaneously conducted the resident ensemble at New York’s Riverside Theater. Beginning that same year, he and the Riverside Orchestra commenced making discs for Edison; although his studio work ceased in 1922, he proved remarkably active, ultimately cutting more than fifty sides across Edison, Standard Roll’s Bell imprint, NYRL, Okeh, and Banner. Of his own pieces he committed only one to disc, the 1919 number “Razzle Dazzle,” which proved to be his penultimate publication. He persisted in fronting bands and, once radio appeared, broadcasting through the 1930s, yet the Depression removed him from live performance. By the early 1940s the final record of his activity shows him employed as a booking agent.
During 1919 Lenzberg served as musical director for the George White Scandals of 1919 and simultaneously conducted the resident ensemble at New York’s Riverside Theater. Beginning that same year, he and the Riverside Orchestra commenced making discs for Edison; although his studio work ceased in 1922, he proved remarkably active, ultimately cutting more than fifty sides across Edison, Standard Roll’s Bell imprint, NYRL, Okeh, and Banner. Of his own pieces he committed only one to disc, the 1919 number “Razzle Dazzle,” which proved to be his penultimate publication. He persisted in fronting bands and, once radio appeared, broadcasting through the 1930s, yet the Depression removed him from live performance. By the early 1940s the final record of his activity shows him employed as a booking agent.
Singles