Biography
Composer Jerome Kern bestowed upon the Leo Reisman Orchestra the moniker “the String Quartet of Dance Bands,” a group that simultaneously became known for introducing emerging talents such as Fred Astaire, Eddy Duchin, Harold Arlen, and Dinah Shore. The Big Bands Database records that Reisman entered the world in Boston during 1897 and commenced violin lessons at the age of ten, already appearing in professional settings two years later. Engagements with assorted local hotel ensembles preceded his time with the Baltimore Symphony, after which he assembled his own big band in 1919 and secured an extended booking at New York’s Hotel Brunswick. The ensemble held that post for ten years before relocating in 1929 to the Central Park Casino, where the roster featured Duchin alongside pianist Nat Brandywynne and singer Lee Wiley. Once the orchestra took up residence at the Waldorf Astoria, its personnel by 1932 encompassed Astaire and Arlen; additional former members included cornetist Johnny Dunn plus trumpeters Max Kaminsky and Bubber Miley, who would later join Duke Ellington’s ensemble. Shore performed with the band throughout its 1939 engagement at the Strand Theatre. In the succeeding decade, however, Reisman’s refined and opulent approach lost currency amid the ascendance of swing. Leo Reisman passed away on December 18, 1961.
Singles
