Biography
Although a different individual from the New Orleans-based Leon T. Gross who recorded and performed chiefly as Archibald, the Leon Gross who led a big band enjoyed considerable popularity on the Harlem music scene throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Performances by this Gross survive more readily on film—and its later video and DVD derivatives—than on disc, an irony given the abundance of reissues documenting his era.
Some observers contend that superior ensembles played New York ballroom engagements at venues such as the New Amsterdam during those years, and they note that Gross’s programs frequently leaned on overfamiliar standards typified by “Dinah” and “I Got Rhythm.” Nevertheless, his ties to the black film industry remained firm, securing regular appearances in 1930s all-black productions whose minimal storylines served mainly to link successive musical numbers. In certain titles the full band appears onscreen; in others Gross functions off-camera as conductor. His credited films encompass Swing!, God’s Step Children, and Harlem After Midnight.
Because these pictures were typically completed under severe time constraints, the musical segments often register more effectively when excerpted in compilation releases, among them the DVD Legends of Jazz, whose subsequent editions were retitled Legends of Jazz, Vol. 1 to accommodate additional material.
Some observers contend that superior ensembles played New York ballroom engagements at venues such as the New Amsterdam during those years, and they note that Gross’s programs frequently leaned on overfamiliar standards typified by “Dinah” and “I Got Rhythm.” Nevertheless, his ties to the black film industry remained firm, securing regular appearances in 1930s all-black productions whose minimal storylines served mainly to link successive musical numbers. In certain titles the full band appears onscreen; in others Gross functions off-camera as conductor. His credited films encompass Swing!, God’s Step Children, and Harlem After Midnight.
Because these pictures were typically completed under severe time constraints, the musical segments often register more effectively when excerpted in compilation releases, among them the DVD Legends of Jazz, whose subsequent editions were retitled Legends of Jazz, Vol. 1 to accommodate additional material.