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Harold Arlen
Born Hyman Arluck, February 15, 1905 Buffalo, NY, (died April 23, 1986 New York, NY of Parkinson's disease); son of Samuel Arluck, a Jewish cantor and Celia (born Orlin); married Anya (died March 9, 1973); children: Samuel Arlen. Education: Studied piano with Arnold Cornelisson, Conductor of the Buffalo String Orchestral Society. For more than a century, a large number of immigrant Jews from Poland, Germany and Russia fled to the United States to avoid persecution. Many a son of a Jewish cantor became a singing star, or one of America's top lyricists and composers. Harold Arlen was such an example. He was the son of immigrants from the Vilna section of Poland, who wrote many of the top musical "standards" that will remain the favorite music of many generations. Born Hyman Arluck on February 15, 1905 to Samuel Arluck and Celia Orlin, he changed his name after he quit high school and began to perform professionally. Arlen first learned to sing in his father's synagogue choir but most of his musical training and background was gained from his mother. By the time he was seven, he was regularly singing in Buffalo's Pine Street synagogue choir. At nine he studied piano with Arnold Cornelisson, who was an organist, composer and conductor of the Buffalo String Orchestral Society. Arlen dropped out of Hutchinson Central High School and later Technical High School when he was sixteen. Afterwards, he began to earn his living playing the piano in silent movie houses as well as performing in a vaudeville act. He formed the Snappy Trio with two other teenagers and regularly performed in the brothel district in Buffalo. Two additional members were added and the group was renamed the Southbound Shufflers. The group was hired to play on Great Lakes' steamers. He was soon asked to joined the Yankee Six, another dance band that soon grew to twelve pieces and later renamed The Buffalodians. He served as the band's arranger, pianist, and sometimes singer. The Buffalodians became a favorite of the area townspeople and their engagements took them to downtown ballroom restaurants as well as college and other societal functions. Th group became so popular, they appeared in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. In 1925, they were given the opportunity to perform at various Broadway clubs in New York City Arlen was noticed by Broadway and popular music composer Vincent Youmans, who gave him a part in the 1929 musical "Great Day" as rehearsal pianist.
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"It's Only a Paper Moon" by Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg and Billy Rose
![Read ""It's Only a Paper Moon" by Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg and Billy Rose" reviewed by Tish Oney](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/a_small/3fa28450020618ee37caa87be4513456.jpg)
by Tish Oney
One of my favorite Great American Songbook composers, Harold Arlen (nee Hyman Arluck, 1905-1986), composed music for over 500 songs during his long, successful career, even though he originally set out to become a great singer and was not particularly interested in writing songs. His tremendous success reached across Broadway stages, Hollywood film scores and Top 10 radio hits for countless singers. In 1932, Arlen collaborated with friends Yip Harburg and Billy Rose to create one of Arlen's best-known, enduring ...
read moreMartha Lorin Returns With Harold Arlen Encore Performance
![Martha Lorin Returns With Harold Arlen Encore Performance](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/RalphLampkin_030511_3_4x6.jpg)
Source:
Lampkin Publicity Service
Lampkin Music Group proudly presents vocalist Martha Lorin with, pianist John di Martino and bassist Harvie S for an Encore Performance A CELEBRATION OF HAROLD ARLEN Through the interpretations of jazz singers and musicians who performed Arlen’s songs! DON'T TELL MAMA 343 WEST 46TH STREET DECEMBER 18TH, 2014 AT 7:30 P.M. TICKETS ARE $20.00/ TWO DRINK MINIMUM ($5.00 discount with MAC Cards) RSVP FOR YOUR SEATS NOW AT 212-757-0788 On ...
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Harold Arlen This Week On Riverwalk Jazz
![Harold Arlen This Week On Riverwalk Jazz](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/d978795481004ba658ae80c73a444850.jpg)
Source:
Don Mopsick
This week on Riverwalk Jazz, in rare archival interview clips, Harold Arlen speaks about his career and how he wrote some of his most enduring songs, performed by the Jim Cullum Jazz Band and their guests: Nina Ferro, Dick Hyman, Rebecca Kilgore and Carol Woods. The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International. You can also drop in on a continuous stream of shows at the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound. Critic Alec Wilder wrote of Harold ...
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The Music Of Harold Arlen This Week On Riverwalk Jazz
![The Music Of Harold Arlen This Week On Riverwalk Jazz](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/00a858a1ccaad6202db1c6dbb3267.jpg)
Source:
Don Mopsick
This week on Riverwalk Jazz, in rare archival interview clips, Harold Arlen speaks about his career and how he wrote some of his most enduring songs, performed by the Jim Cullum Jazz Band and their guests: Nina Ferro, Dick Hyman, Rebecca Kilgore and Carol Woods. The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International, on Sirius/XM satellite radio and can be streamed on-demand from the Riverwalk Jazz website. You can also drop in on a continuous stream of ...
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Peter Hand Big Band Debuts on Savant Records with Tribute to Harold Arlen
![Peter Hand Big Band Debuts on Savant Records with Tribute to Harold Arlen](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/bd38a72ed12128b10ddc05c6087dacb8.jpg)
Source:
All About Jazz
Composer, arranger and guitarist Peter Hand leads the Peter Hand Big Band featuring saxophonist Houston Person on the new release The Wizard of Jazz-A Tribute to Harold Arlen on Savant/HighNote Records. Recorded live in 2005 during Arlen's centenary celebration, this special concert has been newly remixed and mastered to capture all the swinging sounds from a historic and memorable music event.
Peter Hand has been on the New York jazz scene for many years and is one of those rare ...
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Harlem to Hollywood: A Centennial Celebration of The Music of Harold Arlen
![Harlem to Hollywood: A Centennial Celebration of The Music of Harold Arlen](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/bd38a72ed12128b10ddc05c6087dacb8.jpg)
Source:
All About Jazz
Stream this hour-long radio show now at http://www.riverwalk.org. Riverwalk Jazz celebrates the 100th birthday of Harold Arlen in 2005. Regarding Harold Arlen’s gift for songwriting, Alec Wilder in American Popular Song" wrote, “[Arlen] entered the field of popular music at a propitious time, one in which he could spread himself and experiment...He is fully a product of American jazz, big dance music, and American popular song." Arlen wrote over 400 songs, mostly for stage shows, revues and motion pictures–most notably ...
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"The Wizard of Jazz"-A tribute to Harold Arlen with the Peter Hand Big Band and Houston Person
!["The Wizard of Jazz"-A tribute to Harold Arlen with the Peter Hand Big Band and Houston Person](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/bd38a72ed12128b10ddc05c6087dacb8.jpg)
Source:
All About Jazz