Ben Berlin (born Hermann Biek; 1896–1944) was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician born in

Reval Tallinn is the capital and most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and administratively lies in the Harju ''maakond'' (co ...

(now

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

) in 1896. He married composer Vera Vinogradova around 1920 and they had two children, Leopold and Nina. Berlin founded the Ben Berlin Dance Orchestra in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1928, producing records with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

such as ''"Küss mich und morgen vergiss mich"'' and ''"Roses of Yesterday"''. As a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, he left

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Germany in 1933, moving to Holland, Austria, France and finally England where he died in 1944, sitting at his desk.

References

External links

Ben Berlin Playlist on Youtube
1896 births 1944 deaths Musicians from Tallinn People from the Governorate of Estonia German jazz bandleaders 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century German musicians German emigrants to Austria Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the Netherlands Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Musicians from the Russian Empire 20th-century Estonian Jews 20th-century Estonian male musicians 20th-century Estonian musicians {{jazz-musician-stub