Jakub Kagan (7 February 1896 – 1942) was a popular Polish-Jewish composer, pianist, jazz musician and arranger. In the early 1920s, he formed the Kagan's Jazz Band in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, performing in operettas, cabarets, and hotels. Since 1922 Kagan was a feature artist at the Kabaret Mirage and at the Teatr Nowości. In 1926 he signed a contract with the luxury

Hotel Bristol The Hotel Bristol is the name of more than 200 hotels around the world. They range from grand European hotels, such as Hôtel Le Bristol Paris and the Hotel Bristol in Warsaw or Vienna to budget hotels, such as the SRO (single room occupancy) ...

in Warsaw. His band performed world-renowned standards as well as his own compositions widely popular across the country. He died in Warsaw during

the Holocaust in occupied Poland The Holocaust in Poland was part of the European-wide Holocaust organized by Nazi Germany and took place in German-occupied Poland. During the genocide, three million Polish Jews were murdered, half of all Jews murdered during the Holocaust. ...

Life

Kagan was one of four sons of Morduch (Mordechai) and Sara née Kantor. He was born in

Nowogródek Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

in the

Minsk Governorate The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partitio ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now Navahrudak in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

). His eldest brother Mieczysław (born in 1887) changed his name to Kochanowski and became composer of dance music before the First World War. Jakub followed in his brother's footsteps. He graduated from the Warsaw Institute of Music before 1918 and became member of the Polish Composers Union. In 1920 he fought in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

defending

during the Battle of Radzymin. He began composing at that particular time. His first widely popular tango was ''"Złota pantera"'' (The Gold Panther) to words by

Andrzej Włast Andrzej Włast (aka Gustaw Baumritter) (17 March 1885 – 1942 or 1943) was a Polish Jewish songwriter. He wrote the lyrics for the 1929 hit song "Tango Milonga" / "Oh, Donna Clara". He died in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Biography W� ...

(1895–1942), premiered in 1929 in Żegiestów. The song opened all the doors for his subsequent Warsaw career, followed by international tours and concerts in Germany, Austria, and Hungary. His greatest hits were performed by such headliners as Hanka Ordonówna,

Adam Aston Adam Aston (born Adolf Loewinsohn, 17 September 1902, Warsaw, Poland: died 10 January 1993 in London, England) was a Polish singer, actor, and pianist of Jewish origin. He sang in Polish language, Polish, Hebrew and Yiddish and was one of the mo ...

, and

Stanisław Grzesiuk Stanisław Grzesiuk (; 6 May 1918, Małków, Łęczna County – 21 January 1963) was a Polish writer, poet, singer, and comedian. He is notable as one of the few public figures to use and promote the singing style and dialect of pre-war Wars ...

. After the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

by Nazi Germany he was deported to the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...

where he played piano at the Splendid Café and the Melody Palace Theatre to survive. He was killed in 1942 possibly during the murderous ''

Grossaktion Warsaw The ''Grossaktion'' Warsaw ("Great Action") was the Nazi code name for the deportation and mass murder of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto during the summer of 1942, beginning on 22 July. During the ''Grossaktion'', Jews were terrorized in daily rou ...

''. His other brother, Feliks, who had changed his name to Kochański, also perished during the war.Naliwajek-Mazurek 2010 (ibidem), Note: ''see'' Tomasz Lerski, ''Syrena Record. Pierwsza polska wytwórnia fonograficzna 1904–1939'', Editions ”Karin”, New York – Warsaw 2004: 661–662. Only the youngest of the Kagan brothers, Alexander (born in 1906), survived

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

as a soldier of the

Polish Army in France (1939–40) The term Polish Army in France might refer to the following units of the Polish Army: * Polish Legions in Italy of late 18th century/early 19th century fighting for Napoleon I * Polish Army formed in France under the command of General Józef Hal ...

, interned in Switzerland.

Popular songs

References

Jakub Kagan, Biblioteka Piosenki, Nota biograficzna

Bibliography

* Stanisław Łoza (ed.), "Czy wiesz kto to jest?", Wydawnictwo Głównej Księgarni Wojskowej Warszawa 1938, p. 312.

External links

Scores by Jakub Kagan
in digital library

Polona Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006. Colle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kagan, Jakub 1896 births 1942 deaths People from Navahrudak People from Novogrudsky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Polish composers Jewish composers Polish jazz pianists 20th-century composers 20th-century pianists Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish military personnel Polish civilians killed in World War II People who died in the Warsaw Ghetto