Alvin "Abe" Aaron (January 27, 1910 – January 31, 1970) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

clarinetist and saxophonist, who was born in Canada but spent most of his life performing in the United States. Aaron was born in Toronto on January 27, 1910. His father was bandleader with a theater band in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and had him play reeds in the band for more than ten years. Early in the 1940s he left this group to play alto saxophone in the big band of

Jack Teagarden Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an American jazz trombonist and singer. According to critic Scott Yannow of Allmusic, Teagarden was the preeminent American jazz trombone player before the bebop era of the 19 ...

, with which he recorded in 1942. He moved to Hollywood in 1943 and played with

Horace Heidt Horace Heidt (May 21, 1901 – December 1, 1986) was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television during the 19 ...

on radio. From 1945 to 1947 he played with

Skinnay Ennis Edgar Clyde "Skinnay" Ennis Jr. (August 13, 1907 – June 3, 1963) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and singer. Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Ennis, he was born Edgar Clyde Ennis Jr. in Salisbury, North Carolina, United S ...

, then returned to work under Heidt through 1949. Through the decade of the 1950s Aaron played in Les Brown's Band of Renown, including on tours of Europe and East Asia. He recorded often as a member of Brown's band for

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head ...

and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. In the band, he played clarinet and alto sax in the early 1950s, then switched to tenor and baritone. He also recorded on bass clarinet with

Billy Usselton William "Billy" Usselton (July 2, 1926 – September 5, 1994) was an American jazz reed player. Early life Usselton was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Proficient on tenor saxophone, clarinet, and oboe, he began playing professionally in ...

References

External links

Abe Aaron
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron, Abe 1910 births 1970 deaths Canadian jazz clarinetists Canadian jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians Canadian expatriates in the United States Musicians from Toronto Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery