Abraham Katzman (1868–1940, ) was an American

Klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

violinist, bandleader, composer, and

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

recording artist of the 1920s. He was the father of film producer

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman's specialty was producing low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financi ...

, uncle of American arranger and bandleader

Louis Katzman Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

and the great-uncle of

Henry Katzman Henry Manners Katzman (March 2, 1912 – May 11, 2001) was an American musician, composer, painter, and one of the founders of Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI). The son of bandleader Louis Katzman, he grew up in New York City in a musical ...

and

Leonard Katzman Leonard Katzman (September 2, 1927 – September 5, 1996) was an American film and television producer, writer, and director. He was most notable for being the showrunner of the CBS prime time oil soap opera ''Dallas''. Early life and career ...

Biography

Early life

Abe was born Abram-Aba Katsman in 1868 in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

(then known as Kishinev),

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered t ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. His father was Chaim Katzman and his mother was named Sura Bayla (née Goldman). He was from a musical family; his brother Philip Katzman played in opera orchestras in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and Chișinău. He later stated that he had studied violin in Russia under a Professor Gilla. Abe emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in October 1897.

Music career

In his early years, he worked as a violin teacher and lived in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. In 1903, following the

Kishinev pogrom The Kishinev pogrom or Kishinev massacre was an anti-Jewish riot that took place in Kishinev (modern Chișinău, Moldova), then the capital of the Bessarabia Governorate in the Russian Empire, on . During the pogrom, which began on Easter Day, ...

, he cofounded the Kishinever Sick Benevolent Society, a

Landsmanshaft A landsmanshaft (, also landsmanschaft; plural: landsmans(c)haftn or landsmans(c)hafts) is a mutual aid society, benefit society, or hometown society of Jewish immigrants from the same European town or region. History The landsmanshaft organiz ...

for fellow immigrants from Chișinău. He acted as its first president. By 1910, he was also apparently bandleader of a klezmer orchestra in Brooklyn, making him a contemporary of New York klezmer musicians from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

such as

Max Leibowitz Max Leibowitz () (born c.1884 in Iași, Romania, died 1942, Bronx, New York City) was an American klezmer violinist, composer and bandleader in New York City primarily in the 1910s and 1920s. Biography Early life Leibowitz was born in Iași, Rom ...

Abe Schwartz Abe Schwartz (Yiddish: אבּ שװארץ or אייב שווארץ) (1881 near Bucharest, Romania – 1963 in Bronx, New York City) was an American klezmer violinist, composer, Yiddish theater and ethnic recordings bandleader from the 1910s to t ...

, and

Joseph Moskowitz Joseph Moskowitz (, 1879 – June 1954) was an American cimbalom player, composer, restaurant owner and recording artist in New York City during the first half of the twentieth century. A descendant of a family of klezmer musicians, he was amo ...

, as well as Milu Lemisch in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Irving Gratz, who would later become the regular drummer for

Dave Tarras Dave Tarras (c. 1895 – February 13, 1989) was a Russian Empire, Ukrainian-born American klezmer clarinetist and bandleader, who was instrumental in the Klezmer revival. Biography Early life Tarras was born David Tarasiuk in Teplyk, Ukraine and ...

, got his start in Abe's band; Tarras himself also played in the band for a time. In the early 1920s he was advertising his services as a violinist and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

of A. Katzman's Orchestra. It was in December 1927 that he entered the

studio in New York to record the sides of klezmer dance and performance music for which he is remembered today, under the band name Abe Katzman's Bessarabian Orchestra. It seems probable that he was brought in to make the recordings because his nephew

was a well-known Brunswick Records recording artist and bandleader. Dave Tarras may have been the clarinetist on these recordings, although he is uncredited. Abe Katzman portrait from 1933 Kishinever Sick Benevolent Society booklet

Abe Katzman portrait from 1933 Kishinever Sick Benevolent Society booklet

By 1940 Abe was living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

with his wife, daughters and some other relatives. He died there of a stroke at age 72 at

Saint Vincent's Hospital Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers (also known as Saint Vincent's or SVCMC) was a healthcare system in New York City, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan. St. Vincent's was founded in 1849 and was a majo ...

on October 16, 1940. He was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

in the section of the landsmanshaft he cofounded.

Family

Abe married his wife Rebecca (Rivke, née Sugarman/Zuckermann), daughter of a businessman from Akkerman, Bessarabia (now

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (, ; ; ), historically known as Aq Kirmān () or by other names, is a port city in Odesa Oblast, southwestern Ukraine. It is situated on the right bank of the Dniester Estuary leading to the Black Sea, in the historical r ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) in 1894 in Chișinău. They had many children: Louis (born 1895 in Chișinău), Lillie (born 1897 in Chișinău), David (born 1899 in New York),

(born 1901), Sophie (born 1902), Ida (born 1904), George (born 1905), and Bessie (born 1908).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katzman, Abe Klezmer musicians Brunswick Records artists Musicians from Chișinău Bessarabian Jews 1868 births 1940 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States