Jerry Wald And His Orchestra

American clarinetist and bandleader (born January 15, 1918 in Newark, New Jersey, died September 1973 in Las Vegas, Nevada) Wald led his own big bands from the 1940s to the 1950s. He recorded for Decca, Majestic, and Columbia, but never made it really big. In the early 1940s, he appeared with his orchestras in New York and Chicago. In the late 1940s, he was based in Hollywood, returning to New York in 1952. Wald's admiration for Artie Shaw not only brought similarities in style and sound, but also led to the hiring of many former musicians from Shaw's orchestra, including Bernie Privin, Les Robinson, Sid Weiss, singer Anita Boyer, arrangers Ray Conniff, Bill Challis and Jerry Gray. Other artists who worked with Wald's orchestra at various times include Nelson Riddle, Ray Sims, Les Elgart, Bobby Dukoff, Al Cohn, Bill Perkins, Lee Konitz, Al Haig, Billy Bauer, Art Ryerson, Irving Cottler, and Manny Albam. Wald's orchestra first recorded for Decca in 1942; others Decca records followed. In 1946, Columbia Pictures produced a short music film with Wald's orchestra. In 1952, Wald recorded for Decca with Chris Connor. Two later albums by Wald, "Top Pops - Jerry Wald & His Orchestra" (MGM / Lion, 1953) and the 1955 Kapp Records LP "Listen to the Music of Jerry Wald," feature the young pianist Bill Evans at the start of Evans' career.