John Jean Goldkette (18 March, 1893–March 24, 1962) was a
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
pianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
and
bandleaderA bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
born in Patras, Greece. Goldkette spent his childhood in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
and
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and emigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1911.
He led many jazz and dance bands, of which the best known was his
Victor Recording OrchestraThe Victor Recording Orchestra was a jazz band led by Jean Goldkette. Founded in 1924, it was considered by Rex Stewart to be the best dance band of its day and the "first original white swing band." It was known for its innovative arrangements and strong rhythm.Among its members were:* Bix...
of 1924 – 1929, which included, at various times,
Bix BeiderbeckeLeon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the two most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. His turns on "Singin' the Blues" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" , in particular, demonstrated an unusual purity...
,
Hoagy CarmichaelHoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust" , "Georgia On My Mind," and "Heart and Soul", three of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the American popular song,...
,
Chauncey MorehouseChauncey Morehouse was an American jazz drummer.Chauncey Morehouse was born in Niagara Falls, NY in 1902. He was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he played drums from a very early age. He also played piano and banjo too. As a high schooler, he led a group called the Versatile Five...
,
Jimmy DorseyJames "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...
,
Tommy DorseyThomas Francis Dorsey was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing".. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey.". His lyrical trombone style became one of the signature sounds of his band...
,
Bill RankBill Rank was an American jazz trombonist born in Lafayette, Indiana, most notable for his work in the Jean Goldkette orchestra of the late 1920s alongside Bix Beiderbecke in small groups and with Paul Whiteman until 1938...
,
Eddie LangEddie Lang was an American Jazz guitarist, regarded as the most important Chicago jazz guitarist and the Father of the Jazz Guitar...
,
Frankie TrumbauerFrankie "Tram" Trumbauer was one of the leading jazz saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s. He played C-melody saxophone, which in size is between an alto and tenor saxophone. He also played alto saxophone. He was also a composer and was one of the major jazz bandleaders of the 1920s and 1930s...
,
Pee Wee RussellCharles Ellsworth Russell, much better known by his nickname Pee Wee Russell, was a jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but eventually focused solely on clarinet...
,
Steve BrownSteve Brown was a jazz musician best known for his work on string bass. Like many of his fellow New Orleans, Louisiana bassists, he played both string bass and tuba professionally, as the two instruments fill similar roles in different types of bands.Brown was the younger brother of trombonist...
, Doc Ryker and Joe Venuti, among others. Vocalists included the
Keller Sisters and LynchThe Keller Sisters and Lynch were a United States pop music group of singers of the 1920s and 1930s.The group consisted of Annie Catherine "Nan" Keller , Kathryne Ann "Taddy" Keller , and Frank Lynch...
.
John Jean Goldkette (18 March, 1893–March 24, 1962) was a
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
pianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
and
bandleaderA bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
born in Patras, Greece. Goldkette spent his childhood in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
and
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and emigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1911.
He led many jazz and dance bands, of which the best known was his
Victor Recording OrchestraThe Victor Recording Orchestra was a jazz band led by Jean Goldkette. Founded in 1924, it was considered by Rex Stewart to be the best dance band of its day and the "first original white swing band." It was known for its innovative arrangements and strong rhythm.Among its members were:* Bix...
of 1924 – 1929, which included, at various times,
Bix BeiderbeckeLeon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the two most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. His turns on "Singin' the Blues" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" , in particular, demonstrated an unusual purity...
,
Hoagy CarmichaelHoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust" , "Georgia On My Mind," and "Heart and Soul", three of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the American popular song,...
,
Chauncey MorehouseChauncey Morehouse was an American jazz drummer.Chauncey Morehouse was born in Niagara Falls, NY in 1902. He was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he played drums from a very early age. He also played piano and banjo too. As a high schooler, he led a group called the Versatile Five...
,
Jimmy DorseyJames "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...
,
Tommy DorseyThomas Francis Dorsey was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing".. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey.". His lyrical trombone style became one of the signature sounds of his band...
,
Bill RankBill Rank was an American jazz trombonist born in Lafayette, Indiana, most notable for his work in the Jean Goldkette orchestra of the late 1920s alongside Bix Beiderbecke in small groups and with Paul Whiteman until 1938...
,
Eddie LangEddie Lang was an American Jazz guitarist, regarded as the most important Chicago jazz guitarist and the Father of the Jazz Guitar...
,
Frankie TrumbauerFrankie "Tram" Trumbauer was one of the leading jazz saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s. He played C-melody saxophone, which in size is between an alto and tenor saxophone. He also played alto saxophone. He was also a composer and was one of the major jazz bandleaders of the 1920s and 1930s...
,
Pee Wee RussellCharles Ellsworth Russell, much better known by his nickname Pee Wee Russell, was a jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but eventually focused solely on clarinet...
,
Steve BrownSteve Brown was a jazz musician best known for his work on string bass. Like many of his fellow New Orleans, Louisiana bassists, he played both string bass and tuba professionally, as the two instruments fill similar roles in different types of bands.Brown was the younger brother of trombonist...
, Doc Ryker and Joe Venuti, among others. Vocalists included the
Keller Sisters and LynchThe Keller Sisters and Lynch were a United States pop music group of singers of the 1920s and 1930s.The group consisted of Annie Catherine "Nan" Keller , Kathryne Ann "Taddy" Keller , and Frank Lynch...
. In his
Jazz Masters of the Thirties,
Rex StewartRex Stewart was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra....
, a member of
Fletcher HendersonFletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson.-Biography:...
's band at the time, writes that the Goldkette band's innovative arrangements and strong rhythm made it the best dance band of its day and "the first original white swing band in jazz history." Jean was also the Music Director for the Detroit Athletic Club for over 20 years, and was also co-owner of the legendary Graystone Ballroom with Charles Horvath, who also performed with the Goldkette Victor Band in its early years. Jean owned his own entertainment company called "Jean Goldkette's Orchestras and Attractions," and worked out of the still-standing Book-Cadillac Hotel in Detroit. He co-wrote the song "It's the Blues (No. 14 Blues)" which was recorded in Detroit, Michigan and released on Victor.
In 1927,
Paul WhitemanPaul Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and he was dubbed the "King of Jazz." In 1924, Whiteman commissioned and debuted George Gershwin's...
, the controversially self-proclaimed "King of Jazz," hired away most of Goldkette's better players due to Goldkette not being able to meet the payroll for his top-notch musicians. Goldkette later helped organize
McKinney's Cotton PickersMcKinney's Cotton Pickers were an American jazz band founded in Detroit in 1926 by William McKinney, who expanded his Synco Septet to ten pieces. Cuba Austin took over for McKinney early on drums....
and
Glen GrayGlen Gray Knoblauch, better known as Glen Gray, was a jazz saxophonist and leader of the Casa Loma Orchestra....
's Orange Blossoms, which became famous as the
Casa Loma OrchestraThe Casa Loma Orchestra was an American swing band active from 1927 to 1963. It did not tour after 1950 but continued to record as a studio group....
. In the 1930s he left jazz to work as a booking agent and classical pianist. In the mid 30's, Jean filed for bankruptcy, showing over $200,000 in debts, and only $.40 in assets.
In 1939, he organized the
American Symphony OrchestraThe American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski, then aged 80. Following Maestro Stokowski's departure, Kazuyoshi Akiyama was appointed Music Director of the American Symphony Orchestra from 1973-1978. Music Directors during the early...
which debuted at
Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, and also married for the first time, to a lady named Lee McQuillen from New York City.
Frankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
worked as Goldkette's librarian, and also lived with Jean and Lee in their hotel while in New York.
He moved to
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
in 1961, and the following year died in
Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the west coast, between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the sea, and having a Mediterranean climate, it is called California's...
, of a heart attack. He took a taxi to the hospital by himself, and died that same day. He is buried in the Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California, along with other members of the Goldkette family.
External links