Casper Reardon (April 15, 1907 – March 9, 1941) was an American classical and jazz harpist. He studied classical harp at the Curtis Institute of Music and went on to play for the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Later on, he played jazz. The harp had been used in dance music for occasional flourishes before Reardon, but he is considered a first for using harp as a jazz instrument for solos and performances. By 1936, he was described as the "World's Hottest Harpist". During the following year he played "Cousin Caspar" in the film, ''

You're a Sweetheart ''You're a Sweetheart'' is a 1937 American musical film directed by David Butler and starring Alice Faye, George Murphy and Ken Murray. The film was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures who loaned Alice Faye from 20th Century Fox to ...

''. In 1938, he played harp for the Broadway musical, ''

I Married an Angel ''I Married An Angel'' is a 1938 musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary, entitled ''Angyalt Vettem Felesegul''. The book was by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, with music by Rodge ...

''. As a jazz musician he can be heard on albums by

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 ...

and

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

. He recorded a handful of records for

Liberty Music Shop Records Liberty Music Shop Records was a record label formed in New York City in 1933. Its catalogue included Lee Wiley and Ethel Waters. At one time in the late 1930s, Liberty had three shops in New York City. They imported a number of records from the ...

and

Schirmer Records Schirmer Records was a United States based record label, active in the 1940s and 1950s. Schirmer released recordings of jazz, swing music, and classical music, by artists ranging from Eddie Condon to Rudolf Friml Charles Rudolf Friml

. He died in March 1941, in New York, at the age of 33 from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

References

External links

* AllMusic biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Reardon, Casper 1907 births 1941 deaths American classical harpists American jazz harpists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American musicians Jazz harpists