Leon Golzmann or as he was more commonly known, Dajos Béla (19 December 1897 – 5 December 1978), was a Russian jazz violinist and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly 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 ...

Career

Golzmann was born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, now part of Ukraine, to a Russian father and Hungarian mother. He served as a soldier during World War I, after which he studied music in Moscow. He then continued his studies in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he started playing in local venues. He was contacted by Carl Lindström AG to make recordings and started his own salon orchestra, at which period he changed his name to the more Hungarian-sounding Dajos Béla, Hungarian or Romanian music then being popular in Germany. Along with those of

Paul Godwin Paul Godwin (1902–1982) was a violinist and the leader of a popular German dance orchestra in the 1920s and 30s. Biography Paul Godwin (b. Pinchas Goldfein) was born on 28 March 1902 in Sosnowitz (Russian Empire; now Poland). Early recordin ...

and Marek Weber, his orchestra became one of the most popular in Germany and gained a high reputation abroad. He played a range of music, but for jazz music often recorded under different names, such as The Odeon Five, Mac’s Jazz Orchestra and the Clive Williams Jazzband. As soon as the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933 Béla, who was Jewish, started touring abroad. In 1935 he travelled to Buenos Aires, where he remained for the rest of his life. He died in

La Falda La Falda is a town in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, located from Córdoba and 800 km from Buenos Aires. It had about 15,000 inhabitants at the . La Falda lies at the foot of two small mountains (Cerro El Cuadrado and Cerro La Bande ...

, Argentina, in 1978. Among the many musicians who played with him or in his orchestra were the pianist and composer

Franz Grothe Franz Grothe (17 September 1908 – 12 September 1982) was a German composer, mainly for the cinema. His musicals were outstanding successes. He was required to be a member of the Nazi party (No. 2.580.427).Ernst Klee: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritt ...

, the jazz-musicians and Kurt Hohenberger, the singers

Rex Allen Rex Elvie Allen (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999), known as "the Arizona Cowboy", was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter; he was also the narrator of many Disney nature and Western productions. For his contribut ...

, Paul O'Montis and

Henri René Henri René (born Harold Manfred Kirchstein; December 29, 1906 – April 25, 1993), was an American musician who had an international career in the recording industry as a producer, composer, conductor and arranger. Early years Born in New York ...

, banjo-player Mike Danzi and accordionist

Will Glahé Will Glahé (February 12, 1902 – November 21, 1989) was a German accordionist, composer, and bandleader. Glahé was born at Elberfeld, Germany. In the 1930s, he was, along with Heinz Munsonius and Albert Vossen, one of the most successf ...

, composers

Wilhelm Grosz Wilhelm Grosz (11 August 1894 – 10 December 1939) (sometimes credited as Hugh Williams) was an Austrian composer, pianist, and conductor. Wilhelm Grosz was born in Vienna. He studied music with Richard Robert, Franz Schreker and Guido Adler. I ...

and , and actors

Marta Eggerth Marta Eggerth (17 April 1912 – 26 December 2013) was a Hungarian actress and singer from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar Str ...

and Max Hansen.

Select discography

* ''Waitin' For The Moon'' / ''Adieu, Mimi (Shimmy)'' (Odeon 0-1921), * ''Humming / Bummel-Petrus (Intermezzo)'' (Odeon A 71942), 1921 * ''Radio-Tango / Opern-Foxtrott in Potpourri-Form'' (Odeon 49039), 1925 * (as Kapelle Merton): ''Dinah / Sevilla'' (Beka B.6071), 1926 * ''Who ? ("Du ! Wann bist du bei mir ?") / Zwei rote Rosen, ein zarter Kuss'' (Odeon 0-2087), Januar 1927 * ''Heinzelmännchens Wachtparade / Dornröschens Brautfahrt'' (Odeon 0-2101), 1927 * ''Santa Lucia'' / ''Venezia'' (Odeon 0-2122), 1927 * ''Hund och Katt / Ref. sång'' (Odeon D-4948), 1929 * ''Kennst du das kleine Haus am Michigansee'' / ''Anna Aurora'' (Odeon D-4975), 1929 * (as Odeon-Tanz-Orchester und Gesang): ''In Sanssouci, dort wo die alte Mühle steht'' (Odeon O-11301), 1929 * (with Leo Frank (singer)): ''Im Rosengarten von Sanssouci'', 1930 In addition, he made around 70 records with the tenor

Richard Tauber Richard Tauber (16 May 1891 – 8 January 1948) was an Austrian tenor and film actor. Early life Richard Tauber was born in Linz, Austria, to Elisabeth Seifferth (née Denemy), a widow and an actress who played soubrette roles at the local theat ...

(1891-1948) as violin soloist or orchestra director.

Sources

* Lyman, Darryl. ''Great Jews in Music'', J. D. Publishers, 1986. * Sadie, Stanley. ''The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians'', Macmillan, 1980. * Wolfram Knauer (1986, Pb.): Jazz in Deutschland. Darmstädter Beiträge zur Jazzforschung 5. Hofheim : Wolke Verlag (in German)

References

External links

Center for Jazz Arts Exhibition
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bela, Dajos 1897 births 1978 deaths Musicians from Kyiv People from Kiev Governorate Ukrainian Jews Soviet expatriates in Germany Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Argentina 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century Ukrainian musicians Jewish composers Ukrainian composers