Eugene Kardos (June 12, 1899 – July 27, 1980) was the leader of a jazz and dance orchestra in the 1930s. He recorded for

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

in 1931–32 and then recorded for ARC's labels (Perfect, Melotone, Banner, Oriole, Romeo, Vocalion etc.) through 1938. Born in Yorkville, New York, of Hungarian heritage, Kardos learned to play the violin and saxophone and worked in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

pit orchestras until organizing his first band around 1930. A New York

territory band Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, six or seven n ...

, its usual home base was the Gloria Palast, a German-American ballroom and café on East 86th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood. Due to the location of AFM Local 802 headquarters nearby, many music professionals caught Kardos's band. Among his musicians were

Hymie Schertzer Herman "Hymie" Shertzer or Schertzer (April 22, 1909 – March 22, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, best known for his long-term association with Benny Goodman. Shertzer was born in New York City, United States, began playing violi ...

(sax),

Vic Schoen Victor Schoen (March 26, 1916 – January 5, 2000) was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000. He furnished music for some of the most successful persons in show business inclu ...

(trumpet, arranger), Joel Shaw (piano), and Bernie Green (arranger-composer). There were a sizable group of Kardos recordings issued on

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

under Shaw's name and various ARC recordings under names such as Gene's Merrymakers,

Art Kahn Art Kahn was an American jazz musician, composer, and bandleader in Chicago during the 1920s. In later years, he sang and played piano as a solo act at the Torch Club in Chicago. The Art Kahn Orchestra recorded "Hello, Baby" with singer Ruth Ettin ...

, and Bob Causer. From the mid-1930s, Kardos' style changed more to a hotel dance band style. Dick Robertson and

Bea Wain Beatrice Ruth Wain (April 30, 1917 – August 19, 2017) was an American Big Band-era singer and radio personality born in the Bronx, New York City. She had several hits with Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, including "My Reverie", "Deep Purple" ...

were vocalists on many of his recordings. Disbanding in 1939, Kardos married and took employment with the postal service in New York City by day, while leading a small café-style band evenings at Zimmerman's Hungaria, a popular restaurant in Yorkville. His run there continued into the 1950s.

References

* The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz (1900–1950) by Roger D. Kinkle (Arlington House Publishers, 1974) * The American Dance Band Discography 1917-1942 by Brian Rust (Arlington House Publishers, 1975) * "Gene Kardos and His Orchestra", liner notes to Parklane Records LP PL100 (1985) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kardos, Gene 1899 births 1980 deaths American jazz bandleaders 20th-century American conductors (music) People from Yorkville, Manhattan Jazz musicians from New York (state)