Louis Katzman

Louis Katzman (19 April 1890—13 November 1943) was an American cornetist, musician, bandleader, and arranger.

Known as one of the pioneer composers of jazz arrangements, he collaborated with many famed musicians of the time while working with Edison Records, M. Witmark & Sons, Vocalion, and Brunswick Records. He recorded under his own name and as part of studio orchestras (Anglo-Persians; Los Castilians; Louis Betancourt's Guatemala Marimba Band; Louis Katzman and His Kittens; Louis Katzman And His Orchestra; and Louis Katzman's Dance Orchestra.)

Louis Katzman was born in Chișinău, Moldova, on April 19, 1890. He was born into an influential music/entertainment family. His father, Philip Katzman played trumpet and violin in opera orchestras in Chișinău and Moscow. Noted Klezmer violinist, bandleader, and composer Abe Katzman was Louis' uncle. Abe was the father of film producer/director Sam Katzman.

Katzman and his family emigrated to the United States in 1907, settling in Manhattan, New York. He became a naturalized citizen in 1916.

Katzman began his professional music career in the early 1910s in New York, playing the cornet in Vaudeville and pit orchestras on and off Broadway. With time, he developed a reputation as a skilled music arranger and was hired by Edison Records in 1915, where he worked with many noted musicians, including Harry Yerkes' Jazarimba Orchestra ("What's This", 1919) and Sarah Bernhardt during her 1919 American tour.

From 1921 to 1923, Katzman worked as a part-time staff arranger for the music publisher M. Witmark & Sons. In 1922, he joined Vocalion Records. In December 1924, Vocalion was acquired by Brunswick Records, and Katzman became the musical director for Brunswick.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Katzman directed hundreds of recording sessions in New York under his own name and with studio orchestras. Under the pseudonym "The Badgers", Louis Katzman's Dance Orchestra recorded "Journey's End" (1922) and Gus Nager-Jimmy Brennan's composition of "When Will I Know" (1923). Later that decade, he recorded several Latin jazz/pop tracks as "Los Castilians" for Brunswick Records. In 1930, his group recorded as "Colonial Club Orchestra", the name of Brunswick's studio orchestra.

In those years, Katzman also worked for a variety of New York radio stations, including WEAF in 1922 and WINS from 1935 to 1941.

In 1931, he directed music for William A. O'Connor's romance drama Ten Nights in a Bar-Room starring William Farnum, Tom Santschi, Robert Frazer, Phyllis Barrington, and Rosemary Theby.

In 1934, Katzman cut thirty sides for Decca.

Over the years, Katzman helped shape the early career of several musicians including Frank Parker, Jessica Dragonette, Jan Pearce, and Howard Price. He also directed many leading musicians of the era such as Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Jimmy Dorsey.

Katzman orchestrated and directed music for many on and off-Broadway musicals.

• A la Carte (Aug 17, 1927 - Sep 24, 1927)
• Mercenary Mary (Apr 13, 1925 - Aug 08, 1925)
• The Cocoanuts (Dec 08, 1925 - Aug 07, 1926)
• The Cocoanuts (May 16, 1927 - May 28, 1927)
• White Lights (Oct 11, 1927 - Nov 05, 1927)
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 (Aug 16, 1927 - Jan 07, 1928)
• Nikki (Sep 29, 1931 - Oct 31, 1931)
• The Time, the Place and the Girl (Oct 21, 1942 - Oct 31, 1942)

Katzman's son Henry Manners Katzman (March 2, 1912—May 11, 2001) was a musician, composer, painter, and one of the founders of Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI).

Katzman died in New York on November 13, 1943, at age 53.