Shaw, Artie

orig. Arthur Jacob Arshawsky

born May 23, 1910, New York, N.Y., U.S.

died Dec. 30, 2004, Newbury Park, Calif.

U.S. clarinetist and leader of one of the most popular big bands of the swing era.

Shaw was a technically brilliant clarinetist and worked freelance before leading his own groups. In 1935 he performed with a string quartet, later expanding the group into a more conventional dance band. He led a U.S. Navy band during World War II and afterward led various ensembles until his retirement in 1954. His best-known recordings are "Begin the Beguine" and "Frenesi."

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▪ 2005

Arthur Jacob Arshawsky 

      American clarinetist and bandleader (b. May 23, 1910, New York, N.Y.—d. Dec. 30, 2004, Newbury Park, Calif.), played soaring melodic solos and created many of the Swing era's most popular records, yet he remained ambivalent about playing music all his life. A “compulsive perfectionist,” as he called himself, he led a series of big bands, some of which were expanded to include string sections, before disbanding each, usually after a short time. He was among the first white bandleaders to hire black musicians; those he hired included singer Billie Holiday and trumpeters “Hot Lips” Page and Roy Eldridge. Shaw's airy rendition of “Begin the Beguine” (1938) was the first in a series of big band hits that, for a time, eclipsed those of clarinetist and rival Benny Goodman. At the peak of his fame in 1939, Shaw abandoned music to live in Mexico. Returning to the U.S. in 1940, he formed a band that played new favourites, such as “Frenesi” and his classic version of “Stardust,” and that included his band-within-a-band, the Gramercy Five, which recorded the hit “Summit Ridge Drive.” Shaw led a U.S. Navy band in the Pacific war zone during 1943–44. He then formed various ensembles, from big dance bands to a classical-music-oriented unit to small combos, before he retired from playing altogether in 1954. Shaw, who had a mercurial personality, was harshly critical of himself and of the music business. He was married eight times—actresses Lana Turner and Ava Gardner were his most famous wives—and he was a farmer, a theatre producer, and an author of autobiography (The Trouble with Cinderella [1952]) and fiction (including the collection of stories I Love You, I Hate You, Drop Dead! [1965]). In the mid-1980s he was persuaded to conduct an Artie Shaw revival band for a time, but he did not play his clarinet again.

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▪ American musician

byname of  Arthur Jacob Arshawsky  

born May 23, 1910, New York, New York, U.S.

died December 30, 2004, Newbury Park, California

 American clarinetist and popular bandleader of the 1930s and '40s. He was one of the few outstanding jazz musicians whose commitment to jazz was uncertain.

      Shaw began playing in high school and turned professional in 1925. The first signs of indecision became apparent in the early 1930s, when he retired from music for a year. In 1935, at a New York swing concert, he played one of his own compositions accompanied by a string quartet. A jazz and dance band with a string section followed, but in 1937 he re-formed his band along more conventional lines and a year later became internationally known through his recording of Cole Porter (Porter, Cole)'s "Begin the Beguine." A string of hits followed, and Shaw's popularity came to rival that of clarinetist Benny Goodman (Goodman, Benny), the “King of Swing.” By this time Shaw had become known for his mercurial behaviour and perfectionism. He was harshly critical of himself and of the music business.

      From 1939 Shaw lived alternately in Mexico and the United States, experimenting occasionally with small jazz combos that he called the Gramercy Five regardless of membership. While several public comebacks followed, including leadership of a U.S. Navy orchestra (1943–44), he dissociated himself from jazz almost totally after 1954 and did not play the clarinet again, although in 1983 he led a re-formed Artie Shaw Orchestra. He later worked as a farmer, theatre producer, and author. Among his writings are the three short novels collected in I Love You, I Hate You, Drop Dead! (1965) and the revealing autobiography The Trouble with Cinderella (1952). Shaw was married eight times, and actresses Lana Turner (Turner, Lana) and Ava Gardner (Gardner, Ava) were his most famous wives.

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