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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZAARONSON, Irving(b 7 Feb, 1895, NYC; d 10 March 1963, Hollywood CA) Pianist, songwriter, bandleader. He played piano in a theatre at age eleven, formed a group called The Versatile Sextet, then a band called the Crusaders, and made obsolescent vertical-cut 78s at its first recording session for the Edison label in 1926. The name was changed to the Commanders, label to Victor the same year, and later on Columbia until 1935. The band played theatres and vaudeville with arrangements by Chummy MacGregor (later pianist for Glenn Miller); Aaronson also employed Artie Shaw, Claude Thornhill, Gene Krupa, Tony Pastor, and was later a director of music at MGM. |