Abe Lyman

Abe Lyman, full name Abraham Simon Lymon, (* August 4, 1897 in Chicago, † October 23, 1957 in Beverly Hills ) was an American bandleader, percussionist and composer.

Lyman began as a drummer. He has played with fourteen years regularly at a coffee shop in Chicago and then in theaters and cinemas, but then moved to California around 1919. In Los Angeles he played in the nightclub of his brother Mike, who was popular with movie celebrities, to the studio bosses banned the visits. But his film contacts, for example to Gloria Swanson paid off. From 1922, he successfully led a band at the nightclub Cocoanut Grove of the famous Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, where they played until 1926. For the band included, among other things, the hot trumpeter Ray Lopez from New Orleans and the pianist Gus Arnheim, who founded his own band later. Lyman also made early ( 1923) recording with his dance orchestra for Brunswick. In 1925 Charlie Chaplin on with the band. They also played in 1930 film music in early sound films on ( among other things Merrie Melodies cartoons for Warner Brothers). In 1929, she toured Europe and appeared in London in the Kit Kat Club and palladium, and in Paris at the Moulin Rouge. Theme song of the band was California Here I Come. In 1933 he moved to New York City, where he played in popular radio shows such as Waltz Time at NBC, Accor Diana and later Your Hit Parade on CBS with his orchestra.

1937 and 1938 he won the Down Beat poll as a drummer in the category Sweet Music ( in the jazz magazine then ironically called corn ).

Except for Brunswick, he recorded for Decca and last for Bluebird. Around 1947 he moved with his wife Rose Blane ( formerly sang in his band ) from the light music in the insurance and later the restaurant industry.