Birth name Henry Jerome Pasnik Role Composer Name Henry Jerome | Years active 1932–1986 Instruments Trumpet | |
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Also known as Al MortimerVan Grayson Born December 17, 1917New York City ( 1917-12-17 ) Genres Sweet dance music, big band Occupation(s) Bandleader, Musician, Arranger, Composer Albums Brazen Brass, Metais em Brasa Vol 2 Awards Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album Similar People Bobbi Martin, Paul Burlison, Dorsey Burnette, Dean Martin, Johnny Burnette | ||
Henry Jerome - Monday Monday
Henry Jerome (né Henry Jerome Pasnik; November 12, 1917 in New York City – March 23, 2011 in Plantation, Florida) was an American big band leader, trumpeter, arranger, composer, and record company executive. Jerome formed his first dance band in 1932 in Norwich, Connecticut. His bands flourished throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. Jerome went on to become A&R director at Decca Records in 1959 and A&R director for Coral Records, a Decca subsidiary, in the late 1960s.
Contents
- Henry Jerome Monday Monday
- Henry jerome the peanut vendor
- Formal education
- Career
- Selected compositions
- Pseudonyms
- Notable members of Henry Jeromes Orchestra
- Selected discography
- Henry Jerome and His Orchestra
- Affiliations
- References
Henry jerome the peanut vendor
Formal education
Jerome attended primary and secondary schools in Norwich, public for the former and Norwich Free Academy for the latter. He also attended the Juilliard School of Music, studying trumpet with Max Schlossberg (1873–1936) and composition and orchestration with William Vacchiano.
Career
Jerome formed his first professional orchestra while in the eighth grade — in 1931, when he was 14.
While in high school Jerome received an offer from the American Export Lines for his orchestra to perform on a ship sailing from New York to Europe. Without quitting school, Jerome secured permission from the Norwich Free Academy to accept the job.
In addition to performing aboard passenger ships, Henry Jerome and His Orchestra performed at clubs, hotels, ballrooms, and theaters throughout the United States, and began performing on radio and TV in 1940.
On February 28, 1948, Henry Jerome and His Orchestra were booked at the Green Room of the Hotel Edison, in New York, to fill a 9-day gap between Claudia Carroll's closing and Alvy West–Buddy Greco's opening on March 26. From then on, Henry Jerome and His Orchestra performed regularly there. In 1952, ABC Radio Network began broadcasting the show, weekly, calling it, Dinner At The Green Room. Songs such as "Homing Pigeon", "I Love My Mama", "Nice People", "Night Is Gone", "Until Six", and "Oh, How I Need You, Joe" became staples of East Coast airwaves. According to a review in the December 11, 1948, issue of Billboard, Jerome had perfected the style of Hal Kemp, a more mellow, soft, and sweet style that suited many hotels. The Billboard reporter, Hal Webman (1923–2004), went on to become an A&R executive with Jerome's future employer, Decca.
Jerome was A&R director at Coral Records, Decca Records, and MCA Records from 1959 to 1968. He became A&R director of United Artists Records from 1968 to 1970. In 1971, he became president of Green Menu Music Factory, collaborating with Kim Gannon, Leonard Whitcup, Bobbi Martin, Norman Simon, Angelo Musulino.
Selected compositions
Pseudonyms
Henry Jerome used two pseudonyms: Van Grayson and Al Mortimer, both published as co-composer as a way of getting a royalty cut for musicians that he put on salary.
Notable members of Henry Jerome's Orchestra
Selected discography
In the early 1960s, Henry Jerome and His Orchestra recorded eleven albums under the name, "Brazen Brass", from which four singles reached the top 10, worldwide — Jerome conceived the idea and Dick Jacobs did the arrangements. Some music historians attribute Jerome's inspiration for Brazen Brass to Billy May's Big Fat Brass album that won a 1959 Grammy, for Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist with Orchestra.