Photo: Leo Reisman management / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
I have a soft spot for musicians who are living witnesses to an era, and Leo Reisman is exactly that. Leading dance bands through the 1920s and 30s, he was a soundtrack to the Jazz Age itself. What I love is his origin story: a Boston kid who idolized Jascha Heifetz and trained as a classical violinist, only to be rejected by the Boston Symphony. Rather than sulk, he simply built his own orchestra in 1919. That refusal to be defined by one closed door, and his pivot into popular music when radio and records were brand new, makes him a small but telling figure in how American popular sound took shape.
Overview
Leo F. Reisman (October 11, 1897 – December 18, 1961) was an American violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s. Born and reared in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Inspired by the Russian-American violinist Jascha Heifetz, Reisman studied violin as a young man. After being rejected by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he formed his own band in 1919.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Leo Reisman
- Name (Japanese)
- レオ・レイズマン
- Reading
- れお・れいずまん
- Born
- October 11, 1897 – December 18, 1961
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rooster
- Origin
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- bandleader / violinist / conductor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Bandleader — see all → · Violinist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.