(March 28th 1890 - December 29th 1967)

Born Paul Samuel Whiteman in Denver, Colorado his mother was an opera singer and his father was the music supervisor for local schools. At his father's instance he learned to play the viola and in 1907 was chosen to perform with the "Denver Symphony Orchestra" followed by the "San Francisco Symphony Orchestra" in 1914. From 1917 to 1918 Paul Whiteman conducted a forty-piece Navy band before forming his renowned "Paul Whiteman Orchestra" after the war. In 1920 Whiteman relocated his band to New York City where they began recording for the Victor label and rapidly became famous nationwide. Praised as "The King of Jazz" by media of the day, Whiteman attempted to capture the best of improvised jazz in a solid unwavering orchestration.