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Reinhold Heil
Reinhold Heil
German-born musician and film and television composer based in Los Angeles
1
Bill Ramsey
Bill Ramsey
German-American Jazz- and Schlager singer, Journalist and actor
2
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Belgian-born Romani French jazz guitarist and composer
3
Eddie Rosner
Eddie Rosner
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4
Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
American clarinetist, composer, and bandleader
5
Stefan Weintraub
Stefan Weintraub
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6
Herb Geller
Herb Geller
American saxophonist (1928-2013)
7
Lew Stone
Lew Stone
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8
Kamil Běhounek
Kamil Běhounek
Czech accordionist and composer
9
Albert Ammons
Albert Ammons
American jazz pianist, recording artist
10
Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
American jazz singer and bandleader (1907-1994)
11
Chet Baker
Chet Baker
American jazz trumpeter and vocalist (1929-1988)
12
Joe Bushkin
Joe Bushkin
American jazz pianist, songwriter
13
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets
American rock and roll band
14
Helmut Brandt
Helmut Brandt
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15
Roger Cicero
Roger Cicero
German pop and jazz singer
16
Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke
American jazz drummer
17
Butch Ballard
Butch Ballard
American jazz drummer
18
Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan
American jazz baritone saxophonist, arranger and composer
19
Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
American jazz pianist and composer
20
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton
British band leader and impresario
21
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
German-American actress and singer (1901-1992)
22
Lester Young
Lester Young
American jazz tenor saxophonist and sometimes clarinetist
23
Don Ellis
Don Ellis
American jazz musician
24
Edmond Hall
Edmond Hall
American jazz clarinetist
25
Nico
Nico
German musician, model and actress, one of Warhol's superstars
26
Erskine Hawkins
Erskine Hawkins
American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama
27
Milt Hinton
Milt Hinton
American musician and photographer
28
Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman
German film composer (1906-1967)
29
Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy
American jazz musician
30
Fred Elizalde
Fred Elizalde
Filipino musician
31
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
German poet, playwright, theatre director (1898-1956)
32
Willy Berking
Willy Berking
German composer and conductor
33
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
German-born American composer (1895–1963)
34
Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
American trumpeter
35
Count Basie
Count Basie
American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer (1904-1984)
36
Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
American lyricist, songwriter, singer and music professional
37
Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
American big band musician, arranger, composer and bandleader (1904-1944)
38
Michel Warlop
Michel Warlop
French classical and jazz violinist
39
Maxine Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan
American blues and jazz singer (1911-1987)
40
Don Byas
Don Byas
American musician
41
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
American jazz drummer
42
Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
English singer-songwriter
43
Andy Richards
Andy Richards
British record producer
44
Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
American jazz musician, band leader
45
Ernie Freeman
Ernie Freeman
American musician
46
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli
French jazz violinist
47
Chris Barber
Chris Barber
English trombonist
48
Chick Corea
Chick Corea
American jazz and fusion pianist, keyboardist, and composer
49
Peter Kreuder
Peter Kreuder
German musician
50
Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
American big band leader and musician
51
Sky
Sky
British/Australian instrumental group
52
Jack Cooper
Jack Cooper
American composer, arranger, orchestrator, multireedist, and music educator.
Kurt Widmann
German musician

Kurt Widmann

Intro
German musician
Music

Kurt "Kutte" Widman (2 March 1906 – 27 November 1954) was a German bandleader and jazz musician.

Widmann started out on drums, then later learned to play accordion and trombone. He was playing locally by 1924, and led a quintet at the Hotel Imperator in Berlin in 1933 which played swing jazz; Hans Berry [de] was one of his sidemen. He directed his own dance orchestra from 1938 to 1942, which frequently appeared at the Haus Vaterland. He recorded in 1938–1939, including under various pseudonyms such as Billy Blackmoore, John Weepster, and John Webb. Once war began with England, censorship forbade these names, but the band was allowed to continue performing, including at events for German troops. Widmann was drafted to the Wehrmacht during the war but was released in 1944 due to health reasons. He continued playing events in Germany even as Allied troops began invading, playing cinema houses in between films.

After the war, Widmann formed a new band which played during the American occupation, sometimes using older arrangements from the war period, but also employing Berlin-based arranger Walter Jenson [de]. He recorded again in the late 1940s, and died of a stroke in 1954. The 1955 film Music in the Blood, directed by Erik Ode, is based on his life with Viktor de Kowa in the lead role.