Alex Hyde
{{short description|American jazz musician}}
File:Alex Hyde - Jul 1927 Variety.jpg]]
Alex Hyde (February 17, 1898 – July 7, 1956) was an American jazz bandleader and violinist.
Biography
Hyde was born in Hamburg, Germany, on February 17, 1898.{{Cite book|title=The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/artists/alex-hyde/biography/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426014111/http://www.mtv.com/artists/alex-hyde/biography/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 26, 2016|title=Alex Hyde Bio {{!}} Alex Hyde Career|website=MTV Artists|access-date=2016-04-19}} His family emigrated to the U.S in April 1898. He was tutored by a professional violinist.
He founded his own dance band, the Romance of Rhythm Orchestra, and played with them locally in New York City (1919–22) and throughout North America (1922–23). After World War I, Hyde visited Germany and entertained U.S. military personnel in the then-occupied Rhineland. The Romance of Rhythm Orchestra first recorded in 1923, and when touring Germany in 1924, they released material on Deutsche Grammophon. Among Hyde's soloists for these recordings are Howard McFarlane, pianist Walker O'Neill, and saxophonist Eddie Grosso. He recorded as a leader with a different band in 1924-25, also in Germany; Gene Sedric plays on some of these recordings.
Hyde met Michael Danzi in New York and Danzi joined Hyde's newly-formed Alex Hyde Orchestra.{{Cite web|url=http://www.centerforjazzarts.org/danzi_exhibition.html|title=Center for Jazz Arts {{!}} Featured Exhibition|website=www.centerforjazzarts.org|access-date=2016-04-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313062344/http://www.centerforjazzarts.org/danzi_exhibition.html|archive-date=2012-03-13|url-status=dead}}
Upon his return to the U.S., he ran his own talent agency, composed music for military bands in the Air Force, and did work in the studios in Hollywood. He also co-managed an insurance company with his brothers. One of his brothers was talent agent Johnny Hyde.
Hyde died on July 7, 1956, in Santa Monica, California.
References
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Further reading
Rainer E. Lotz, "Alex Hyde". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.{{Authority control}}
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Category:American jazz bandleaders
Category:American jazz violinists
Category:American male violinists
Category:20th-century American conductors (music)
Category:20th-century American violinists
Category:Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States