Born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky in New York on May 23rd 1910, Artie Shaw was one of the most successful bandleaders and most highly-regarded musicians of his era, but was a remarkable personality whose which spilled over into movies and fiction writing. Growing up in New Haven Connecticut, he began learning the saxophone when he was 13 and by the time he was 16 had taken up the clarinet and was touring with bands. Back in new York in the klate 20s, he played with numerous bands over the next decade, forming his own outfit around 1936. He established himself with landmark hits like "Begin The Beguine" in 1938, and was ubiquitous on radio in the late '30s, and at the height of his popularity his band was the highest paid in the business. He was a great innovator, introducing imaginative techniques into the big band and swing idioms, and hiring top flight musicians and singers - he hired Billie Holiday in 1938 - the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black vocalist. He embraced classical styling by adding strings, and later incorporated the early techniques of bebop. He served in the forces during WWII, forming a band to entertain troops in the Pacific, and afetr the war formed a small group called the Gramercy Five. He had appeared in several movies during the '40s, and also during the '50s turned to writing novels, as his perfectionism led him to turn away from playing clarinet - he effectively retired in the mid-50s, returning in the '80s however to form a new Artie Shaw Band. In his later years, he was featured in several documentaries examining his life and music. He died in 2004 at the age of 94. Acrobat has on catalogue an album of some of his recordings - for details click here.