Jacques Renard

American violinist, orchestra leader and songwriter of Russian origin. Born May 15th, 1897 in Kiev, Russian Empire, died January 30th, 1973 in Miami, Florida. After settling in the USA as a child, he was raised near Boston and learned to play violin. In the 1920s, he left the classical field to become an orchestra leader in Boston. In 1927, he started as leader of the orchestra in Boston's famous "Cocoanut Grove" nightclub, which he co-founded with Mickey Alpert. They gave up the club in 1931 due to financial reasons. (The club later became a victim to the flames in 1942 in one of the biggest American tragedies). In the 1930s, many recordings (mainly on Victor) and radio shows followed. Later, he moved to New York as director of CBS radio shows. He kept being busy in recording and performing for the rest of his life.