Bohumir Kryl
| Bohumir Kryl | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
May 2, 1875 Hořice, Bohemia, Czech Republic |
| Died | August 7, 1961 (aged 86) Wilmington, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Concert band |
| Occupation(s) | Soloist, bandleader, sculptor, financial executive |
| Instruments | Cornet |
| Years active | 1890s – 1950s |
| Labels | Columbia, Edison, Pathe, Victor |
| Associated acts | John Philip Sousa |
Bohumir Kryl (1875–1961) was a Czech-American financial executive and art collector who is most famous as a cornetist, bandleader, and pioneer recording artist, for both his solo work and as a leader of popular and Bohemian bands. He was one of the major creative figures in the era of American music known as the "Golden Age of the Bands".
Bohumir Kryl (originally Bohumír Kryl, and sometimes spelled in the United States as Bohumil) was born in Hořice, Bohemia, near Prague, on 2 May 1875. His first instrument was the violin, which he studied at age 10. While attending school in Hořice he was classmates with Jan Kubelík, with whom he maintained correspondence. He spent time performing both the violin and the cornet for a circus band in Prague. He also performed as an aerialist acrobat with the Rentz Circus in Germany, but an accident in 1886 ended this line of work. His father was a sculptor, and Bohumir also studied this art. He emigrated to the United States in 1889, paying the fare in part by performing with the ship’s orchestra. Moving to Chicago, English sculptor H.R. Saunders furthered his profession in that area. Bohumir followed Saunders to Indianapolis and was soon employed, along with his brother, as a sculptor by General Lew Wallace and also working on the Soldiers’ and Sailors' Monument. Simultaneously he joined the When Clothing Company Band, playing the cornet and soloing on this instrument. Before long he was hired by John Philip Sousa, but was fired in 1898 by Sousa because he copied some of the band's music for his own personal use. He then joined Thomas Preston Brooke’s Chicago Marine Band, where he spent the next two years. During this time he studied with Weldon of Chicago’s Second Regiment Band. In 1901 he spent some time with Phinney's United States Band, but he joined the Duss Band permanently that year. This group was based at Madison Square Garden, at $800 per-month and became its assistant conductor in 1903. This band, led by Frederick Innes, was not as well known, but he was hired as soloist, and the heavy touring schedule and two solos per concert gained him wide exposure. His solos would result in requests for multiple encores. Studying bandleaders Creatore and Vessela, he adopted a wild 'lionesque' hairstyle that became his trademark. He became acquainted with Joseph Jiran, who owned a Czechoslovakian music store in Chicago. With Jiran’s encouragement, he formed his own band in 1906 styled as Kryl’s Bohemian Band by 1910 with the Cimera brothers. This group worked for Columbia, Victor, and Zonophone, recording works by such composers as Smetana, Dvorak, and Safranek. He earned the distinction of the first Czech musician to record on phonograph cylinders.
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