Artie Shaw

Arthur Jacob Arshawsky (May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004), commonly known by his stage name, Artie Shaw, was an American clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. Also an author, Shaw wrote both fiction and non-fiction writings.

Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led one of the United States' most popular big bands of the in the late 1930s through the early 1940s. Their signature song, a 1938 version of Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine", was a wildly successful single and one of the era's defining recordings. Musically restless, Shaw was also an early proponent of Third Stream, which blended classical and jazz, and recorded some small-group sessions that flirted with be-bop before retiring from music in 1954.