Carmen Cavallaro

"The Poet of the Piano," Carmen Cavallaro was born May 6, 1913 in New York City; though a classically-trained performer, in time he expanded into pop arrangements in the mode of his chief inspiration, Eddy Duchin. After a four-year stint as the featured soloist with bandleader Al Kavelin, in 1937 Cavallaro moved on to a series of other society big bands, including those helmed by Abe Lyman, Enric Madriguera, and Meyer Davis; in the early 1940s, he began leading his own groups, making his name on the hotel circuit and on radio. Settling in Hollywood in 1944, he appeared in film...