Abe Katzman

Abraham Katzman (1868–1940, ) was an American Klezmer violinist, bandleader, composer, and Brunswick Records recording artist of the 1920s. He was the father of film producer Sam Katzman, uncle of American arranger and bandleader Louis Katzman and the great-uncle of Henry Katzman and Leonard Katzman.

Biography Early life Abe was born Abram-Aba Katsman in 1868 in Chișinău (then known as Kishinev), Bessarabia Governorate, Russian Empire. His father was Chaim Katzman and his mother was named Sura Bayla (née Goldman). Abe emigrated to New York City in October 1897.

Music career In his early years, he worked as a violin teacher and lived in Manhattan. Irving Gratz, who would later become the regular drummer for Dave Tarras, got his start in Abe's band; Tarras himself also played in the band for a time.

In the early 1920s he was advertising his services as a violinist and conductor of A. Katzman's Orchestra. It seems probable that he was brought in to make the recordings because his nephew Louis Katzman was a well-known Brunswick Records recording artist and bandleader. He died there of a stroke at age 72 at Saint Vincent's Hospital on October 16, 1940. He was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Queens in the section of the landsmanshaft he cofounded. Family Abe married his wife Rebecca (Rivke, née Sugarman/Zuckermann), daughter of a businessman from Akkerman, Bessarabia (now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine) in 1894 in Chișinău. They had many children: Louis (born 1895 in Chișinău), Lillie (born 1897 in Chișinău), David (born 1899 in New York), Sam Katzman (born 1901), Sophie (born 1902), Ida (born 1904), George (born 1905), and Bessie (born 1908).