150 Years Ago Today: The Birth of Bohumir Kryl, Caruso of the Cornet

Born 150 years ago today, the remarkable Czech-American musician, bandmaster, composer, circus performer, sculptor, art collector, and banker Bohumir Kryl (1875-1961).

With his leonine mane and quirky conducting technique (no score, and no baton), combined with his widely admired abilities as a cornet player, Kryl had all the tools for stardom in his day. His records as both as a solo musician and a bandleader were major sellers during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was major competition for John Philip Sousa, whose band he briefly led and played with. His nickname was The Caruso of the Cornet. An instrument company even named a line of cornets after him.

Kryl was born and spent his earliest years in Bohemia, then part of Austria-Hungary. His father was a sculptor, and the boy learnt the art at his father’s knee. By age 10 he was studying violin as well. A job playing violin in a circus band in Prague led to him also picking up the coronet, and briefly performing as an acrobatic aerialist (this was with the Rentz Circus). An injury led to him focusing on the music. When he was 14 he emigrated to America, playing in the ship’s band to earn his passage over. In the States he initially worked as a sculptor in the midwest, working on a commission for General Lew Wallace, as well as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Indianapolis. At the same time, he began performing with a series of professional bands (including Sousa’s) throughout the ’90s and early into the next century, culminating with a starring engagement with the Duss Band, based at Madison Square Garden. He formed his own musical outfit in 1906.

Like James Reese Europe, Kryl served as a military bandmaster throughout World War One. After the Armistice he toured the Chautauqua Circuit for years. The touring and his recording career made Kryl a millionaire by the mid ’20s. In the ’30s he formed the Kryl Symphony Orchestra (of which Florian ZaBach was a member) as well as the Women’s Symphony Orchestra, which featured his two daughters. He kept these organizations going until the late 1940s.

Kryl never succumbed to the financial temptations of playing jazz, btw, but he still made a pile of dough. In his last decades he served on the boards of several banks and savings and loans and even became the President of the Berwyn National Bank of Berwyn Illinois. He had not ceased to be a lover of fine art either, and had an extensive collection of paintings at the time of his death.

For further exploration, I recommend the Archeophone Records release Bohumir Kryl: World Famous Wizard of the Cornet,which includes hits like “Carnival of Venice” and “King Carnival” (all his songs aren’t about carnivals, I just like those titles). In 2012 Wabash College presented an evening-length entertainment called The Bohumir Kryl Project, featuring music and narration, including a Brohumir impersonator! Learn about it here.

For more about show business historyconsult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.