Arranged for Solo Bb Cornet & Wind Dectet for the Fanforones from Toronto in Canada, this is a real tour de force for any Cornet player wishing to show off his stuff!

Jules Levy was one of the most prominent cornet soloists of his day and wrote this polka to show off his triple-tongueing technique. Bill Geldard's arrangement captures the spirit of Levy's time allowing present-day soloists to show off their skills.

Born in London, England, he reportedly began his study of the cornet with only its mouthpiece; his family could not afford the instrument itself. After migrating to the United States, he began a significant musical career as a cornet soloist and was billed as "The World's Greatest Cornetist". He was widely regarded as a foremost player, although the claim of world's greatest has some challengers. He was a member of Patrick Gilmore's band for several years, performing with them at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. He was also a tester and promoter for C.G. Conn, a manufacturer of musical instruments.

Levy performed many pieces, among the most famous being "Una Voce" by Rossini, "Carnival of Venice", "Grand Russian Fantasia" and, his favorite, "Whirlwind Polka". He was arguably the first cornetist to be recorded, having participated in an early public demonstration of Thomas Edison's tinfoil phonograph. He later recorded commercially for Victor Records and Columbia Records.

His son, Jules Levy, Jr., was also an accomplished cornetist and trumpeter. He recorded from 1919 to 1932, often with groups led by Joseph Samuels. Levy was bigamously married to the actress Mary “Minnie” Conway in the 1870s. Their son, Frederick Conway Levy, was the popular stage and screen actor, Conway Tearle.

Jules Levy died at age 65 in Chicago, Illinois.

Here is another personality about whom could be written an entire book. Levy wished to play the cornet as young as five years old, but his father could not afford an instrument. At the age of twelve, Jules began practicing on a mouthpiece and finally purchased a cornet for fifteen shillings from a pawnshop at the age of seventeen. In 1856, he was performing with the Grenadier Guard Band, and in 1860, he was performing solos, for thirty shillings a week, between acts at the Princess Theatre in London. His favorite piece was the Whirlwind Polka, a piece written and performed by Levy specifically for the occasion. In 1861, Levy was performing with the Royal Opera House Orchestra for £5 per week. He was performing at the Crystal Palace and Floral Hall, as well. Between 1864 and 1876, Levy made concert tours all over Europe, giving concerts in America in 1866. In the summer of 1869, Levy returned to the United States and was featured with the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in New York City. Solos included a cavatina from Rossini’s Una Voce, a canzonetta from Meyerbeer’s Dinora, a romanza by Hugo-Pierson called Elle m’aimait tant, the Carnival of Venice, the Seventh Air by Hartmann, the Levyathon Polka (also known as Levy Athens Polka), and his favorite Whirlwind Polka. In 1871, he joined the Ninth Regiment Band. It is known that during this time period, Levy earned an incredible sum of $10,000 a year. After hearing a performance of Levy with the Ninth Regiment Band, the Grand Duke Alexis invited Levy to spend some time in Russia at his court. He took up the offer and stayed in Russia for twenty months. He was asked by the Czarevich to be the Chief Bandmaster of the Czar’s Russian Army and Imperial Cornetist (Bridges [1972], 58-59). He turned the offer down to return first to England to play at the London Promenade Concerts, and later to play at the Hippodrome in New York. The large salary offered at both venues was apparently a great incentive for Levy.

In 1876, Levy joined Henry Gilmore’s Band and played daily at the Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia. He also played a special arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner and Hail, Columbia as an encore for the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge on 24 May 1883. Even after he was removed from the stage, Levy, the ultimate showman, played Yankee Doodle off stage (Hazen and Hazen 1987, 4). Billed as the "World’s Greatest Cornet Player" by Gilmore, Levy was an extremely talented and virtuoso player, but had a rather inflated opinion about himself. James F. Boyer was drinking one day with Levy at Levy’s house in Elkhart, Indiana and asked him if he ever would consider running for President of the United States. Levy reportedly responded, "After four years I’d be kicked out of office. As it is, I am Jules Levy, the World’s Greatest Cornet Player, all the time" (Schwartz 1957, 112). Another story relates that when Fiske’s Band was in Boston, Arbuckle said, "Well, the two kings are in town today" to which Levy responded, "There is only one King, and that is I" (Bridges [1972]. This attitude continued to alienate his colleagues and shortly after the friction between Levy and Arbuckle reached a peak, Levy resigned from Gilmore’s Band. It appears, however, that Gilmore was equally responsible for the antagonism between the men. He pitted them against each other in performance duels and billed both men as great cornet players. It was a great publicity ploy, but caused both men unnecessary grief.

Levy was probably the first cornetist to work for Edison making test recordings as early as 1878, briefly leaving the Gilmore Band to do so. He also made at least fifteen recordings for Columbia , and twenty-three for Victor. Unfortunately, they were made in the 1890’s and did not truly reflect his virtuosic playing that was in his prime. Levy was such an incredible cornetist in his prime that he was given a diamond studded cornet built by the C. G. CONN company in 1883, the same year he began to endorse their instruments (Banks 1994, 20).

Levy founded the Levy American Military Band in 1892, a band which broke up in 1895. Levy performed as a soloist at a "Grand Negro Jubilee" in Madison Square Garden between 26 April 1892 and 29 April 1892. Another soloist for this concert was Madame Matilda Sissieretta Jones (1869-1933), the "Black Patti." The concert was such a success that it was repeated on 30 April 1892 at the Academy of Music (Eileen Southern, "Jones, M. Sissieretta ["Black Patti"] [née Matilda S. Joyner]," in BDAAM). It is unclear in BDAAM if the band was his own American Military Band. He then moved to Elkhart, Indiana to work for the C. G. CONN as a tester and taught cornet at the Conn Conservatory of Music. He had a disagreement with Mr. Conn and left to work for the Lyon Healy Band Instrument Company in Chicago, Illinois. He died shortly afterward. During his career, Levy had performed on a small bore COURTOIS (Schwartz 1957, 110), a DISTIN cornet (Hazen and Hazen 1987, 144), and on a CONN "New York Wonder Cornet" (C. G. Conn n.d., 10).

Testimonials of some of his many students attest to his great abilities not only as a cornetist, but also as a teacher. Two such testimonials stand out in the Supplement to C. G. Conn’s Truth (C. G. Conn n.d., 14). In one such testimonial, J. D. Rose says, "I wish to thank you for the interest you have taken in me and the advancement I have made under your instruction. I do not hesitate in pronouncing you [are] not only the finest cornet player in the world, but also the finest instructor." In another testimonial, Mabel Keith conveys her respect for Levy by saying, "His aim is for the advancement of his pupils and he spares no pains to accomplish this end."

Levy’s favorite programmed solos were of the Theme and Variation genre. Frequently performed solos were Carnival of Venice, Grand Russian Fantasia, Levyathon Polka, and his own Whirlwind Polka, made famous years earlier in his youth. This piece became what is known as a signature piece for Jules Levy. One of his most famous students became a famous bandleader and composer, Edwin Franko Goldman. His son, Jules Levy, Jr., was a fine cornetist, as well. He was a director in Hollywood, led his own brass quartet, and made records for Edison, Emerson, and Pathé. Apparently, his recordings were far more accurate than his father’s recordings, and demonstrated great tonguing technique (Noble 1964, 23), once a trademark of his own father in his prime. Sources of information appear throughout this entry.