the alto saxophone at the age of 12. At 15, he was already a professional musician. Before he was 20, he'd discovered the music of Debussy and Stravinsky. At about the same time, he landed in New York City, where he was mentored by the legendary stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith.

Interlude In B-Flat

In 1936, just as swing was becoming a nationwide sensation, 26-year-old Artie Shaw formed his first band. It was made up of a jazz rhythm section, a string quartet and Shaw's clarinet. He'd been hired to play a short tune during a set change at a swing concert at New York's Imperial Theater. The piece he wrote for his unusual group, Interlude in B-Flat, created a sensation.

Shaw was invited to record the composition, but hewas forced to expand his ensemble to compete with the big swing bands. The group's unusual sound and instrumentation failed to catch on, and Shaw disbanded it. A month later, he was back with a more straightforward swing band, and in 1938, Artie Shaw and His Orchestra recorded his first big hit, Begin the Beguine. It became a staple of the Swing Era and established Shaw as a contender for Benny Goodman's crown. Like baseball fans, avid listeners argued over which of the two was better. The supposed rivalry was stoked by both the media and the musicians' publicists.

Like Goodman, Shaw integrated his band, which became one of the first white groups to tour with a black singer. She was Billie Holiday. The country wasn't ready, and Holiday