Marek Weber

Marek Weber (24 October 1888 – 9 February 1964) was a German violinist and bandleader.

Born in Lviv (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), Weber moved in 1906 to Berlin and studied at the Stern Conservatory.

At the age of twenty he founded his own orchestra. In 1914 he became resident bandleader at the prestigious Hotel Adlon. Beginning in the early 1920s he and his orchestra began to make recordings, first for the Carl Lindström Company (under the "Parlophon" label), and later for Deutsche Grammophon. In 1926 he moved to the newly formed Electrola, and remained with this label for the remainder of his career in Germany. During this period he was one of the foremost recording artists in Germany, on a par with Paul Godwin, Efim Schachmeister, Ben Berlin and Dajos Béla. Beginning in 1930 Weber occasionally scored films, but he remained chiefly associated with the nightlife of Berlin.

Weber's musical tastes were conservative, and during the early years his orchestra was known for playing Viennese waltzes, two-steps, and other subdued styles. He detested jazz and its anarchic tendencies. However, as a bandleader he had no choice but to incorporate modern styles into his program, and occasionally yield the floor to jazz solos and improvisational riffs, albeit under protest. Whenever his band launched into a jazz interlude, he would pointedly depart the conductor's podium and get a drink at the bar. Despite his personal distaste for the new style, his band included some of the strongest jazz talent in Germany, notably the trumpeters Arthur Briggs and Rolf Goldstein, the pianist Martin Roman, and the banjo player Mike Danzi. His singers included Leo Monosson and Austin Egen.

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