ADLER, LARRY

ADLER, LARRY (1914–2001), harmonica (mouth organ) player. Born in Baltimore, Adler won the Maryland Harmonica Championship at the age of 13. He first performed in revues and films, developing the technique of the 12-hole chromatic harmonica. He worked in England from 1934 to 1939, with many prominent jazz musicians. In 1939 he made his debut as a concert soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.   In 1940, determined to read music, he studied with Ernst Toch. During World War II Adler joined the dancer Paul Draper touring for U.S. organizations abroad. On his return to the U.S. in 1959, he embarked on a career as a concert performer appearing as a soloist with leading symphony orchestras. Adler was acknowledged as the first harmonica player who elevated the instrument to concert status. His repertoire included arrangements of classical works, and famous composers wrote for him such as darius milhaud , R. Vaughan Williams, Gordon Jacob, and Malcolm Arnold. Adler toured extensively and broadcast frequently on radio and television. He appeared in films and composed scores for the cinema, such as Genevieve and A High Wind in Jamaica. In 1988 Adler was made a fellow of Yale University. His CD The Glory of Gershwin earned him a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest artist to reach the British pop charts. He also recorded as a pianist and singer and published several books, including How I Play (1936), Harmonica Favorites (1944), the autobiography It Ain't Necessarily So (1984), and Have I Ever Told You (2001). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grove online, S.V.; Baker's Biographical Dictionary (1997). (Naama Ramot (2nd ed.)