Billy Krechmer

Wilhelm Frederick "Billy" Krechmer, 92, a clarinetist whose name once was synonymous with jazz in Philadelphia, died of heart failure at Sunrise Assisted Living in Paoli.

Born in Millville, Cumberland County, Mr. Krechmer had long resided in Longport, N.J. He also had lived in West Philadelphia.

Mr. Krechmer recorded with Herb Gordon's band and toured with the Ted Lewis Orchestra during the big-band era, but in Philadelphia he was known for the jazz club he owned, operated, and served as band leader for nearly 30 years. The club, on Ranstead Street in Center City, was known simply as Billy Krechmer's. The idea for the club came to Mr. Krechmer in the mid-1930s, when he was playing with the house band at the Earle Theater, about a year after he had toured with Red Nichols.

When the big bands started to come through Philadelphia, "everybody wanted to go out and jam after the last show," Mr. Krechmer recalled in a 1991 Daily News interview. "I knew all the joints, and I took them to places where they would play for nothing, just to play jazz.

"I got tired of paying cab fares, and I began to think, 'Why don't I do this myself?' So I rented this little storefront on Ranstead Street for $65 a month and got a liquor license - in those days you could buy them right from the state. They told me I was the first person to apply for one who wasn't an ex-bootlegger."

He opened his club in 1938. From then until he closed it in 1966, all the big-name musicians stopped there to play after-hours for a fee of whatever they were drinking. It didn't take long for the late-night all-star sessions to attract the public or for the club to gain a reputation as a jazz mecca.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Mr. Krechmer played in an 80-piece orchestra at the Mastbaum Theater.

With Gordon's band, he was lead alto clarinet. The third man in the section was Benny Goodman. When Lewis' orchestra played the Mastbaum, Mr. Krechmer was hired to finish the tour.

Once he tired of the road, Mr. Krechmer returned to Philadelphia and found himself playing in a pit band for a burlesque show at the Shubert Theater.

Mr. Krechmer put away his clarinet in 1990, citing an inability to perform to his standards due to carpal tunnel syndrome affecting his left ring finger. It was a problem he had been fighting since the 1960s, and one that led him to undergo surgery three times.

Even with the pain, Mr. Krechmer played benefit concerts every year around the time of his birthday in August, between 1983 and 1990, to raise funds for the South Jersey Regional Theater in Somers Point. Source: Rusty Pray
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