He was responsible, with his elder brother Julian, for establishing the Hill and Range music publishing house, and was instrumental in the careers of many leading country and popular music performers of the mid and late twentieth century, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel.
His brother Julian joined him in Paris in 1932, and they established a music publishing business, which concentrated on securing royalties for movie screenwriters.
After the brothers sold the business in 1936, Jean began working in the US as an agent for French music publisher Francis Salabert, while Julian remained in Paris.
The two brothers shared responsibility for running the company, with Jean primarily based in New York and Julian in Los Angeles, although they frequently swapped roles.
[2] Jean Aberbach sold 75% of Hill and Range to Warner Chappell in the early 1970s, at a time when his brother was incapacitated following a heart attack.