- Joe Venuti
Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti (
September 16 1903 –August 14 ,1978 ) was a U.S.jazz musician and pioneer jazzviolinist . Venuti claimed to have been born aboard a ship as his parents emigrated from Italy, though many believe he was simply born inPhiladelphia . Later in life he said that he was born in Italy in 1896 and that he came to the U.S. in 1906. Considered the father ofjazz violin , he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitaristEddie Lang , a childhood friend of his. Through the 1920s and early 1930s, Venuti made many recordings, as leader and as featured soloist. He worked withBenny Goodman , theDorsey Brothers ,Bing Crosby , Bix Beiderbecke,Jack Teagarden , theBoswell Sisters and most of the other important white jazz and semi-jazz figures of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Venuti and Lang recorded a series of milestone jazz records for theOKeh label during the 1920s. However, following Lang's early death in 1933, his career began to wane, though he continued performing through the 1930s. He was also a strong early influence on western swing players likeJesse Ashlock , not to mention the fact that Lang and Venuti were the primary influences of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. After a period of relative obscurity in the 1940s and 1950s, he was 'rediscovered' in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, he established a musical relationship with tenor saxophonistZoot Sims that resulted in three recordings. He also recorded an entire album with country-jazz musicians including mandolinistJethro Burns (ofHomer & Jethro ), pedal steel guitaristCurly Chalker and former Bob Wills sideman and guitaristEldon Shamblin . Venuti died inSeattle, Washington . (Bing Crosby's home town) (Crosby refers to Joe in his book "Call Me Lucky").Venuti was also a legendary practical joker (see Crosby's book). According to one source, every Christmas he sent
Wingy Manone , a one-armed trumpet player, the same gift--one cufflink. He is said to have chewed up a violin he borrowed from bandleaderPaul Whiteman , when still on stage after his own performance with Whiteman's band had finished. [cite book
first=Bill
last=Crow
title=Jazz Anecdotes
publisher=Oxford University Press
location=New York
year=1990]Venuti in
Paul Whiteman 's OrchestraReferences
ources
* Sudhalter, Richard M. "Lost Chords: White Musicians and their Contribution to Jazz, 1915-1945". Oxford, 1999. ISBN 0-19-514838-X
* Baxter, James. "The Blue Violin" - privately published 1953 biography of Joe Venuti (acquired by AB Fable Archive in March 2001).
* “Violin Rhythm, a School of Modern Rhythmic Violin Playing” by Joe Venuti, edited by the Dutch composer [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddy_Noordijk Eddy Noordijk] , published by Robbins Music Corp, 1937.
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