Joe Venuti
Although renowned as one of the world's great practical jokers (he once called a couple dozen bass players with an alleged gig and asked them to show up with their instruments at a busy street corner just so he could view the resulting chaos), Joe Venuti's real importance to jazz is as improvised music's first great violinist. He was a boyhood friend of Eddie Lang (jazz's first great guitarist) and the duo teamed up in a countless number of settings during the second half of the 1920s, including recording influential duets. Venuti moved to New York in 1925, and immediately he and Lang were greatly in demand for jazz recordings, studio work, and club appearances. Venuti seemed to play with every top white jazz musician during the segregated era and, in 1929, he and Lang joined Paul Whiteman's Orchestra, appearing in the film The King of Jazz.
Lang's premature death in 1933 was a major blow to Venuti, who gradually faded away from the spotlight. In 1935, after visiting Europe, the violinist formed a big band and, although it survived quite awhile and helped introduce both singer Kay Starr and drummer Barrett Deems, it was a minor-league orchestra that only recorded four songs (which Venuti characteristically titled "Flip," "Flop," "Something," and "Nothing"). His brief stint in the military during World War II ended the big band, and when he was discharged, Venuti stuck to studio work in Los Angeles. He was regularly featured on Bing Crosby's early-'50s radio show, but in reality the 1936-1966 period was the Dark Ages for Venuti as he drifted into alcoholism and was largely forgotten by the jazz world.
However, in 1967 Joe Venuti began a major comeback, playing at the peak of his powers at Dick Gibson's Colorado Jazz Party. His long-interrupted recording career resumed with many fine sessions (matching his violin with the likes of Zoot Sims, Earl Hines, Marian McPartland, George Barnes, Dave McKenna, and Bucky Pizzarelli, among others) and, despite his increasingly bad health, Venuti's final decade was a triumph.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang
Jazz - Pubblicato da Saar srl il 24 lug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Goin Places
Jazz - Pubblicato da Jazz League Music il 28 giu 2016
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Take a Coffee Break
Jazz - Pubblicato da moreeguale il 25 mag 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
From the big band to the all stars
Jazz - Pubblicato da EPM il 3 set 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Jazz Series 1933
Jazz - Pubblicato da Complete Jazz Series il 29 giu 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vintage Jazz Nº22 - EPs Collectors "Melodías Inolvidables"
Joe Venuti, Paul Whiteman And His Orchestra
Lounge - Pubblicato da Vintage Music il 6 feb 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vintage Jazz Nº 37 - EPs Collectors, "Swing" Violín
Jazz - Pubblicato da Vintage Music il 9 mag 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Joe Venuti's Wild Cat
Jazz - Pubblicato da Charly Records il 25 giu 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Pink Elephants
Dixieland - Pubblicato da Top Tracks il 9 ott 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Classic Recordings
Jazz - Pubblicato da Firefly Entertainment il 5 mag 2008
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The Wolf Wobble
Jazz - Pubblicato da Jazz League Music il 17 lug 2016
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In De Ruff
Jazz - Pubblicato da Jazz League Music il 17 giu 2016
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The Wild Dog
Jazz - Pubblicato da Jazz League Music il 14 giu 2016
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I'll Never Be the Same
Jazz - Pubblicato da Supreme Media il 1 feb 2013
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I'll Never Be the Same
Jazz - Pubblicato da Lumi Entertainment il 1 feb 2013
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Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang Selected Favorites
Jazz - Pubblicato da Charly Records il 21 mar 2011
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Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang Selected Favorites
Jazz - Pubblicato da Charly Records il 21 mar 2011
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Cool Breeze
Jazz - Pubblicato da Nagel heyer records il 30 giu 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
1926-1928
Jazz - Pubblicato da Resurfaced Records il 26 mar 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo