Joe Venuti
![Joe Venuti (right) with the Bubba Kolb Trio at the Village Jazz Lounge, [[Walt Disney World]], in 1978](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Bubba_Kolb_and_Joe_Venuti.jpg)
Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lang, a friend since childhood. Through the 1920s and early 1930s, Venuti and Lang made many recordings as leader and as featured soloists. He and Lang became so well known for their 'hot' violin and guitar solos that on many commercial dance recordings they were hired to do 12- or 24-bar duos towards the end of otherwise stock dance arrangements. In 1926, Venuti and Lang started recording for the OKeh label as a duet (after a solitary duet issued on Columbia), followed by "Blue Four" combinations, which are considered milestone jazz recordings. Venuti also recorded commercial dance records for OKeh under the name "New Yorkers".
He worked with Benny Goodman, Adrian Rollini, the Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Frank Signorelli, the Boswell Sisters, and most of the other important white jazz and semi-jazz figures of the late 1920s and early 1930s. However, following Lang's death in 1933, Venuti's career began to wane, though he continued performing through the 1930s, recording a series of commercial dance records (usually containing a Venuti violin solo) for the dime store labels, as well as OKeh and Columbia, plus the occasional jazz small group sessions. He was also a strong early influence on western swing players like Cecil Brower. Many of the 1920s OKeh sides continued to sell and remained in print through 1935 when ARC discontinued the OKeh label and reissued selected sides on the 35-cent Vocalion label (the OKeh label was revived by CBS in 1940). After a period of relative obscurity in the 1940s and 1950s, Venuti played violin and other instruments with Jack Statham at the Desert Inn Hotel in Las Vegas. Statham headed several musical groups that played at the Desert Inn from late 1961 until 1965, including a Dixieland combo. Venuti was with him during that time, and was active with the Las Vegas Symphony Orchestra during the 1960s. He was 'rediscovered' in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, he established a musical relationship with tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims resulting in three recordings. In 1976, he recorded an album of duets with pianist Earl Hines entitled ''Hot Sonatas''. He also recorded an entire album with country-jazz musicians including mandolinist Jethro Burns (of Homer & Jethro), pedal steel guitarist Curly Chalker and former Bob Wills sideman and guitarist Eldon Shamblin. Venuti died in Seattle, Washington. Provided by Wikipedia
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1by Venuti, Joe
Published 1979
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6by Venuti, Joe“...Joe Venuti. (Joe Venuti and His Orchestra)...”
Published 1939
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7by Venuti, Joe
Published 1939
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8by Venuti, Joe
Published 1936
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10by Venuti, Joe
Published 1976
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11by Venuti, Joe
Published 1992
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12by Venuti, JoeOther Authors: “...Venuti, Joe...”
Published 2002
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13by Venuti, Joe
Published 2001
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14by Venuti, Joe
Published 1962
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19by Venuti, JoeOther Authors: “...Venuti, Joe...”
Published 1991
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