Italian American musicians Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang were the true pioneers of the use of stringed instruments in jazz

The Italian American musicians Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang were the true pioneers of the use of stringed instruments in jazz, violinist Venuti very much presaging the work of Stephane Grappelli, while guitarist Lang was likewise a precursor to Django Reinhardt. Venuti and Lang became famous for the hot duets, and were regularly featured by the top dance bands of the day like Jean Goldkette and Frankie Trumbauer in solos within what were otherwise fairly standard arrangements, and we include examples of that phenomenon. They were most renowned, however, for their small group work, notably Joe Venuti's Blue Four and their All-Star Orchestra, in which they appeared with a range of top contemporaries such as Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden, as well as featuring in other leaders' small combos, notably Red Nichols. They were highly prized accompanists for the vocalists of the day as well, such as Cliff 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards, Ruth Etting, Ethel Waters and The Boswell Sisters, all featured here. They were extraordinarily innovative and exciting stylists, who could swing and groove in exciting fashion, and this great value 50-track set is a hugely entertaining cross-section their prolific work together before Lang died aged just 30 after a botched tonsillectomy.

Track Listing

• Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang - Black and blue bottom
• Jean Goldkette And His Orchestr - Idolising
• Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang - Stringing The Blues
• Cliff Edwards - I'm Telling The Birds, I'm Tellling The Bees
• Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang - Wild Cat
• Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang - Sunshine
• Frankie Trumbauer and his Orchestra With Bix And Lang - Singin' The Blues
• Red Nichols And His Five Pennies - Bugle Call Rag
• Roger Wolfe Khan & His Orch. - Just the Same
• Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang - Doin' Things
• Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang - Goin' Places
• Annette Hanshaw acc by the Four Instrumental Stars - I Like What You Like
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - Beating The Dog
• Annette Hanshaw And Her Sizzlin' Syncopators - It Was Only A Sunshower
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - A Mug Of Ale
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - Cheese And Crackers
• Frankie Trumbauer and his Orchestra - Krazy Kat
• Eddie Lang - Perfect
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - Four String Joe
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - Dinah
• Joe Venuti And His New Yorkers - Because My Baby Don't Mean Maybe Now
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - The Man From The South
• Cliff Edwards - Good Little Bad Little You
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - Sensation
• Lonnie Johnson and Blind Willie Dunn - Two Tone Stomp
• Lonnie Johnson & Eddie Lang - Bullfrog Moan

• Ed Lang And His Orchestra - Hot Heels
• Napoleon's Emperors - Anything
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - Put And Take
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - The Wild Dog
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - I've found a new baby
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - Sweet Sue, Just You
• Ethel Waters - When your lover has gone
• Ruth Etting - There ought to be a moonlight saving time
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - I'll Never Be The Same
• Joe Venuti's Blue Four - Little Girl
• The Boswell Sisters - It's The Girl
• Joe Venuti's Rhythm Boys - There's No Other Girl
• Joe Venuti's Rhythm Boys - Now That I Need You, You've Gone
• Red Nichols And His Five Pennies - Oh! Peter
• Joe Venuti/Eddie Lang And Their All Star Orchestra - Beale Street Blues
• Joe Venuti/Eddie Lang And Their All Star Orchestra - After You've Gone
• Joe Venuti/Eddie Lang And Their All Star Orchestra - Farewell Blues
• Joe Venuti/Eddie Lang And Their All Star Orchestra - Someday Sweetheart
• Red Nichols And His Five Pennies - Yaaka hula hickey dula
• Ruth Etting - When We're Alone
• Joe Venuti/Eddie Lang Blue Five - Raggin' The Scale
• Joe Venuti/Eddie Lang Blue Five - Pink Elephants
• Joe Venuti/Eddie Lang Blue Five - Jig Saw Puzzle Blues
• Joe Venuti And His Blue Six - Doin' The Uptown Lowdown

Additional Details

Label: Fabulous

Genre: Jazz

Language: English

Run Time: 150 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 06/03/14

UPC: 824046204129