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238:, 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
195:, 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
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314:"depending on which reference book you consult, (Venuti's age when he died in 1978) was eighty-four, eighty-two, eighty, seventy-five, seventy-four, or seventy-two. Venuti, who surely had one of the strangest senses of humor in music history, encouraged the confusion. (...) The deception has been variously traced to Venuti's father, who hoped to speed up the
455:'s band, and began playing with the Book Cadillac Hotel Orchestra, one of Goldkette's dance bands. It was here that he made his first recordings with Goldkette's big band. By mid-1925, he had moved to Atlantic City briefly to play with Bert Estlow's band before settling in New York. Here, he once again encountered Massaro, who had changed his name to
492:(1930) with the band. From the period of 1931–1933, Venuti recorded again with Eddie Lang, Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer. The most famous recording of Venuti's career was also produced during this time: his October 22, 1931, recording with Joe Venuti-Eddie Lang and their All Star orchestra. This session also included
448:. He spent time in the early 1900s playing in the James Campbell School Orchestra in the violin section. It was there that he first met and befriended Salvatore Massaro, who was also playing in the same section. During this time the pair was experimenting with jazz and blues in addition to classical playing.
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a single cufflink for
Christmas. He was also well known for having called every bass player in the New York phonebook and asking them to meet with him on a street corner. When over 50 bass players arrived with their instruments it created a minor roadblock. He then subsequently had to pay the players
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He also frequently implemented slides common in blues and country fiddle playing. Occasionally, he used an uncommon technique in which he unscrewed the end of his bow and wrapped the bow hair around the strings of the violin, allowing him to play chords, lending the subsequent sound a "wild" tone. He
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Following Eddie Lang's death, Venuti conducted a tour of Europe and the UK. During this period he also alternated from violin to guitar, varying from his almost strictly violin approach formerly. Upon returning to the US in 1935, he formed a big band and worked as its leader. During this time he also
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Apart from his impressive playing style, Joe Venuti was known for his practical jokes. He was known to play inexpensive violins, since many of his former band members have said that he had been known to crack these over the heads of other musicians on occasion. There are many anecdotes of his pranks
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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
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Little is known about Venuti's personal life aside from his extensive jazz career. Some of his many biographers claim that he was married three times. In a 1934 passenger list he is stated traveling with his wife Sarah Venuti (née Israel). They got married in August 1934. Wingy Manone reported that
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Venuti pioneered the violin as a solo instrument to the jazz world. He was known for a fast, "hot" playing style characteristic of jazz soloists in the 1920s. His solos have been described as incredibly rhythmic with patterns of duplets and running eighth and sixteenth notes. He favored a lively,
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with his grandfather. He later said that while he studied music from him, he did not learn any one instrument but rather music theory in general. He began studying the violin in
Philadelphia, and later claimed to have studied at a conservatory, without providing any corroborating details. Despite
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Joe Venuti's compositions included "Satan's
Holiday", "Goin' Home", "Put and Take", "Pretty Trix", "Doin' Things" with Eddie Lang, "Apple Blossoms", with Lennie Hayton, Frankie Trumbauer, and Eddie Lang, "Beatin' the Dog", "Black and Blue Bottom", "Black Satin", "Blues for Nobody", "Blues in G",
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Throughout much of the 1950s, Venuti made records and played at clubs. This was the beginning of about a 15-year lull in Venuti's career. In the early 1960s, Venuti was mostly inactive due to alcoholism. The late 1960s marked a revival in his career. In 1967, he was invited to perform at Dick
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Gibson's
Colorado Jazz Party, and was such a success that he would be asked to repeat his performances annually until his death in 1978. In 1968, he was also invited to the Newport Jazz Festival, and in 1969 he performed at the London Jazz Expo.
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Venuti suffered from alcoholism in his middle age, throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. He was able to recover, and to regain his former acclaim for his playing. In 1970, Venuti was diagnosed with cancer. He died on August 14, 1978, in
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during this time. Later, Venuti returned to a small group format and continued to play and record in and around Los
Angeles, while touring frequently. In 1953, he conducted another tour of Europe, and in 1963 a tour of Seattle.
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was particularly active in small ensemble jazz, since — prior to the invention of the musical amplifier — the force of the horns in big band jazz was sufficient to drown out the violin.
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After this period, Venuti transitioned from being in a position of relative prominence to one of ignominy. Venuti moved to
California in 1944 to become a studio musician with
203:), followed by "Blue Four" combinations, which are considered milestone jazz recordings. Venuti also recorded commercial dance records for OKeh under the name "New Yorkers".
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Venuti was well known for giving out conflicting information regarding his early life, including his birthplace and birth date as well as his education and upbringing.
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told by his associates. In one account, he filled a tuba player's horn with flour during a break in a rehearsal. Another involved sending the one-armed trumpeter
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During the 1970s, in his last years, Venuti toured extensively in Europe with a small ensemble. During this time, he made his final recordings with
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From 1926 to 1928, the Venuti and Lang duo were recording with most of the leading jazz musicians of the day, including
Goldkette (1926–27),
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composed most of his original arrangements. Venuti was less successful as a big band leader than as a soloist, and the band folded in 1943.
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process, to Joe's fear that a foreign-born jazz musician would not be taken seriously by his peers, and to his general penchant for mayhem."
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fast tempo that showed off his superior technique. Venuti was a virtuosic player with a wide range of techniques, including left-hand
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After a period of relative obscurity in the 1940s and 1950s, Venuti played violin and other instruments with Jack
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Mcdonough, John. "Joe Venuti/Zoot Sims: Joe Zoot and more". Downbeat
Magazine, Vol. 70 Iss 1 p 64. January 1, 2003
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Dexter, D. "Venuti Stops Clowning, September 15, 1940". Downbeat Magazine, Vol. 66 Iss 7 p 87. July 1, 1999
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1148:"Violin Rhythm, a School of Modern Rhythmic Violin Playing" by Joe Venuti, edited by the Dutch composer
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Venuti began playing violin professionally in 1924.During this time, he helped redefine
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resulting in three recordings. In 1976, he recorded an album of duets with pianist
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528:". The other two selections in the video, played by a sextet of violinists, are
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Joe Venuti (right) with the Bubba Kolb Trio at the Village Jazz Lounge,
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372: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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He was classically trained in the violin from a young age, and studied
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discontinued the OKeh label and reissued selected sides on the 35-cent
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Lost Chords: White Musicians and their Contribution to Jazz, 1915–1945
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According to official records, he was born on September 16, 1903, in
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Joe Venuti Historical Marker, 8th and Fitzwater Streets, Philadelphia
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1970s, he established a musical relationship with tenor saxophonist
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Venuti was married to a woman named "Sally", and in 1950, the
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599:. Venuti continued to tour and play until his death in 1978.
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Living in Seattle in 1973 he was featured in the short film,
486:'s orchestra from 1929 to 1931. He also appeared in the film
1027:. Cincinnati, OH: University of Cincinnati. pp. 35–42.
177:(September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American
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reported on his divorce from a woman named "Dorothy".
852:. New York NY: Cooper Square Press. pp. 22–33.
827:. New York NY: Cooper Square Press. pp. 22–33.
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1112:“Joe Venuti Used Horrible Words, Wife Charges”
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905:The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,2nd Edition
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768:"Joe Venuti | Biography & History"
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282:and former Bob Wills sideman and guitarist
1047:The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music
825:Waiting for Dizzy: Fourteen Jazz Portraits
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850:Waiting For Dizzy:Fourteen Jazz Portraits
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432:Learn how and when to remove this message
1152:, published by Robbins Music Corp, 1937.
935:The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd Ed
310:summarized the situation by saying that
1114:Los Angeles Times, Sept. 28, 1950, p.16
729:, he wrote that he was born in 1903 in
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1001:from the original on December 21, 2021
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1158:The Cambridge Companion to the Violin
451:In 1924, he moved to Detroit to join
181:musician and pioneer jazz violinist.
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1295:20th-century American male musicians
370:adding citations to reliable sources
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16:American jazz violinist (1903–1978)
1290:Victor Recording Orchestra members
1250:American people of Italian descent
1098:, by Bill Crow, published 2005 by
1096:Jazz Anecdotes: Second Time Around
643:for their time as mandated by the
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1270:20th-century American violinists
1240:Jazz musicians from Philadelphia
1025:The Violin in Pre-Bebop Era Jazz
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969:Encyclopedia of Popular Music
1275:American male jazz musicians
796:"A Penchant for Mayhem", by
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75:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
723:1940 United States Census
518:Paul Whiteman's Orchestra
278:), pedal steel guitarist
184:Considered the father of
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1230:American male violinists
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874:"Joe Venuti (1903-1978)"
1255:American jazz musicians
1100:Oxford University Press
991:"Thank You Joe Venuti!"
808:Oxford University Press
1265:Italian jazz musicians
1155:"The Violin in Jazz".
1127:Sudhalter, Richard M.
680:Joe Venuti discography
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1185:Joe Venuti recordings
971:. Oxford Music Online
937:. Oxford Music Online
907:. Oxford Music Online
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878:Red Hot Jazz Archive
366:improve this article
1052:Guinness Publishing
848:Lees, Gene (2000).
823:Lees, Gene (2000).
668:Seattle, Washington
520:from the 1930 film
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1050:(First ed.).
899:Kernfield, Barry.
880:. October 27, 2020
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640:Wingy Manone
636:
623:
620:Compositions
614:
606:
593:Leon Redbone
581:Dave McKenna
566:
557:
555:
551:
539:
535:
524:performing "
522:King of Jazz
521:
489:King of Jazz
487:
465:
450:
443:
428:
419:
409:
402:
395:
388:
381:"Joe Venuti"
376:
364:Please help
359:verification
356:
328:
324:Philadelphia
321:
313:
308:Gary Giddins
305:
272:Jethro Burns
267:
252:
240:Cecil Brower
205:
183:
174:
170:
166:
165:
86:(1978-08-14)
18:
1210:1978 deaths
1205:1903 births
1005:January 25,
884:October 28,
779:January 25,
674:Discography
478:(1927) and
470:(1927–28),
468:Red Nichols
446:jazz violin
268:Hot Sonatas
220:Bing Crosby
186:jazz violin
150:Chiaroscuro
1199:Categories
685:References
569:Earl Hines
562:John Holte
546:radio show
514:Eddie Lang
457:Eddie Lang
422:March 2017
392:newspapers
294:Early life
264:Earl Hines
255:Desert Inn
193:Eddie Lang
115:Instrument
107:Occupation
68:1903-09-16
53:Birth name
25:Joe Venuti
975:April 21,
941:April 21,
911:April 21,
610:pizzicato
597:Zoot Sims
331:solfeggio
266:entitled
260:Zoot Sims
190:guitarist
41:, in 1978
999:Archived
773:AllMusic
526:Wild Cat
474:(1927),
248:Vocalion
201:Columbia
167:Giuseppe
130:Columbia
110:Musician
1187:at the
1122:Sources
995:YouTube
721:In the
406:scholar
156:Everest
1165:
1135:
1058:
856:
831:
810:, 1981
698:Ssdi.
595:, and
408:
401:
394:
387:
379:
338:Career
234:, the
214:, the
175:Venuti
123:Labels
118:Violin
97:Genres
516:) in
413:JSTOR
399:books
145:Tempo
140:Decca
1163:ISBN
1133:ISBN
1056:ISBN
1007:2020
977:2012
943:2012
913:2012
886:2020
854:ISBN
829:ISBN
781:2020
496:and
385:news
274:(of
197:OKeh
179:jazz
135:Okeh
101:Jazz
81:Died
62:Born
645:AFM
542:MGM
368:by
244:ARC
171:Joe
1201::
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