Giuseppe Venuti

Background

Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti was born on September 16, 1903, in Philadelphia. He was the son of Giacomo Venuti and Rosa La Macchia, Italian immigrants to the United States (some sources give conflicting data regarding his birth).

Venuti's parents' occupations are unknown, though Venuti once stated that all the men in his family were sculptors.

Education

Venuti attended public school in South Philadelphia, where one of his classmates was guitarist Salvatore Massaro (later known as Eddie Lang); both played in the school orchestra.

Venuti reportedly studied with Michel Sciapiro before beginning his professional career as a musician at the age of fifteen.

Career

Early in his career, Venuti joined with Eddie Lang to form a duo that performed in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Lang, the first guitarist to make an international reputation as a jazz soloist, was noted both for his chord patterns and his single string performances. Lang's very successful partnership with Venuti would result in more than seventy sides of recorded music. Soon recognized for his own virtuosity, Venuti was awarded the nickname "Four-string Joe" because of his ability to play with the back of the bow underneath the violin, with the loosened hairs of the bow sounding all four strings at once.

From 1924 to 1927, Venuti, often working with Lang, performed with the Jean Goldkette Orchestra, as well as with other top jazzmen of the time. In September 1926, the violinist began his recording career with a group named "Venuti's Blue Four. " This group has been described as having a unique style and "a tonal finesse and jazz-chamber-music quality hitherto unknown. " During the years 1927-1928, Venuti played with groups led by Roger Wolfe Kahn and Don Voorhees.

He and Lang also jointly led their own band in New York City until they joined the famous Paul Whiteman Orchestra in mid-1929. Venuti was so seriously injured in an auto accident in mid-1929 that it was thought he might never play again. But he did recover. Following his recovery, he freelanced for recording studios, and with theater bands. In 1934 he took a small group to England. In 1936, he was picked for Down Beat magazine's "All-Star Swing Band. "

From the mid-1930's until 1943, Venuti led his own big band. One of his vocalists was Kay Starr, later a very big star. His band included as sidemen most of the great white performers from the Goldkette and Whiteman era. Without a doubt, Venuti had informal contacts with black jazz greats of his time, though musicians were generally color-segregated in the 1920's and 1930's. Integrated performances were the exception even in the 1930's. When not fronting his own band, Venuti appeared with groups led by cornetist Red Nichols, composer Hoagy Carmichael, and Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

During the 1940's, Venuti did both movie and recording studio work for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood. For a time, he was the musical director of the popular "Duffy's Tavern" radio show. A close friend of Bing Crosby's, the violinist appeared on the singer's radio shows during the late 1940's and early 1950's. He often had a small speaking part as well as an opportunity to perform.

In 1953, Venuti toured in Europe. At mid-decade, he was working for radio station bands in Los Angeles. In December 1956, he appeared on Jackie Gleason's CBS-TV memorial tribute to trombonist Tommy Dorsey. The following year he composed a jazz violin concerto, which he performed with the Seattle Symphony. Apart from these highlights, the violinist lived and worked in relative obscurity as a consequence of changing musical tastes, namely the demise of the big bands in favor of rock music, and the growth of television together with the declining popularity of radio shows featuring live music.

During the 1960's, he was active mainly in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seattle areas, eventually settling in the last-named city. After nearly twenty years of obscurity, Venuti returned to prominence with an appearance at Dick Gibson's Colorado Jazz Party in 1967, the first of many appearances at this annual event through 1976. His comeback was enhanced by participation at the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival, where his performance showed that age had not diminished his technical skill or his ability to "swing" musically.

He was afflicted with a serious illness in April 1970. Fortunately, he was able to resume playing. He recorded and performed until shortly before his death in Seattle, from lung cancer.

Achievements

• In 1969, the violinist was chosen the "most impressive soloist" at London's Jazz Exposition. In 1975, performed an important role in the New York Jazz Repertory Company's tribute to cornetist and former associate Bix Beiderbecke at the Newport Jazz Festival in New York City. At the same time, he was honored by the Newport Jazz Hall-of-Fame. Venuti became a legend in the music business both for his performances and his reputation as a practical jokester.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Minor Swing
  • Estrellita
  • Lady Be Good
  • Caprice in Milan for Giuseppe (Joe) Venuti
  • Giuseppe Mazzoleni presenta Quartetto Lecchese Jazz Joe Venuti
  • Sweet Sue Just
  • Honeysuckle Rose
  • Embraceable You
  • Whispering
  • Nuages
  • Stelle di Alabama

Views

Quotations: "Music is my whole life, see, and that's it. "

Personality

It may be that the facts of Venuti's personal life are unclear because he wanted it that way. He believed that his private life was his concern and no one else's. Moreover, he was noted as a consummate practical joker; indeed, one former colleague said that Venuti was "the greatest joker who ever lived and was inclined to exaggerate. " Perhaps this aspect of his personality led him to suppress the truth, rearrange the details, and provide contradictory stories about the life he led before he became a notable personage.

His success as a bandleader was limited, however, perhaps because he did not take the business aspects of music seriously, preferring, instead, to front a small group that allowed him more flexibility and the opportunity to play his instrument. Moreover, he was adept at putting both critics and his fellow musicians in their places when they did or said something of which he disapproved.

Venuti's wonderful tone, unerring intonation, and superb technique, combined with his rhythmic sense, earned him a justified reputation as a great jazz violinist who influenced others, such as Stephane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty.

Connections

Venuti was married at least once, to a woman named Sally. It is certain that this marriage occurred prior to 1936. Close friends indicate that he had no children and was divorced from Sally in the late 1940's or early 1950's.

Mother:

Rosa La Macchia

father:

Giacomo Venuti

Wife:

Sally Venuti

References

• The Wonderful Era of the Great Dance Bands
• Tommy And Jimmy: The Dorsey Years (Da Capo Paperback)
• Bix, man & legend
• Pops: Paul Whiteman, King of Jazz