[78-L] Venuti! answer to Steven re: Lewis

[yves francois]

Steven
   Sol Klien, brother of trumpeter Dave Klien is the hot violinist on numerous Ted Lewis records, BTW Lewis made some of the best jazz records in the late 20's and early 30's, guess that would be obvious, for he had Muggsy and Dave Klien on trumpets, George Brunis on trombone, numerous fine reed men (from Don Murray, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, to Rod Cless and Paolo Ricci) and Sol Klein on violin, I think I can stomach any schmaltz or vaudeville antics Ted offered to get to hear that band, but then I happen to like Ted the same way I like Fess Williams , guess they are both entertainers from a bygone era (Fess did play on some blues dates and even made a proto R&B record around 1945)
all the best
Yves


--- On Wed, 10/22/08, Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net> wrote:

> From: Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Venuti!
> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 9:23 PM
> Both Grappely(sp?) and Venuti were "makin' it up as
> they went along"...since
> NO ONE prior to them had thought of using the violin as an
> improvisational
> "jazz instrument" rather than obediently playing
> the supplied score for
> "Beethoven's Second Movement From Ex-Lax" (or
> wotever?!).
> 
> Given the choice, I personally prefer (not for arguable, 
> musically-explicable
> reasons...?!) Joe Venuti to Grappely, Eddie South, the
> anonymous violinist
> in 1929-32 Ted Lewis recordings, or other jazz violinists
> or wannabes
> thereof! Check out the "Lang-Venuti All-Stars"
> recordings (I bought both...
> was actually given them as part of a deal...WELL before I
> knew their
> musical (and, possibly, cash?!) value...!
> 
> ...stevenc 
> 
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