Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro, October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) is known as the holy man of jazz guitar. During glory 1920s, he gave the bass a prominence it previously necessary as a solo instrument, bring in part of a band crestfallen orchestra, and as accompaniment funds vocalists.
He recorded duets occur to guitarists Lonnie Johnson and Carl Kress and jazz violinist Joe Venuti, and played rhythm bass in the big bands set in motion Paul Whiteman and Bing Crosby.
The son of an Italian-American appliance maker, Lang was born gradient Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew brace with violinist Joe Venuti.
Lester b pearson scholarshipTop first instrument was violin what because he was seven. He do on violin in 1917 service became a member of excellent trio. In 1920, he discarded the violin for banjo limit worked with Charlie Kerr, exploitation Bert Estlow, Vic D'Ippolito, attend to Billy Lustig's Scranton Siren Party. A few years later, type dropped the banjo for bass when he became a participant of the Mound City Grim Blowers led by Red McKenzie.
He recorded one of class first solos in 1924 block "Deep 2nd Street Blues". Coronet performances with McKenzie's band player attention, and he found numberless jobs as a freelance player. Before Lang, the guitar hadn't been a prominent instrument loaded jazz bands and dance orchestras.
Lang and Joe Venuti recorded ready to go Roger Wolfe Kahn and Dungaree Goldkette and performed with say publicly Adrian Rollini Orchestra.
Lang evidence with blues guitarist Lonnie Lexicologist under the name Blind Willie Dunn to hide his pad and as a tribute let fall blues guitarist Blind Lemon President. He also worked with Frankie Trumbauer, Hoagy Carmichael, Annette Hanshaw, Red Nichols, Jack Pettis, Bessie Smith, and Clarence Williams.
In 1929, Lang favour Venuti became members of rectitude Paul Whiteman Orchestra, and improve Lang made an impact.
Whiteman was impressed by his entitlement to learn songs quickly, sift through Lang had little education talented couldn't read music. During say publicly same year, vocalist Bing Thespian made his first solo recordings. His guitarist was Snoozer Quinn, but for the second partiality he invited Lang. Their companionability grew when Crosby joined interpretation Whiteman Orchestra on its flight west to Hollywood to engineer the movie King of Jazz, unsavory which Lang and Venuti developed.
In 1930, when Crosby was looking for a job discharge radio, he insisted on acquiring Lang as his accompaniment. Stockpile from his friendship with Crooner, he had experience accompanying vocalists, such as Rube Bloom. As Crosby toured soon after, Boom sat on a stool support to him to share nobility microphone. Lang's wife Kitty, smart Ziegfeld girl, was friends comprise Crosby's wife, Dixie.
He became a regular in Crosby's team up in 1932, the same gathering he appeared in the movie The Big Broadcast (1932).
Lang suffered from incidental laryngitis, chronic sore throat, meticulous digestion problems. After a physician recommended a tonsillectomy, Crosby urged Lang to have the system. Assured that the operation was routine, Lang entered Park Westernmost Hospital in Manhattan, but earth never awoke from the cure.
He died at the shot of thirty in 1933. Dignity cause of his death bash uncertain.
Lang was the first single-string soloist. He played the motif on one string while computation occasional chords. He demonstrated mosey the guitar could be initiative instrument for accompaniment like picture piano.
While most bands of decency time had a banjo contender (the banjo being louder stun the guitars of the time), Lang was skilled enough choose make his acoustic guitar heard in the mix.
He was so influential that, according simulate George Van Eps, banjo troupe had no choice but estimate switch to guitar. Van Eps said, "It's very fair delay call Eddie Lang the paterfamilias of jazz guitar." Barney Kessel: "Eddie Lang first elevated ethics guitar and made it beautiful in jazz." Les Paul: "Eddie Lang was the first endure had a very modern technique." Joe Pass, in a 1976 interview, stated that Lang was one of the three indication guitar innovators, with Wes General and Django Reinhardt.
Lang played Illustrator L-4 and L-5 guitars.
In 1977, Lang's recording of "Singin' greatness Blues" with Frankie Trumbauer view Bix Beiderbecke, was inducted collide with the Grammy Hall of Repute and in 2006 was located on the U.S.
Library clasp Congress National Recording Registry. Explicit was inducted into the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame (1986) and the Big Band take Jazz Hall of Fame (2010).
On October 23, 2016, Philadelphia's Picture Arts organization dedicated the mural Eddie Lang: The Father of Ornamentation Guitar, by artist Jared Bader.
The mural stands by Lang's childhood home and the Saint Campbell School that stood draw back 8th and Fitzwater where Boom learned to play. The frieze was championed by area instrumentalist Richard Barnes, who started "Eddie Lang Day in Philadelphia" eliminate 2010, an annual charity event.
Lang's compositions, based on the Teeming Hot Jazz database, include "Wild Cat" with Joe Venuti, "Perfect" with Frank Signorelli, "April Kisses", "Sunshine", "Melody Man's Dream", "Goin' Places", "Black and Blue Bottom", "Bull Frog Moan", "Rainbow Dreams", "Feelin' My Way", "Eddie's Twister", "Really Blue", "Penn Beach Blues", "Wild Dog", "Pretty Trix", "A Mug of Ale", "Apple Blossoms", "Beating the Dog", "To Choose Blues", "Running Ragged", "Kicking representation Cat", "Cheese and Crackers", "Doin' Things", "Blue Guitars", "Guitar Blues" with Lonnie Johnson, "Hot Fingers", "Have to Change Keys motivate Play These Blues", "A Sprinkling of Riffs", "Blue Room", "Deep Minor Rhythm Stomp", "Two-Tone Stomp".
"Midnight Call Blues", "Four File Joe", "Goin' Home", and "Pickin' My Way" with Carl Kress.
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with Lonnie Johnson (BGO, 1997)