Eddie Lang, to many, was considered the first virtuoso guitarist. His unique style incorporated all the finer elements of Jazz, Blues, and contemporary European musics, which were all just forming within the birth of the commercial music industry. Lang was born Salvatore Massaro, son to an Italian instrument maker who immigrated to Philadelphia. He studied the violin for 11 years before leaving it to play banjo, then guitar. He was 16 when he started to play professionally, where he joined the already formed Mound City Blue Blowers. Shortly thereafter became an increasing industry interest in his unique guitar work, which placed him in many recording sessions with the "who's who" of early jazz. As was/is common, Jazz thrived on the spontaneity and distinctness of the moment. Many sessions were unique, in that the line-ups would regularly change. Although he got around, Lang regularly worked with a violinist and childhood friend, Joe Venuti. They recorded many sides together and had a chemistry that was completely unprecedented. In fact, there would only be one other relationship that would culminate that was anywhere comparable, and that would be his ongoing work with fellow guitarist
, Lonnie Johnson. Johnson and Lang, when together, had an impeccable talent for creating these huge, interwoven soundscapes, where one guitar can not be distinguished from the other. The mesh was flawless. Almost oppositely, Lang's playing with Venuti was more parallel. Because of the drastic difference in the harmonics of the violin and guitar, each player would stay on their respective side, usually making a combination which accents different octaves, heavy harmonies, or at times, can take the form of call-and-resp
onse. Lang's works with Lohnson and Venuti have become his most revered over the years, but he has also played as an accompanist for many greats and many great sessions. Throughout his career, he joined/played/toured with the bands of Louis Armstrong (& His Orchestra), Carl Kress, King Oliver, The Boswell Sisters, Benny Goodman, Bessie Smith, Bix Beiderbecke, and Tommy/Jimmy Dorsey. In the late 20s, Lang, along with Lonnie Johnson and King Oliver, began Blind Willie Dunn and His Gin Bottle Four. Dunn was a pseudonym for Lang, which was rumored to come from a newspaper vending friend of his, but others say was an attempt to cash in on African-American blues records which were growing in popularity (i.e. - Blind Lemon Jefferson,etc.). When Lang was 30, he was playing with popular vocalist Bing Crosby, and while undergoing a tonsillectomy, had complications and died due to blood loss. Below are select tracks, all of which feature Eddie Lang on guitar.
Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang - Doin' ThingsAlbum: Venuti-Lang 1927-8 (Parlophone)
Personnel:
Eddie Lang - Guitar
Joe Venuti - Violin
Arthur Schutt - Piano
New York, May 4th, 1927
Lonnie Johnson & Eddie Lang - Handful Of RiffsEddie Lang & Carl Kress - Finding My Way
Album: Pioneers of the Jazz Guitar (Yazoo)
Personnel:
Eddie Lang - Guitar
Lonnie Johnson - Guitar
Carl Kress - Guitar
New York, May 8th, 1929 & Unknown
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra - Knockin' a JugAlbum: Eddie Lang & Lonnie Johnson: The Jazz Makers (Swaggie)
Personnel:
Eddie Lang - Guitar
Louis Armstrong - Trumpet
Jack Teagarden - Trombone
Happy Caldwell - Tenor Sax
Joe Sullivan - Piano
Kaiser Marshall - Drums
New York, March 5, 1929
The Boswell Sisters - Shout Sister ShoutAlbum: Boswell Sisters - It's The Girls! (Living Era)
Personnel:
Eddie Lang - Guitar
Joe Venuti - Violin
Jimmy Dorsey - Clarinet
Tommy Dorsey - Trombone
also with Dorsey Brothers Orchestra
Unknown, April 23, 1931
Blind Willie Dunn's Gin Bottle Four - Jet Black BluesAlbum: Eddie Lang - Joe Venuti: Stringing The Blues (CBS)
Personnel:
Eddie Lang - Guitar
King Oliver - Cornet
Unknown - Piano
Justin Ring - Percussion
Unknown - Vocals
Unknown, May 1, 1929
To close, here is a short clip of Eddie Lang playing with Joe Venuti...
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1 comments:
Eddie's tone is so meaty that it comes through loud and clear despite the technological limitations of the recording equipment used to capture him. He reminds me in one funny way of Stevie Ray Vaughan, in that his guitar setup required him to develop a "Schwarzenegger-ian" set of hand muscles to play his fluid lines so quickly, and the result is something that just could not be achieved any other way (lighter strings, lower action, etc.). I love Django, too, and Django really worked his guitar and got a lot of tone out of it, but Lang used an instrument that was inherently less responsive than a Selmer and really made it sing, got a lot of nuances out of it. I really wish he had lived into the fifties and we could hear how he dealt with the transformation of jazz guitar styles and technology. He probably would have been yet another veteran like George Barnes, Oscar Aleman and Django himself who switched to an electric box and lost a little bit of the magic that occurs when you are forced to wrangle with an acoustic guitar. And everybody loses their youthful intensity as they age. Still, I think Lang had many more great records in him and it's so sad that he's on the list with Charlie Christian, Jimmy Blanton, and guys who drew a bum card in the health lottery. "A Little Love, A Little Kiss" is such a masterful solo guitar performance. I've got a .pdf of this performance in standard music notation if anyone is interested. Just leave a comment here and I should be notified.
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