Customer Reviews

New York Sessions 1926-1935

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I grow weary of the constant negative comparisons of Lang & Venuti to Reinhardt & Grappelli. Yes, Reinhardt was a lot more explosive and complex than Lang, and yes the Grappelli/Reinhardt recordings may sound more modern to some, but I prefer Venuti and Lang. For starters, Joe Venuti was an absolute virtuoso with a silvery tone and precise attack that Grappelli would NEVER equal. Yes, I admire Grappelli and his warm, romantic, earthy sound on violin, but Venuti was superior technically, and I admire his style and lightning sharp wit more. In fact, I quite prefer Grappelli's latter day recordings, where his skill has improved greatly, and his backdrops are more expansive and mellow. No doubt Grappelli was a master for the ages.

Comparisons between Lang and Reinhardt are more difficult. Obviously Reinhardt could run circles around Lang with his speed and dazzling virtuosity. Though we are all aware that Lang was Reinhardt's inspiration, we must also realize that these two musicians were following quite different musical conceptions. Reinhardt's conception was hot, and amazing as he was, he frequently overplayed, and did not make very much use of negative space, aside from the tiny pauses and inflections which create swing and sense of speed. In other words, Reinhardt was brilliant, but also quite egotistical (as many who knew him have reported) and he did not know how to sit back. As a result, listening for extended periods to Reinhardt is a bit like eating frosting...thrilling and delicious, yes, but a little goes a long way. Lang's conception, on the other hand, was cool. Lang often hung back, let silence speak for itself and inform his playing, and was able to create more balanced musical pieces in solo, duet, or group settings. Lang was humble, and a team player, but he could come to the fore and delight the audience with his subtle, cool creations, never wasting a note or showing off in the process. Lang's music breaths, and his rhythm playing was crisp and perfect, unlike Django's often clunky attempts in the same department. Eddie Lang also had flexibility and adaptability on his side...he was able to tweak his style to fit into myriad situations, like the hot violin swing of Lang/Venuti sides, large jazz/pop orchestras (like Paul Whiteman's), pop vocal (he was Crosby's favorite accompanist), classical, and the oozing dixie-saturated styles of Chicago and New York jazz. Witness as well Lang's truly American blues credentials. Reinhardt could never dream of fitting his hot, rich style to the cool country blues sounds represented on the brilliant Eddie Lang/Lonnie Johnson duets on this set. In fact, the denseness and richness of Reinhardt's euro-gypsy conception will always make his playing markedly different than the more crisp and quintessentially American sound of Lang. Eddie Lang is also noteworthy for other reasons; To achieve a louder tone on primitive recording equipment, he had a guitar with a very high bridge, creating a stiff action which required great finger pressure to create a note, seriously curtailing his speed and flexibility. Finally we have Lang as the leading exponent in the emergence of guitar as a jazz instrument equal to, say, a trumpet, as opposed to its earlier role as chordal rhythm keeper. Lord knows what Eddie Lang would have accomplished if he had not died tragically young after undergoing a routine surgical procedure.

So, as much as I love Reinhardt and Grappelli, and I do, the comparisons with their earlier inspirations have seldom been completely fair or well thought out. For me, the music of Lang and Venuti breaths and is overall more balanced and refreshing. Opinions that Reinhardt and Grappelli were more advanced as a pair should be tempered by an awareness of the maturity, balance, adaptablity and verve displayed on these earlier sides by Giuseppe Venuti and Salvatore Massaro (Lang). This set of music, easily the best collection of Lang and Venuti, both alone and together, shows music which is exciting, creative and edifying in its own right. To view this classic jazz (and blues) as a footnote on the way to something else would be to ignore its inherent individuality, originality, and lasting value as art and entertainment.

This is an amazing set, deserving of five stars for sound quality, content, and notation, not to mention the fact that it is a remarkable bargain. Highly recommended.

Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti hold a special place in the history of jazz, in being the first to bring the violin and guitar to the forefront as lead instruments, and they were the original inspiration behind the renowned Quintet of the Hot Club of France, which featured the remarkably talented Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Though they may have been surpassed in musical sophistication by Reinhardt and Grappelli, Lang and Venuti deserve credit for their pioneering role --- and aside from their historical significance, these old tunes are really a lot of fun to listen to. Lang, in particular, was a surprisingly versatile guitarist, and some of the most enjoyable songs in this set are his recordings with the great blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson. Tragically, he died at age 30, in 1933, just one year before the first recordings by Reinhardt and Grappelli in France.

JSP does their usual excellent job of remastering the old classics, and this must certainly be the best collection of Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti recordings available now. Other musicians who appear on various songs include Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Traumbauer, Adrian Rollini, and Jimmy Dorsey. If you like old-time jazz from the 1920s and early 1930s, and especially guitar and violin, this 4-CD set is sure to become one of your favorites.

Disc's A, B, & D are excellent jazz sets that don't bleed over into other artists too much (Lang plays only one with Bix & Tram on disc A). Anette Henshaw and Victoria Spivey are so good that they could teach Maria Muldare some good vocal riffs (Maria, if you're reading this, get the set, and listen to the songs. There may be some you could put on a future album. They would be good for Bonnie Raitt too).

The real payoff is disc C. Approximately 90% of this disc is Eddie Lang (as Blind Willie Dunn) playing excellent rhythm guitar to (none other than) Lonnie Johnson. Some of the material has Texas Alixander singing, but the best parts are when the 2 just play alone. This makes this set a MUST for any blues afficianado.

The remastering is top notch (as usual for JSP). Not much notes but considering what you pay for 4 excellent discs, it's a best buy (for disc C alone, I'd pay this much).

Do yourself a favor. GET IT.

I agree with the previous reviewer. Although Reinhardt/Grappelli would ultimately surpass Lang/Venuti in sophistication, these recordings are not too different in sensibility from the early Hot Club recordings. And in any case these 4 CDs are arranged chronologically so you can see the progression of style. Still they have a mostly old timey feel of a simpler time and place.

This set deserves 5 stars because in the world of jazz, particularly 1920's-30's jazz, they are undeniably classics. Very tasty stuff.
Of coarse a lot of it is Venuti and Lang playing together in various settings but there is also lots of Lang accompanying assorted blues singers as well as duets with Lonnie Johnson and playing with King Oliver. Variety is a real strong point of this set, it never gets monotonous. No clunkers and most of it is so good it hurts!

What can you say, great artists, great recordings, desert island disc stuff. Worthy companion to the Django Reinhardt set(s). These guys obviously were Django's main inspiration. A few not particularly amusing novelty numbers detract from the proceedings.

These Jazz Stars are backed up by Jimmy Dorsey on all of the reeds in a small combo -- and some famous popular composers when they were just starting out as Ricky-Tick Vocalists! The Tempo is Mostly Up and the Audio Quality Very Good. I Play This Continually While I Drive My WIFE'S Police Interceptor (a Crown Vic with the "Touring Option"). It is nice to drive a musical sedan that goes like my '86 GT Mustang.