Joe Venuti & Earl Hines > C Jam Blues
Composed by Duke Ellington
It was pretty clear to me in the last post that Hank had a hard time picking a favorite Joe Venuti track, so I figured I’d play the second one too. A classic in many ways.
Violin Week #4
Legends of the Violin #3
Legends of the Piano #11
Legends of Swing #5 & #6
Joe Venuti & Dave McKenna > At the Jazz Band Ball
Composed by Larry Shields & Nick LaRocca
Back in the day I spend some time around Chiaroscuro Records but was too self involved to realize the grandeur of the music going on around me. I’m making up for lost time which includes some bon bons by the great Joe Venuti. Being severely undereducated I asked Chiaroscuro owner/producer Hank O’Neal to suggest some tracks. This one caught my ear. From Hank:
“I’d take ‘C Jam [Blues]’ on the one with Earl [Hines] and ‘At the Jazz Band Ball’ on the McKenna. Both were remarkable dates for a lot of reasons. I just wish I’d had the opportunity to do more work with all of them, particularly Joe. I guess I was lucky to have gotten what I did.”
Violin Week #3
Legends of the Violin #3
Legends of the Piano #10
Legends of Swing #5
The box this came from was one of the unique Mosaic Records; limited edition, out of print. Don’t fret, there’s plenty of other stuff.
Molly Mason & Jay Ungar > The Lover’s Waltz
Composed by Jay Ungar & Molly Mason
Truly, one of the most beautiful love songs I have ever heard. Molly and Jay are national treasures.
I’ve no idea what this week’s theme is going to be, but this song just cuts through so deeply, I needed to lead with it.
Update: OK, it was obvious to everyone but me.
Violin Week #1
Legends of the Violin #1 & #2
Ballad #42
