1. Hoedown Lowdown
2. Tango Interlude
3. Hot 'n' Trot
4. Bohemian Bounce
5. Blue Five Swing
6. Nobody Loves Me
7. Red Sea Rumba
8. Fickle Fiddle
9. Orchids
10. Concerto for New Sounds
11. Black Rhythm
12. Desert Flower
13. Fleur-de-Lis
14. Beautiful Oregon
15. Loco Motives
16. Gee It's Great
17. Could I Care
18. Noveletta
19. The Distant Lake
20. Sambalina
Joe Venuti - Violin
Buddy Weed - Piano
George Barnes or Danny Perri - Guitar
Eddie Safranski - Bass
Bunny Shawker - Drums
Joe Venuti became the doyen of jazz violinists when he recorded in the late 1920s with guitarist Eddie Lang and later with many other musicians - from Red Nichols to Zoot Sims. The Blue Five listed as making this CD remind us that, in the 1930s, Venuti led groups called the Blue Four, the Blue Five and the Blue Six! In fact the Blue Five probably influenced the formation of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, which featured another violinist - Stephane Grappelli - alongside Django Reinhardt.
The only recording details given for this album are "New York City 1957". This was a period when Venuti's career was regarded as possibly being in decline, although he was somehow "rediscovered" in the 1960s. Venuti is backed here by a fine group, including guitarist George Barnes (who formed a quartet with Ruby Braff in the seventies) and bassist Ed Safranski (best known from his years in Stan Kenton's band).
At any rate, the album proves that Venuti was still a considerable violinist in his later years. His playing is perhaps a little more subdued than it had been earlier, but he could still purvey a fascinating mixture of lyricism and edginess. This edginess is particularly notable in his duet with drummer Bunny Shawker for part of Black Rhythm. The abrasive chords in Loco Motives make Joe sound similar to Stuff Smith, whose attacking style was, I suspect, influenced by Venuti.
Elsewhere, the music embraces numerous styles, with hints of western swing (e.g. in Hoedown Lowdown), country music, gypsy jazz, and Latin-Americana (in Tango Interlude and Red Sea Rumba). This eclectic flavour is evident in such tracks as Fleur-de-Lis, which opens with a stately minuet before switching to jazzy common time. Several tracks begin with Venuti stating a melody and then throwing it open to the rest of the group, with the excellent pianist and guitarists given plenty of solo opportunities. Some tracks have less jazz content than others - for example, Gee It's Great and Could I Care are the sort of pieces you might hear in the palm court of a posh hotel.
No composers are listed, so it is possible that all the tunes are originals. Certainly the repertoire contains no jazz standards. Despite the rather disappointing paucity of information, this album is full of good music and should remind listeners of Venuti's pioneering and superlative playing throughout his life.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Sounds of Yester Year DSOY 815
