Jazz violin is the use of the violin or

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

to improvise solo lines. Early jazz violinists included:

Eddie South Edward Otha South (November 27, 1904 – April 25, 1962) was an American jazz violinist. Biography South studied classical music in Budapest, Paris, and Chicago. He turned to jazz because, as a Black musician, there was no room for him in class ...

, who played violin with

Jimmy Wade James F. Wade (c.1895 – 1957) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Wade began leading groups in the Chicago area about 1916. He played in California and Seattle, Washington with Lucille Hegamin, and then moved with her to New Yo ...

's Dixielanders in Chicago;

Stuff Smith Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (August 14, 1909 – September 25, 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song " If You're a Viper" (the original title was "You'se a Viper"). Smith was, al ...

; and Claude "Fiddler" Williams.

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lan ...

was popular for his work with guitarist

Eddie Lang Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro, October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as p ...

during the 1920s. Improvising violinists include

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the firs ...

and

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz violinist and composer. Early life Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admit ...

. In jazz fusion, violinists may use an electric violin plugged into an

instrument amplifier An instrument amplifier is an electronic device that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal of a musical instrument into a larger electronic signal to feed to a loudspeaker. An instrument amplifier is used with musical in ...

with electronic effects.

Swing to bebop

Jazz violin began in New Orleans in the early 1900s. Arrangements for ragtime orchestras had parts for violins in which they were as important as the other instruments. The violin was a lead instrument in the recordings of A. J. Piron, whose trumpeter

Peter Bocage Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a s ...

also played violin. Alphonso Trent and Andy Kirk employed violinists in their

territory bands Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, six or seven n ...

played violin as a member of Trent's band in the 1920s and tinkered with acoustic and electric means of increasing the volume of the instrument. Claude Williams alternated between guitar and violin when as a member of the Count Basie orchestra. In Chicago,

was violinist and music director for

. South was accompanied by

Juice Wilson Robert "Juice" Wilson (January 21, 1904 – May 22, 1993) was an American jazz violinist. Biography Wilson grew up an orphan and was raised by his uncle from age three in Chicago. He began playing drums in the Chicago Militia Boys Band, the ...

when both were members of the

Freddie Keppard Freddie Keppard (sometimes rendered as Freddy Keppard; February 27, 1890 – July 15, 1933) was an American jazz cornetist who once held the title of "King" in the New Orleans jazz scene. This title was previously held by Buddy Bolden and su ...

band. Violin is one instrument

Edgar Sampson Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, ...

performed on as a member of the

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...

band in the 1930s. Angelina Rivera was a classically trained violinist who worked with

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

and

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs "Basin Street Blues", " I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a New ...

. W. C. Handy conducted an orchestra with a three-violin section that included

Darnell Howard Darnell Howard (July 25, 1895 in Chicago – September 2, 1966 in San Francisco) was an American jazz clarinetist and violinist. Early life Howard began playing violin at age seven, picking up clarinet and saxophone later in his youth. Career ...

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

's jazz orchestra a had a string section that was led by

Matty Malneck Matthew Michael "Matty" Malneck (December 9, 1903 – February 25, 1981) was an American jazz violinist, songwriter, and arranger. Career Born in 1903, Malneck's career as a violinist began when he was age 16. He was a member of the Paul Whit ...

. The bands of

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

, and

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

had string sections, though they didn't improvise. Bandleaders who were also violinists included

Leon Abbey Leon Alexander Anthony Abbey (May 7, 1900 – September 1975) was an American jazz violinist and bandleader. Biography He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 7, 1900, to Luther James Robert Abbey and Eva Lee Alexander. He started his care ...

, Clarence Black,

Carroll Dickerson Carroll Dickerson (November 1, 1895 – October 9, 1957) was a Chicago and New York-based dixieland jazz violinist and bandleader, probably better known for his extensive work with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines or his more brief work touring ...

, and

Erskine Tate Erskine Tate (January 14, 1895, Memphis, Tennessee, – December 17, 1978, Chicago) was an American jazz violinist and bandleader. Tate moved to Chicago in 1912 and was an early figure on the Chicago jazz scene, playing with his band, the V ...

. Violin became a solo instrument in jazz largely through the efforts of

Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece * Stephane (Paphlagonia), a town of ancient Paphlagonia, now in Turkey {{dab ...

, and

. Venuti was in a popular duo with guitarist

beginning in the 1920s. Grappelli was a member of the

gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane G ...

group

Quintette du Hot Club de France The Quintette du Hot Club de France ("The Quintet of the Hot Club of France"), often abbreviated "QdHCdF" or "QHCF", was a jazz group founded in France in 1934 by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli and active in one for ...

with guitarist Django Reinhardt. In the 1930s when swing was dominant, other violinists included Darnell Howard,

Ray Nance Ray Willis Nance (December 10, 1913 – January 28, 1976) was an American jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. He is best remembered for his long association with Duke Ellington and his orchestra. Early years Nance was the leader of his ow ...

, Ray Perry,

Svend Asmussen Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and S ...

, and Michel Warlop. Perry and

Ginger Smock Emma Smock (4 June 1920– 13 June 1995), better known as Ginger Smock, Examples of bop violin in the 1950s include

Dick Wetmore Dick Wetmore (January 13, 1927 – January 4, 2007) was an American jazz and bebop violinist. He played several musical instruments including the cornet, trumpet and string bass. Wetmore worked primarily as a sideman, but also led his own jazz ...

and

Harry Lookofsky Harry Lookofsky (1 October 1913 – 8 June 1998) was an American jazz violinist. He was also the father of keyboardist-songwriter Michael Brown, who most notably was a founding member of The Left Banke and Stories. History Harry Lookofsky ...

, who was in the NBC Orchestra led by Arturo Toscanini.

played bop violin in the 1960s as did

Elek Bacsik Elek Bacsik (22 May 1926 – 14 February 1993) was a Hungarian-American jazz guitarist and violinist. He was the cousin of guitarist Django Reinhardt. Career Bacsik was born in Budapest, Hungary. He was the son of Árpád Bacsik and Erzséb ...

in the 1970s. The violin is well-represented in modern jazz and improvisational music. Mark Feldman is one of the leading performers in modern and contemporary jazz violin, along with Scott Tixier,

Mat Maneri Mat Maneri (born October 4, 1969) is an American composer, violin, and viola player. He is the son of the saxophonist Joe Maneri and Sonja Maneri. Career Maneri has recorded with Cecil Taylor, Guerino Mazzola, Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, G ...

and Jean-Luc Ponty. Adam Taubitz founded The Berlin Philharmonic Jazz Group. With this group he played -and still does- as a soloist on the trumpet and the violin in Europe and the Far East.

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

regularly appears in readers' and critic's polls at ''Downbeat'' magazine while playing in an earthy, R&B-influenced style. In gypsy jazz, contemporary violin players include Romanian born Florin Niculescu, Belgian Tcha Limberger, and French violinist and guitarist

Dorado Schmitt Dorado Schmitt (born May 29, 1957) is a French guitarist and violinist in Gypsy jazz. Biography Schmitt was born in Saint-Avold, Lorraine, France on May 29, 1957. He started playing guitar at the age of seven with his father as his teacher. His ...

Amplification

Big bands are loud, but the violin is quiet. One person to address the problem was Augustus Stroh, who invented the

Stroh violin The Stroh violin or Stroviol is a type of stringed musical instrument that is mechanically amplified by a metal resonator and horn attached to its body. The name Stroviol refers to a violin, but other instruments have been modified with the am ...

in the 1890s that was inspired by the

gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, with a horn connected to project the sound. In the 1930s, Stuff Smith experimented with electric amplification. Since the 1980s an electric violin has been used in which a transducer is built into the instrument. Jean-Luc Ponty's attraction to jazz was influenced by Miles Davis and John Coltrane, which led him to the electric violin. Critic

Joachim Berendt Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

wrote, "Since Ponty, the jazz violin has been a different instrument" and compared his phrasing to Coltrane's., p301

Swing to bebop

Amplification

See also

References

Further reading