Wild Cat (1927 song)
Wild Cat is an instrumental duet for violin and guitar, composed by jazz guitarist Eddie Lang and violinist Joe Venuti.
| "Wild Cat" | |
|---|---|
| Instrumental by Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti | |
| Recorded | New York City, January 4, 1927 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Label | Victor |
| Composer(s) | Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti |
Background
They first recorded it in New York, January 24, 1927. It is a showcase piece for Venuti's talent as a violinist.[1] His performance has been held to "offer some good examples of bow rockin'."[2] One critic described the work as follows:[3]
"Wild Cat" illustrates the salient features of Venuti's unique violin styling. He utilized the full range of the violin, from low rich tones to the high, ethereal sounds near the bridge. [.. . ] The melody of the popular song "Wild Cat" was completely transformed through Venuti's ingenious improvisation on its underlying chord structure.
Author Katharine Rapoport included the piece as recommended listening "to really get your head (and ears) around jazz music".[4]
Andy Stein is also noted for a virtuoso performance of the same piece.[5] A further recording of "Wild Cat" by Stan Kurtis and Dick Hyman, which came out on the Pro Jazz label in 1987, was well received.[6]
CD releases
- Joe Venuti: Violin Jazz. Kazoo, 1990. ASIN: B000000G7Z
- Joe Venuti: Pretty Trix. Iajrc Records, 2000. ASIN: B000003KW7
- Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti: New York Sessions 1926–1935. JSP Records, 2003. ASIN: B00009XH3X
- The Best of Jazz Violins. LRC Ltd., 2009. ASIN: B000008CHD
References
- The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz (1987), p. 182.
- Cary Ginell, Milton Brown and the Founding of Western Swing (University of Illinois Press, 1994), p. 104.
- Jean Ann Boyd, The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing (University of Texas Press, 1998), p. 38.
- Rapoport, K. (2009). Violin For Dummies. Wiley. ISBN 9780470677131. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
- The New York Times, February 28, 1985, quoted in Sanford Josephson, Jazz Notes: Interviews across the Generations (Greenwood, 2009), p. 30.
- Horizon, January /February 1989, quoted in Sanford Josephson, Jazz Notes: Interviews across the Generations (Greenwood, 2009), p. 28.
External links
- "The Quintessential Eddie Lang 1925 - 1932". redhotjazz.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10. *"Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti: Wild Cat – Jazz.com | Jazz Music – Jazz Artists – Jazz News". jazz.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.