Violin Jazz- Stuff Smith

Voi sitä meininkiä, mikä huokuu tästä upeasta viulistista! Ei mielestäni jää paljon jälkeen Stephaniesta.

Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (14th September 1909-25th September 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist.

Smith was, along with Stéphane Grappelli and Joe Venuti, one of jazz music's preeminent violinists of the swing era. He was born in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1909 and studied violin with his father. Smith cited Louis Armstrong as his primary influence and inspiration to play jazz, and like Armstrong, was a vocalist as well as instrumentalist. In the 1920s he played in Texas as a member of Alphonse Trent's band. After moving to New York he had a regular gig with his sextet at the Onyx Club starting in 1935 and also performed with Coleman Hawkins as well as with younger musicians such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and later, Sun Ra. Smith was critical of the bebop movement, although his own style represented a transition between swing and bebop. He is credited as being the first violinist to use electric amplification techniques on a violin. He contributed to the song "It's Wonderful" (1938), often performed by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald throughout their careers. Smith moved to Copenhagen in 1965, performed actively in Europe, and died in Munich in 1967. Read More

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Stéphane Grappelli:

"Improvisation, it is a mystery. You can write a book about it, but by the end no one still knows what it is. When I improvise and I'm in good form, I'm like somebody half sleeping. I even forget that there are people in front of me. Great improvisers are like priests, they are thinking only of their God."

"Improvisaatio on mysteeri. Voit kyllä kirjoittaa siitä kirjan, siltikään loppujen lopuksi kukaan ei vieläkään tiedä mitä se on. Kun imprvisoin ja tunnen olevani hyvällä mielin, olen kuin unessa. Unohdan jopa edessäni olevat ihmiset. Suuret improvisoijat ovat kuin pappeja, he ajattelevat vain Jumalaansa."
(Lainaus Wikipediasta, RikkiMikon suomennos).

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Stéphane Grappelli (1908-1997) was a pioneering jazz violinist who founded the quintet of the "Quintette du Hot Club de France" with Django Reinhardt. It was allegedly the first all-string jazz band.
Born in Paris, France, to Italian parents, Grappelli started his musical career as a silent film pianist. He later attended the Conservatoire de Paris, between 1924 and 1928.
After his career with Reinhardt, he appeared on hundreds of recordings including sessions with jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, vibraphonist Gary Burton, pop singer Paul Simon, mandolin player David Grisman, rock band Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here), classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin and orchestral conductor André Previn.