A mini-documentary about Eddie Lang, "the father of jazz guitar".
Although he remains a relatively obscure figure to the wider population, Eddie Lang is celebrated as the father of jazz guitar amongst musicians. Born Salvatore Massaro, he was the son of an Italian-American instrument maker and grew up surrounded by music. As a teenager he adopted the anglicised name Eddie Lang and soon after his musical career began. After short-lived runs as a violinist and banjo player, the early 20s saw the beginning of Eddie's career as a guitarist. Now playing with The Mound City Blue Blowers he was keen to show off the potential of the instrument. He is credited with almost single-handedly demonstrating the superiority of the guitar over the banjo in a jazz setting. His sophisticated chord voicing and sensitive approach to accompaniment were unmatched and his influence on subsequent guitar players is limitless.
Throughout his career, Eddie worked with a long list of musicians, however, two partnerships in particular stand out as especially significant. Firstly, his partnership with violinist Joe Venuti. Eddie and Joe had grown up together and remained almost inseparable throughout the 1920s and 30s.
The other significant partnership of Eddie's career was his affiliation with singer Bing Crosby. In 1929, Eddie was invited to appear on Bing's first solo recordings and by 1931 Eddie was working full-time as Bing's personal accompanist. In October 1932 the duo appeared in The Big Broadcast, which was Bing's first starring role in a full length film, and the first of a five-picture-deal.
A wholly positive reception to the film seemed to suggest that both Bing and Eddie were poised for prominence. For his next film, Bing wanted Eddie to have a speaking part. However, at the time the guitarist was suffering from laryngitis and has a chronically low and hoarse voice. Bing urged Eddie to have a tonsillectomy to cure his throat. On the 26th of March 1933, Eddie Lang died in the hours after the operation. The cause of death remains unknown.
Eddie Lang is buried in his hometown of Philadelphia and in 2016, a mural celebrating his life was unveiled close to his childhood home. Since 1991, the Eddie Lang jazz festival has been hosted in Italy and features both established guitarists as well as up and coming talent.
10 апр 2020
