Eddie Lang

Eddie Lang stood as the pioneering virtuoso of jazz guitar, commanding a ubiquitous presence throughout the late 1920s when fellow players universally recognized his unmatched skill. A childhood companion of Joe Venuti, he devoted eleven years to violin study before abandoning the instrument for guitar upon entering the professional ranks. His first appearance came in 1924 alongside the Mound City Blue Blowers, after which he quickly became a sought-after presence on recording sessions spanning both jazz circles and mainstream commercial work. Lang’s refined chordal approach positioned him as an exceptional rhythm partner capable of elevating any ensemble, while his single-note lines revealed equal strength as a soloist. He regularly collaborated with violinist Venuti on several landmark duet recordings and joined forces with Red Nichols’ Five Pennies, Frankie Trumbauer, and Bix Beiderbecke—most notably on the track “Singing the Blues”—as well as the orchestras led by Roger Wolfe Kahn, Jean Goldkette, and Paul Whiteman, where he shared a brief on-screen moment with Venuti in the 1930 film The King of Jazz. Virtually any band able to secure his services employed him. His adaptability surfaced clearly in the series of duets with Lonnie Johnson, for which he adopted the name Blind Willie Dunn and supplied primarily chordal support, whereas on the pair of duets with Carl Kress—whose harmonic voicings extended Lang’s own ideas—he took the single-note lead parts. Between 1927 and 1929 Lang directed several sessions under his own name. In the early 1930s he maintained steady work with Bing Crosby while also cutting numerous additional sides with Venuti. His untimely passing resulted from complications following a tonsillectomy.