Valse Vanité (Rudy Wiedoeft) - Rudy Wiedoeft, Saxophon mit Klavier,
Electrola ca 1926 (Germany)
NOTE: Rudolph "Rudy" Cornelius WIEDOEFT (b. 1893 in Detroit d. 1940) The son of German immigrants, at a young age Wiedoeft started playing with his family orchestra, first on violin, then on clarinet. Rudy was the youngest of four brothers - Herb (trumpet), Gerhardt "Guy"(tuba/double bass), Adolph "Al" (trombone/drums) and when they moved to Los Angeles in 1903 The Wiedoeft Family Orchestra was formed with their father on violin, sister on piano ten-year-old Rudy on clarinet. They were moderately successful and appeared regularly at several local hotels and cafes including the Imperial and the Biltmore. As the work was far from lucrative Rudy toyed with other vocations for a while until he moved to San Francisco where, by 1913, he had become first-chair clarinettist with Porter's Catalina Island Band.
After leaving for New York in 1916, he cut his first solo disc, "Valse Erica". In NYC he became known as a virtuoso saxophonist in the 1910s, made more than 300 recordings for many different record labels, and did much to popularize the saxophone as an instrument in both the U.S. and overseas. In the years 1920-30 there was a worldwide saxophone craze which made the electric guitar phenomenon of the 1960's look like nothing in comparison. And it was Wiedoeft who organized the first concert in America devoted entirely to the classical saxophone in the Aeolian Hall in New York on April 17, 1926. The concert, which was also broadcast to a million people on the radio featured classical transcriptions by Bach and Tchaikovsky as well as original works composed for the occasion.
His chief instrument was the C melody saxophone, variety which was immensely popular from the 1910s until the U.S. stock market crash of October 1929. He also played and recorded a little on the E-flat alto and B-flat soprano as well. He had a beautiful singing tone, incredible technical brillance and strong musical sense, also frequently use effects such as slap-tonguing, " Laughing " and chock tones, which Wiedoeft uses to underline the humorous elements of the saxophone. He remained a very popular entertainer into the 1920s and performed regularly on radio, but his style started to sound more and more dated to the public as his career continued into the 1930s. He worked for a while in Rudy Vallee's band, then for a while in France. From the mid-1930s on, he essentially stopped playing and was involved in several mining investments that, unfortunately, did not prove successful.
Rudy and his wife Mary Wiedoeft had a difficult relationship partially due to difficulties in maintaining their rather flamboyant lifestyle and alcohol abuse. In 1937, he was nearly killed when he was stabbed by his wife. He died in Flushing, New York in 1940 from cirrhosis of the liver. Famed pianist Oscar Levant descibed Rudy as "...the world's greatest saxophonist.." and a worlsd famous instrument maker Henri Selmer, said: "I have never heard a saxophonist to equal Wiedoeft, and I doubt if there will be any to excel him, his staccato is so rapid, his execution so brilliant." The slideshow: Man Ray's photographs
NOTE: Rudolph "Rudy" Cornelius WIEDOEFT (b. 1893 in Detroit d. 1940) The son of German immigrants, at a young age Wiedoeft started playing with his family orchestra, first on violin, then on clarinet. Rudy was the youngest of four brothers - Herb (trumpet), Gerhardt "Guy"(tuba/double bass), Adolph "Al" (trombone/drums) and when they moved to Los Angeles in 1903 The Wiedoeft Family Orchestra was formed with their father on violin, sister on piano ten-year-old Rudy on clarinet. They were moderately successful and appeared regularly at several local hotels and cafes including the Imperial and the Biltmore. As the work was far from lucrative Rudy toyed with other vocations for a while until he moved to San Francisco where, by 1913, he had become first-chair clarinettist with Porter's Catalina Island Band.
After leaving for New York in 1916, he cut his first solo disc, "Valse Erica". In NYC he became known as a virtuoso saxophonist in the 1910s, made more than 300 recordings for many different record labels, and did much to popularize the saxophone as an instrument in both the U.S. and overseas. In the years 1920-30 there was a worldwide saxophone craze which made the electric guitar phenomenon of the 1960's look like nothing in comparison. And it was Wiedoeft who organized the first concert in America devoted entirely to the classical saxophone in the Aeolian Hall in New York on April 17, 1926. The concert, which was also broadcast to a million people on the radio featured classical transcriptions by Bach and Tchaikovsky as well as original works composed for the occasion.
His chief instrument was the C melody saxophone, variety which was immensely popular from the 1910s until the U.S. stock market crash of October 1929. He also played and recorded a little on the E-flat alto and B-flat soprano as well. He had a beautiful singing tone, incredible technical brillance and strong musical sense, also frequently use effects such as slap-tonguing, " Laughing " and chock tones, which Wiedoeft uses to underline the humorous elements of the saxophone. He remained a very popular entertainer into the 1920s and performed regularly on radio, but his style started to sound more and more dated to the public as his career continued into the 1930s. He worked for a while in Rudy Vallee's band, then for a while in France. From the mid-1930s on, he essentially stopped playing and was involved in several mining investments that, unfortunately, did not prove successful.
Rudy and his wife Mary Wiedoeft had a difficult relationship partially due to difficulties in maintaining their rather flamboyant lifestyle and alcohol abuse. In 1937, he was nearly killed when he was stabbed by his wife. He died in Flushing, New York in 1940 from cirrhosis of the liver. Famed pianist Oscar Levant descibed Rudy as "...the world's greatest saxophonist.." and a worlsd famous instrument maker Henri Selmer, said: "I have never heard a saxophonist to equal Wiedoeft, and I doubt if there will be any to excel him, his staccato is so rapid, his execution so brilliant." The slideshow: Man Ray's photographs
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