Stuff Smith (1909-67)
Alongside Grappelli and Venuti, Stuff Smith was undoubtedly one of the three great swing violinists of the early 20th century. He was an African-American, born Hezekiah Leroy Smith,in Ohio; his nickname came from his habit of referring to other people whose name he couldn't remember as "Stuff".
His first notable work was with the Alphonso Trent Orchestra in the 1920's; at the time it was not uncommon for dance bands to have a violionist who could contribute occasional swing solos.It was not until 1936 that he got his major break; he formed a band with his lifelong friend, trumpeter Jonah Jones and as a sextet they took a residency at New York's Onyx club,where their driving rhythm, exciting performance and good humour made them a hit with audiences and critics.
Two of their most successful recordings of the time were "I'se a Muggin" and "You'se a Viper".

Smith's comedy vocals were an important part of the formula, as was his eccentric habit of wearing on stage a top hat and either a stuffed monkey or parrot on his shoulder. However, this comic presentation belies the quality of his playing, which was virtuosic and technically adventurous.
Though not considered a bebop violinist, he definitely had leanings in that direction; trumpeter Dizzie Gillespie was a great admirer of Smith, and credits him with many of the harmonic innovations which pointed him towards bebop. Stuff Smith jammed with the likes of Charlie Parker, something which I'm sure would have daunted Venuti or Grappelli.

Stuff Smith's violin technique

His hero was Louis Armstrong, and there is a strong horn-like element to his playing. expressed both in frequent explosive stabs and pauses between phrases. He frequently uses parallel fifths and octaves; one of his trademark licks is an electrifying series of chromatically ascending octaves; he raised the roof when he unleashed this one at the "Violin Summit" in 1966, alongside Grappelli, Ponty and Asmussen.
His phrases often start with a single long, fierce note, and he frequently alternates short arco and pizzicato sections. His aggressive, slightly scratchy tone is not mellowed by his wide vibrato, and he is not afraid to use deliberate dissonance and riffs which step outside the chords. His playing is always technically ambitious, but his sense of humour is clear, with quotes for The Irish Washerwoman or Coming Through the Rye appearing unexpectedly.

Electric violin

Stuff Smith is credited as being the pioneer of the electric violin. Although we today take amplification of the violin for granted, in the days of the swing bands it was a serious problem for a violinist to be heard on a noisy bandstand. In the 20's, with the Alphonso Trent Orchestra he used a Stroh fiddle, with a horn like on an old fashioned gramophone. He experimented unsuccessfully with a pickup and homemade amplifier "as big as a room!", and then whilst at the Onyx Club was presented with a purpose-built National Dobro Vio-Lectric, which he then endorsed and used extensively.

After two years in New York, he went to Hollywood to appear in the film Swing Street; this was the end of his Onyx Club run, but he continued to find work with a variety of line-ups, including recording sessions with Dizzie Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Nat Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and even Sun Ra.
He moved to Europe in the 60's and was still playing up to his death in Munich in 1967.

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