Billy Bang obituary

Jazz violinist whose playing had a powerful lyrical sense and a mischievous streakAs the instrument often taken to represent the soul of western classical music, the violin has seemed untouchable to many jazz artists. However, a few have sidestepped its symbolic status to put this dazzling sound-source to their own improvisatory uses. The swing musicians Joe Venuti, Stuff Smith and Stéphane Grappelli were jazz-violin pioneers in the 1930s and 40s; Jean-Luc Ponty and Didier Lockwood introduced a...

Read full article Share article