Eddie Lang : The Father of Jazz Guitar

Eddie Lang, an Italian American, spent a good part of his career as a studio musician and this setting is within a recording studio. Here there are are images and people who narrate a history of Lang’s life and recount his reputation in the music world by highlighting some of the musicians he played with and/or were influenced by him.

Lang is in the center of the composition sitting beside a microphone. The banjo on the floor references the movement away from banjo to guitar in jazz bands, which he implemented. To the right is a red horn that captured and recorded the musical sounds.

To his left is Bing Crosby and at right is Joe Venuti on violin. Crosby and Venuti are shown larger as they were key figures in Lang’s life.

Behind them are Arthur Schutt on piano, Bix Biederbecke on coronet, Louis Armstrong also on coronet, and Bessie Smith on vocals. The stand-up bass and drums were taken from the nineteen twenties band photographs.

In the upper left corner is Lonnie Johnson with whom Lang made numerous recordings under the pseudonym “Blind Willie Dunn.” Johnson is also included in the composition to reference Lang’s interest and inspiration he derived from seeing and hearing African-American blues and jazz musicians during his musical development.

In the upper right corner standing in front of a picture of the James Campbell School are student musicians. One child is practicing violin, referencing Lang’s time as a violin student. The figure of Paul Whiteman is the music teacher behind the students; Lang played in Whiteman’s orchestra.