Wild Cat (song)

Wild Cat is an instrumental duet for violin and guitar, composed by jazz guitarist Eddie Lang and violinist Joe Venuti.

Background They first recorded it in New York, January 24, 1927. It is a showcase piece for Venuti's talent as a violinist.The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz (1987), p. 182. His performance has been held to "offer some good examples of bow rockin'."Cary Ginell, Milton Brown and the Founding of Western Swing (University of Illinois Press, 1994), p. 104. One critic described the work as follows:Jean Ann Boyd, The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing (University of Texas Press, 1998), p. 38. "Wild Cat" illustrates the salient features of Venuti's unique violin styling. He utilized the full range of the violin, from low rich tones to the high, ethereal sounds near the bridge. [.. . ] The melody of the popular song "Wild Cat" was completely transformed through Venuti's ingenious improvisation on its underlying chord structure. Author Katharine Rapoport included the piece as recommended listening "to really get your head (and ears) around jazz music".

Andy Stein is also noted for a virtuoso performance of the same piece.The New York Times, February 28, 1985, quoted in Sanford Josephson, Jazz Notes: Interviews across the Generations (Greenwood, 2009), p. 30. A further recording of "Wild Cat" by Stan Kurtis and Dick Hyman, which came out on the Pro Jazz label in 1987, was well received.Horizon, January /February 1989, quoted in Sanford Josephson, Jazz Notes: Interviews across the Generations (Greenwood, 2009), p. 28.

CD releases Joe Venuti: Violin Jazz. Kazoo, 1990. ASIN: B000000G7Z Joe Venuti: Pretty Trix. Iajrc Records, 2000. ASIN: B000003KW7 Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti: New York Sessions 1926–1935. JSP Records, 2003. ASIN: B00009XH3X The Best of Jazz Violins. LRC Ltd., 2009. ASIN: B000008CHD

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