Bud's Corner

Bud shares his knowledge and expansive music collection to uncover the life and music of Joe Venuti.

Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an Italian-American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lang, a friend since childhood. Through the 1920s and early 1930s, Venuti and Lang made many recordings, as leader and as featured soloists. He and Lang became so well known for their 'hot' violin and guitar solos that on many commercial dance recordings they were hired to do 12- or 24-bar duos towards the end of otherwise stock dance arrangements. In 1926, Venuti and Lang started recording for the OKeh label as a duet (after a solitary duet issued on Columbia), followed by "Blue Four" combinations, which are considered milestone jazz recordings. Venuti also recorded commercial dance records for OKeh under the name "New Yorkers".

What is Bud's Corner?

Bud's Corner was a Jazz radio show, running continuously Sunday evenings from 1983 to 1993 on Prairie Public Radio in Bismarck, ND. In each episode, Robert "Bud" Lundberg shares the life and music of a musician through his deep knowledge and personally curated music collection. Throughout his lifetime Bud meticulously brought to life the history of Jazz. He attended many now-famous jazz festivals, scoured record stores across America for obscure recordings, and developed a jazz appreciation society for the people of North Dakota.

Robert Lundberg made personal recordings of each radio show and these recordings are the only archive remaining of his decade-long passion for his music. They are presented in this podcast exactly as he recorded them almost 40 years ago.