Giusepppe Venuti was born Sept. 16, 1903, in Philadelphia. Joe was known throughout his life as being a jokester and using hyperbole to explain his early life. Did he study violin at a Milan Conservatory, learn from his grandfather or did he pick it up on his own? Whatever his true beginnings, he became the first jazz violinist.

After World War I Joe was playing for a Philadelphia symphony. He observed that other violinists were better than him. Since jazz was all the rage, he decided to use the violin as a jazz instrument, which was unheard of in early jazz. Bandleader Jim Cullum said, “Venuti’s idea to play jazz on an instrument that was considered strictly a classical instrument was a part of his ticket to stardom.