(Giuseppe), Italian-born American JAZZ violinist;b. Lecco, April 4, 1898; d. Seattle, Aug. 14, 1978. Venuti was taken to the U.S. as a child and reared in Philadelphia. There he received a thorough classical training on the violin, but after meeting the jazz guitarist Eddie Lang, he turned to popular music.

In the mid-1920s, Lang and Venuti went to N.Y., where they were quickly hired by popular band leader Paul Whiteman. They also recorded in various smaller ensembles with a wide variety of jazz players.

In 1935 Venuti formed his own band and led it until 1943. He then went to the West Coast, where he became a studio musician in Hollywood. His great merit was to make the theretofore-suspect violin a respectable instrument among the swingers of California.

Venuti continued to work through the '50s, '60s, and into the early '70s. At that time, a revival of interest in SWING music, particularly as played on stringed instruments, led him to a second career as a popular performer on the jazz circuit. Venuti recorded prolifically with many accompanists and toured internationally. He continued to play until his death in 1978.