Eddie South Praeludium and Allegro (swing style)

Eddie South violin, bandleader Born: November 27, 1904, Died: April 25, 1962 Eddie South born in Louisiana, MO, began his career in the 1920s. Due to his Classical Music training, (from Chicago Music College) he would probably have chosen to be a classical musician, but, unfortunately, in those days the color of his skin precluded that option. Starting in the early 1920s, South worked in such Chicago bands as Jimmy Wade s Syncopators, the Charlie Elgar Band, and Erskine Tate. In 1928, he traveled to Europe and studied at the Paris Conservatoire de Musique where he was deeply impressed with European music. He was even more impressed with the Gypsy melodies he heard on his visit to Budapest. Later, he would often delightfully weave those gypsy melodies into his jazz improvisations. Returning to Chicago in 1931, South formed his own band The Alabamians that included the young bassist Milt Hinton. During his 1937 trip to Paris, South recorded with jazz greats Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. How