Eddie South (1904-1962) was a black American jazz violinist.  He has been referred to as the “Black Angel” of the violin.  Eddie was a child prodigy who was trained as a classical violinist.  He later switched to jazz violin because there were more opportunities for black musicians in jazz than in classical music.

In the 1920s Eddie visited Europe and was influenced by Hungarian folk music and gypsy music that he heard.  He later incorporated Hungarian music and gypsy music into his style of playing.

In the 1930s Eddie performed and made recordings with guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France.

Here is a recording of Eddie South and Django Reinhardt playing “Somebody Loves Me.”  The recording was made in Paris in 1937.

Eddie South (violin) and Django Reinhardt (guitar) :

You can find mp3 recordings of Django Reinhardt and Eddie South on the website http://www.Amazon.com. The piece ‘Somebody Loves Me’ is also on the cd Classics and Rarities: Django Reinhardt which can also be found on http://www.Amazon.com.