Editing Rudy Wiedoeft

{{Short description|American saxophonist (1893–1940)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Rudy Wiedoeft
| image               = File:Rudy Wiedoeft in 1920.jpg 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Wiedoeft in 1920
| background          = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name          = Rudolph Cornelius Wiedoeft
| alias               = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1893|01|03}}
| birth_place         = [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]], United States
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1940|02|18|1893|01|03}}
| death_place         = [[Flushing, New York]], United States 
| genre               = 
| occupation          = Saxophonist
| instrument          = 
| years_active        = <!-- YYYY–YYYY (or –present) -->
| label               = 
| associated_acts     = 
| website             = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}}  -->
}}

'''Rudolph Cornelius Wiedoeft''' (January 3, 1893 – February 18, 1940) was an American [[saxophonist]] whose compositions and solos on recordings helped popularize the instrument.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bandmaster, Volume 2, Issue 4, Rudy Wiedoeft |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5UcAQAAMAAJ |access-date=9 February 2024 |publisher=Bandmaster |date=June 1928 |page=9}}</ref>

==Biography==
Born in [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]], the son of [[Germany|German]] immigrants, at a young age Wiedoeft started playing with his family orchestra, first using a [[violin]], then a [[clarinet]]. He relocated to [[New York City]] and, after a series of successful clarinet recordings with his Frisco Jass Band, switched to [[saxophone]], then still an unusual instrument. He became known as a virtuoso saxophonist during the 1910s, made more than 300 recordings for many different record companies, and did much to popularize the saxophone as an instrument in both the U.S. and overseas. His main instrument was the [[C melody saxophone]], a variety which was immensely popular from the 1910s until about 1930. He also played and recorded sometimes using [[Alto saxophone|E-flat alto]] and [[Soprano saxophone|B-flat soprano]] saxophones as well.

His style was noted for very rapid runs of well-articulated notes in between long legato phrases in a [[ragtime]] influenced style. The rapidly articulated notes were made possible by the advanced techniques of double-tonguing and triple-tonguing, similar to those used by brass (trumpet, trombone, etc.) players and flutists. He was also known for his style of vibrato, which was very wide during the later years of his playing. During his earlier years, Wiedoeft's use of vibrato was quite spare. Wiedoeft employed several other 'sound effects,' such as slap tonguing and "laughing" (altering/bending the pitch of the note) through his horn, and alongside his very distinguishable vibrato, became a part of his musical repertoire. While he incorporated some elements of early [[jazz]] into his playing, he remained stylistically a pre-jazz artist. Some of his original compositions were successes, notably ''Valse Erica'', ''Valse Llewellyn'', ''Saxema'', ''Saxophobia'', and ''Sax-o-Phun''.

He remained a very popular entertainer into the 1920s and performed regularly by [[radio]], but his style started to sound more and more dated to the public as his career continued into the 1930s. He worked for a while in [[Rudy Vallee]]'s band, then for a while in [[France]]. From the mid-1930s on, he essentially stopped playing and was involved in several mining investments that were not successful.

Rudy and his wife Mary Wiedoeft had a difficult relationship partially due to difficulties of maintaining their rather flamboyant lifestyle and alcohol abuse. During 1937, he was nearly killed when he was stabbed by his wife. The couple reconciled, however, and during the same year, Rudy made his last radio performance.

He died in [[Flushing, New York]], on February 18, 1940, from [[cirrhosis]] of the liver.

==Legacy==
Before 1920, the [[Holton Instrument Company]] adapted features from existing production model saxophones and marketed them as the "Rudy Wiedoeft Model". However, it is doubtful Wiedoeft actually performed with such instruments.

Several of Wiedoeft's siblings also became professional musicians, the most famous being West coast bandleader [[Herb Wiedoeft]] (1886–1928).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v12p068y1989.pdf The Legacy of Rudy Wiedoeft]
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103862 Rudy Wiedoeft recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].
* {{Gutenberg author |id=3448| name=Rudy Wiedoeft}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Rudy Wiedoeft}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiedoeft, Rudy}}
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cirrhosis]]
[[Category:American male saxophonists]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:Vocalion Records artists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Detroit]]
[[Category:20th-century American saxophonists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]