Stuff Smith - Have Violin, Will Swing (Deluxe Edition) (2026)

Violinist Stuff Smith recorded an album for Verve in which the swing is even more laidback and easygoing than on his other work for the label. The producers abandoned any attempt to fit his violin into the usual Verve swing formula. Instead, the music returns to a more traditional era of jazz, with Smith as the undisputed center of the sound. He is backed by a small rhythm section: pianist Carl Perkins, bassist Red Callender (with Curtis Counce taking over on part of the material), and drummer Oscar Bradley or Frank Butler. The sound is spacious, open and intimate, in the vein of a small swing combo, almost pre-war European in character. The program includes “It’s Wonderful”, “Indiana”, “Jada”, “Calypso”, “Blow Blow Blow”, “Stop Look”, “Would You Object” and “I Wrote My Song”.

Tracklist:
01-01 Stuff Smith - It's Wonderful [4:03]
01-02 Stuff Smith - Comin' Thru The Rye [2:43]
01-03 Stuff Smith - Ja-Da [4:03]
01-04 Stuff Smith - Indiana [3:25]
01-05 Stuff Smith - Calypso [5:31]
01-06 Stuff Smith - Blow, Blow, Blow [5:28]
01-07 Stuff Smith - I Wrote My Song [3:19]
01-08 Stuff Smith - Oh, But It Is [4:18]
01-09 Stuff Smith - Stop, Look [3:24]
01-10 Stuff Smith - Would You Object? [2:31]
02-01 Stuff Smith - Hillcrest [3:42]
02-02 Stuff Smith - The Blues I Know [5:31]
02-03 Stuff Smith - Skip It [4:04]
02-04 Stuff Smith - Uh Ruh [3:32]
02-05 Stuff Smith - My Thoughts [3:45]
02-06 Stuff Smith - Live And You'll Learn [4:51]
02-07 Stuff Smith - Night Falls Again [5:36]
02-08 Stuff Smith - Minuet In Swing [3:02]
02-09 Stuff Smith - Midway [4:02]
02-10 Stuff Smith - I Lost My Heart By The River [5:47]
02-11 Stuff Smith - Won't You Take A Lesson In Love? [4:13]
02-12 Stuff Smith - What I Say [4:36]