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Born

  • January 3, 1893
  • Detroit, MI

Died

  • February 18, 1940
  • Flushing, NY

Marriage

  • Mary Murphy

Rudy Wiedoeft

Though Rudy Wiedoeft is not well remembered today his contribution to the world of music is undeniable. Wiedoeft pioneered the use of saxophone in both jazz and classical music. Invented in the 1840s the saxophone had become a novelty craze in the early 1900s. Wiedoeft's determination and mastery of the instrument were primarily responsible for raising its status among serious musicians. Many music historians feel that without Wiedoeft the saxophone would not have made that transition.

Born in Detroit to German immigrant parents, Wiedoeft and his siblings grew up in a musical family. The Wiedoeft Family Orchestra performed regularly at local hotels and other venues, with young Rudy on clarinet. He began toying with the saxophone in 1908 but lack of serious tutors for the instrument made it difficult to progress. In 1913 he moved to San Francisco and found work as a clarinetist with Porter's Catalina Island Band. The following year, however, he felt competent enough to make the switch to saxophone.

In 1916 Wiedoeft moved to New York City, where he earned a reputation as a soloist in the pit orchestra of the Morosco Theatre during the show Canary Cottage. He also began to make recordings, one of which, ''Sax-o-phobia,'' became the biggest selling saxophone solo recording in history. Many of Wiedoeft's recordings were novelty numbers designed to showcase his instrument and his talent. Over the course of his career he recorded more than 300 sides and influenced a whole generation of musicians. In 1917 Wiedoeft also recorded leading the Frisco Jass Band, and he is said to have started his own orchestra, which he promptly turned over to his brother Herb due to not having time to manage it.

Wiedoeft had a natural flair for showmanship. He often appeared on stage dressed as a cowboy and was known to dance around as he played. Wiedoeft's music was not just limited to jazz though. He was also involved in classical music. In 1926 he helped organize the first classical concert devoted to the saxophone. That same year he also embarked on a tour of Europe with pianist Oscar Levant.

By the 1930s Wiedoeft's style had become outdated and he fell out of popularity. He moved to Paris, where he found European audiences still appreciative of his music. He toured the continent with his own group but soon lost all his money through a bad investment in a Death Valley gold mine. He was forced to let his men go and work solo. Still enamored with the prospect of finding gold he poured money into several more failed efforts. Wiedoeft's gold fever and an increasing problem with alcoholism would eventually be his undoing. His relationship with his wife deteriorated and in 1937, after they had moved back to United States and settled on the East Coast, she stabbed him in an argument over the couple's financial situation. He recovered, but except for an appearance on Phil Spitalney's radio program he never performed again. As his alcoholism and health worsened he became dependent on the good graces of bandleader and former pupil Rudy Vallee. Rudy Wiedoeft passed away from cirrhosis of the liver in 1940.