Eddie South (November 27, 1904 - April 25, 1962) was an American jazz violinist. He was a classical violin prodigy who switched to jazz because of limited opportunities for African-American musicians, and started his career playing in vaudeville and jazz orchestras with Jimmy Wade, Charles Elgar, and Erskine Tate in Chicago. He was influenced by Hungarian folk music and Roma music starting with a visit to Europe in the 1920s, and adapted the music to jazz. In 1927 he started his own group, Eddie South and his Alabamians, named after the Alabam club where they played in Chicago, and toured with them in Europe from 1928 to 1930. On subsequent visits to Europe in the 1930s, he performed and recorded with guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli. He also led bands that included pianist Billy Taylor and bassist Milt Hinton. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.