Jazz guitar
pikaru
are regarded marvelous? Please tell me.
Dennis J. Kosterman
>I want to know about masterpieces of Jazz guitar. Who's which plays
>are regarded marvelous? Please tell me.
As a guitarist myself, I've been fascinated by jazz guitarists for as
long as I've been interested in jazz, and they are disproportionately
represented in my CD collection. There are far too many good ones to
list them all here, but here are some of the greatest (in roughly
chronological order):
1. Charlie Christian: played with Benny Goodman for a few years back
around 1940, didn't record much, died quite young of TB.
Unfortunately, I don't know of a good single-disc sampler. The recent
boxed set on Columbia ("The Genius of the Electric Guitar") has *much*
better sound than any previous re-issue, and renders them all
obsolete. But it's an expensive proposition for something that you may
or may not like. Depends on how much you like the jazz of that era in
general. Some of it may sound "corny" to modern ears, but if you dig
this style of music, Benny Goodman was one of its best practitioners,
and Charlie Christian is the "father" of every jazz guitar player
since. You also get to hear Lionel Hampton and a little bit of Lester
Young.
2. Django Reinhardt: Belgian guitarist, made his most famous
recordings with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France in the late 30s.
The quintet was all acoustic, with 3 guitars, violin, and bass -- no
drums and no horns, but they swung as hard as any band I've ever
heard, and Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli (the violinist) were both
brilliant soloists. This music is even "older" stylistically than the
Goodman/Christian stuff, and again may sound corny to modern ears, but
if you can dig the style, it doesn't get any better than this. The
quintet made lots of recordings, and they're available on numerous
labels. I've got the 6-CD set on Mosaic, and it's excellent (don't
know if it's still in print), but there are lots of alternatives in
this case.
3. Wes Montgomery: learned how to play by emulating Christian, but
added his own touch with octaves and chord solos. Played with his
thumb, but was a technical monster anyway (of course, Reinhardt, who
was also a technical monster, played with only two usable fingers on
his fretting hand). His recordings from the late 50s and early 60s on
the Riverside label are uniformly excellent. You can't go wrong with
any of these. In the mid 60s, he moved to the Verve label and then to
A&M, and made more and more "commercial" recordings ("pop"
arrangements with strings, etc., and minimal room for improvisation).
These are pleasant to listen to if you're in the mood (and Wes's
*sound*, as always, was gorgeous on these records), but I can't really
call them jazz. For that, stick with the Riverside recordings (and
"Live at the Half Note" on Verve, which is just as good).
4. Jim Hall: my all-time favorite jazz guitarist. He's more subtle
than most, not as technically flashy, but always tasty and melodic.
Recorded with Chico Hamilton and Jimmy Giuffre in the late 50s, with
Sonny Rollins and Paul Desmond in the early 60s, and mostly as a
leader since then. Some of his best records are out of print, but
there's a lot still available. Two of my favorites are "Concierto"
(originally on CTI, released on CD by CBS) and "All Across the City"
on Concord. His recent string of CDs on Telarc are compositionally
ambitious, but don't feature his guitar as much.
5. Joe Pass: Not very subtle. He was a technical monster, and not
afraid to let you know it (after a blistering run-through of "Seven
Come Eleven", he once remarked "the name of that tune was Fast"). Was
one of the mainstays of Norman Granz's Pablo label in the 70s
(although he also did some excellent stuff for Pacific Jazz in the
60s, now available in a boxed set from Mosaic), and is best known for
his series of solo guitar recordings for that label. For me, the first
of these ("Virtuoso" from 1973) is still the best, but there's not a
dud in the bunch. His technique on these records is almost classical.
He managed to combine walking bass lines, chord solos, and rapid
single-note runs into a complete tapestry of sound. Not to everyone's
taste, but if you like guitar or are a guitarist, you'll be
spellbound. He also did a number of small-group recordings, often with
other Pablo artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.
Those are my top 5 "traditional" guitarists. And then there are those
fusion guys:
1. Larry Coryell: perhaps the first jazz guitarist to play with a
highly amplified, distorted "rock" sound. Played with Gary Burton in
the late 60s before striking out on his own. Curiously, his best
record from this period is the mostly-acoustic "Spaces" with John
McLaughlin (see next entry). Nowadays he plays mostly mainstream jazz
with a fairly traditional guitar sound, but back in the early days of
fusion, he was one of the wildest.
2. John McLaughlin: came to prominence playing with Miles Davis on "In
a Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew", then put in some time with the Tony
Williams Lifetime (one of the most ferocious of the early fusion
bands), then struck out on his own as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin. His
first real band was the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and their first album,
"The Inner Mounting Flame", is simply awesome. It's probably not jazz
(more like instrumental rock with some Indian influence), but it's
awesome nonetheless. His next band, Shakti, was acoustic and had a
much greater Indian influence. Their first album is also a
masterpiece. Since then, he's done all kinds of things. Some of the
best of recent years are "After the Rain" (an album of Coltrane tunes
with Joey DeFrancesco on organ and Elvin Jones on drums) and the
various Shakti re-union albums (all in concert, and all under the band
name "Remember Shakti").
3. John Scofield: recorded with Billy Cobham and as a leader in the
70s, then with Miles Davis in the 80s, and mostly on his own since
then. Has a more "bluesy" sound and style than most jazz or fusion
guitarists, and has exploited that quality to the fullest on most of
his recent recordings. My favorite is probably "A Go Go" with Medeski
Martin & Wood (it's probably my favorite MM&W album, too).
4. Pat Metheny: got his start with Gary Burton in the early 70s, but
quickly became a star in his own right. His first album as a leader,
"Bright Size Life" on ECM, remains his best in my opinion. It also
features a young Jaco Pastorius on bass, and is as good an example of
the mellow side of fusion as you'll ever hear. Since then, he's
developed a more highly-amplified, rockish sound, and often uses a
guitar synth (which I hate). He's done all kinds of things, from
dreamy mood music like "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" to
extended modal workouts like "80/81" to free jazz like "Song X" (with
Ornette Coleman) to straight-ahead stuff like "Question & Answer" or
"Trio '99" to the fusion meets "world music" meets new age sound of
the Pat Metheny Group. Probably the most popular musician on this
list, and one of the hardest to categorize.
5. Bill Frisell: Not as well-known as McLaughlin or Metheny, and not
as technically flashy, but by far my favorite fusion guitarist. He
gets a wonderful ringing, slithery sound out of his guitar, and just
seems to have a knack for playing really cool-sounding stuff. He used
to be considered "weird", but lately has been playing a lot of stuff
that's melodically very accessible (country and folk tunes, and
originals that sound like they could be country or folk tunes), yet
still imbuing it with his own unique sound. I can highly recommend any
of his albums from the last 5 years or so (not as familiar with his
older stuff).
And that's enough for now. Like I said, there are lots more, but that
should get you started.
Dennis J. Kosterman
den...@tds.net
Gerry Scott-Moore
<den...@tds.net> wrote:
> On 13 Jan 2003 18:41:49 -0800, pika...@yahoo.com (pikaru) wrote:
>
> >I want to know about masterpieces of Jazz guitar. Who's which plays
> >are regarded marvelous? Please tell me.
>
> As a guitarist myself, I've been fascinated by jazz guitarists for as
> long as I've been interested in jazz, and they are disproportionately
> represented in my CD collection. There are far too many good ones to
> list them all here, but here are some of the greatest (in roughly
> chronological order):
>
> 1. Charlie Christian: played with Benny Goodman for a few years back
> around 1940, didn't record much, died quite young of TB.
[snip]
Jeez, what time and energy went into that. That was damn swell of you.
That's a great cut-and-paste intro for the unitiated. I think I'll
steal it.
I'd add a few of the "big list" of also-rans, if for no other reason
than to get some of my other favorites into the mix. Though admittedly
you you've knocked almost all the pins down.
But I'd add Eddie Lang, Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, Jimmy Raney, Kenny
Burrell and Grant Green, They are most deserving and have large and
deverse discographies.
Then there my favorite obscurities in George Barnes, Barry Galbraith,
Chuck Wayne, Doug Raney, Joe Beck, Lorne Lofsky and Larry Koonse.
These guys recording careers are far less voluminous or accessible.
--
///--- Nazodesu no more.
Panasonic
> I want to know about masterpieces of Jazz guitar. Who's which plays
> are regarded marvelous? Please tell me.
Start with Charlie Christian and Joe Pass.
Panasonic
> Then there my favorite obscurities in George Barnes, Barry Galbraith,
> Chuck Wayne, Doug Raney, Joe Beck, Lorne Lofsky and Larry Koonse.
> These guys recording careers are far less voluminous or accessible.
Add to that list Bill Connors and Mick Goodrick, both ex Gary Burton
sidemen with *very* limited careers as lead.
Peter J King
I don't think that anyone's mentioned George Benson yet; his first couple
of albums are well worth listening to (I'd start with "It's Uptown") -- in
fact even some of his later stuff has good guitar playing, even though you
probably wouldn't listen to them to enjoy the music.
Other missing names are:
Philip Catherine (try "Sleep My Love");
Charlie Hunter (he provokes deep divisions in this newsgroup, with quite a
bit of vitriol which I, for one, find puzzling; try "Return of the
Candyman");
Slim Gaillard (look, he did play guitar, even though that's not his main
claim to your ears);
Rene Thomas (the only albums I know in which he's leader are "The Real
Cat" and "Meeting Mister Thomas"; the Penguin Guide lists "Guitar Groove",
which they like more, but I haven't heard it);
and last but certainly not least, Oscar Aleman, whom I've only heard as a
sideman or on compilations (hear him on the album "Louis Armstrong and
Friends", on which he appears on four sides with -- not Louis in fact, but
Danny Polo and His Swing Stars who fill out the disc.
Peter J. King
JAZZCORNER
I miss the "wizzard" on guitar John McLaughlin top artist on classical
guitar as well as on electric guitar.
W.B."
Dennis J. Kosterman" <den...@tds.net> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:3e238c1a...@news.tds.net...
Gerry Scott-Moore
Actually the original post is perfect for the uninitiated. I added
only a few semi-criticals: Barney Kessel, Tal Farlow, Kenny Burrell,
JimmyRaney. The history of the instrument won't be written without
them.
When we add my obscurities as well as Charlie Hunter, the list really
becomes one of those exhaustive things of everyone who's been in the
room with the instrument. :-) This just seves to confuse the neophyte.
Mark Eisenman
Lenny Breau, who did things that are still big influences on guitarists
today.
Mark
Mark Eisenman
E mail- eise...@yorku.ca
WEB- jazzpiano.ca
276 Willow Ave.
Toronto, ON
M4E 3K7
Canada
Dave Moore
"Peter J King" <shil...@ermine.ox.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:Pine.OSF.4.44.030114...@ermine.ox.ac.uk...
>
> and last but certainly not least, Oscar Aleman, whom
> I've only heard as a sideman or on compilations (hear
> him on the album "Louis Armstrong and Friends", on
> which he appears on four sides with -- not Louis in fact, but
> Danny Polo and His Swing Stars who fill out the disc.
There's a wonderful double CD "Oscar Aleman - Swing Guitar Masterpieces
1938-57" on the Acoustic label which is just excellent! If you like Django,
you'll love Aleman!
And let's not forget Snoozer Quinn, either.
Dave Moore
Peter J King
> Dennis J. Kosterman" <den...@tds.net> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> news:3e238c1a...@news.tds.net...
> > 2. John McLaughlin: came to prominence playing with Miles Davis on "In
> > a Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew", then put in some time with the Tony
> > Williams Lifetime (one of the most ferocious of the early fusion
> > bands), then struck out on his own as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin. His
> > first real band was the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and their first album,
> > "The Inner Mounting Flame", is simply awesome. It's probably not jazz
> > (more like instrumental rock with some Indian influence), but it's
> > awesome nonetheless. His next band, Shakti, was acoustic and had a
> > much greater Indian influence. Their first album is also a
> > masterpiece. Since then, he's done all kinds of things. Some of the
> > best of recent years are "After the Rain" (an album of Coltrane tunes
> > with Joey DeFrancesco on organ and Elvin Jones on drums) and the
> > various Shakti re-union albums (all in concert, and all under the band
> > name "Remember Shakti").
> I miss the "wizzard" on guitar John McLaughlin top artist on classical
> guitar as well as on electric guitar.
?
Adam Bravo
"Gerry Scott-Moore" <222...@adelphia.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:130120032243598606%222...@adelphia.net.invalid...
It's nice to see Koonse's name there. IMO, he's very underappreciated. Last
time I saw him, it was in a little tiny church hall with about 5 people in
the audience.
Gerry Scott-Moore
<mra...@cox.net> wrote:
> > Then there my favorite obscurities in George Barnes, Barry Galbraith,
> > Chuck Wayne, Doug Raney, Joe Beck, Lorne Lofsky and Larry Koonse.
> > These guys recording careers are far less voluminous or accessible.
>
> It's nice to see Koonse's name there. IMO, he's very underappreciated. Last
> time I saw him, it was in a little tiny church hall with about 5 people in
> the audience.
Which church? He makes the periodic run to OC, I understand, but I
haven't managed to actually see him here except once too long ago at
Steamers.
Sum1
"Peter J King" <shil...@ermine.ox.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:Pine.OSF.4.44.030114...@ermine.ox.ac.uk...
>
> of albums are well worth listening to (I'd start with "It's Uptown") -- in
> fact even some of his later stuff has good guitar playing, even though you
> probably wouldn't listen to them to enjoy the music.
Why wouldn't you "enjoy the music"?
Sum1
"Dennis J. Kosterman" <den...@tds.net> wrote in message
news:3e238c1a...@news.tds.net...
> On 13 Jan 2003 18:41:49 -0800, pika...@yahoo.com (pikaru) wrote:
> 3. John Scofield: recorded with Billy Cobham and as a leader in the
>
> 4. Pat Metheny: got his start with Gary Burton in the early 70s, but
Or get both on one album, a great cd, I Can See Your House From Here.
JAZZCORNER
Sorry, my fault. And he is Number 2 with Mr. Kostermann, great!
W.B.
"Peter J King" <shil...@ermine.ox.ac.uk> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:Pine.OSF.4.44.030114...@ermine.ox.ac.uk...
Joe Finn
"pikaru" <pika...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:995b437c.03011...@posting.google.com...
> I want to know about masterpieces of Jazz guitar. Who's which plays
> are regarded marvelous? Please tell me.
Have a look at the Jazz Guitar Almanac on my site.
http://www.joefinn.net/gtrcln_1.HTM
I post it in monthly installments and include the birthdays of various
guitarists. I've done this to keep the names of these guys [both prominent
and obscure] in circulation in the hopes that new listeners will seek out
their recordings and performances.
Most of the top players names already appear in this thread so you've got
your work cut out for you. Welcome to the world of jazz told on six strings.
.....joe
--
Visit me on the web. www.JoeFinn.net
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Loudon Briggs
I've not seen a mention of one of my great favorites... click on this
site...
http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/artists/artists_page.jsp?artist=29
and you'll see who I'm referring to, as well as the ability to check
out many other fine jazz guitarists.
Panasonic
> > I don't think that anyone's mentioned George Benson yet; his first couple
> > of albums are well worth listening to (I'd start with "It's Uptown") -- in
> > fact even some of his later stuff has good guitar playing, even though you
> > probably wouldn't listen to them to enjoy the music.
>
> Why wouldn't you "enjoy the music"?
Another "troll-like" question from the master of same.
Sum1
"Panasonic" <ahe...@our.time> wrote in message
news:3E25E10B...@our.time...
Another off topic post from the not-so-masterful of the same.
Adam Bravo
only about 6 groups, and only 3 of them were any good. I've also seen him
twice with Bob Florence's band. You know he has to be good, because Bob
isn't usually into having much comping behind the band or solosv(though he
himself can fill up space quite a bit).
"Gerry Scott-Moore" <222...@adelphia.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:140120032126567639%222...@adelphia.net.invalid...
Dennis J. Kosterman
<w.borg...@rz-online.de> wrote:
> ... And he [John McLaughlin] is Number 2 with Mr. Kostermann, great!
Yes and no. It so happens that he probably is my second favorite among
the fusion guitarists listed, after Bill Frisell. But my order of
listing was not a reflection of preference -- it was (roughly)
chronological. Coryell and McLaughlin were listed first because they
came on the scene earlier than the other three -- not necessarily
because I like their music better.
Dennis J. Kosterman
den...@tds.net
JAZZCORNER
"Dennis J. Kosterman" <den...@tds.net> schrieb im Newsbeitrag !
>
> Yes and no. It so happens that he probably is my second favorite among
> the fusion guitarists listed, after Bill Frisell. But my order of
> listing was not a reflection of preference -- it was (roughly)
> chronological. Coryell and McLaughlin were listed first because they
> came on the scene earlier than the other three -- not necessarily
> because I like their music better.
>
> Dennis J. Kosterman
> den...@tds.net
Hi Dennis,
I
`m sorry to read this.
To name the artist in chronological order means nothin to me (no offense!).
I can find out this for myself. Only the personal ranking shows me something
.
So if Bill Frisell is the greatest of them fusion types for you, we are not
in the same boat.
Frisell on guitar seems the same for me as Broetzman on saxophone. I can
live without it
and I feel i do not miss anything important.
Jazzmusic for me is entertainment but alas the tastes are different.
Willie
Frisbie Einstein
> I want to know about masterpieces of Jazz guitar. Who's which plays
> are regarded marvelous? Please tell me.
I'd go for George Benson's "Beyond the Blue Horizon" (it was a big
surprise when he later turned into a singer), the Pat Metheney Group
first album (what a masterpiece. Nowhere to go but down after that,
unfortunately), and John McLaughlin on Tony Williams Lifetime
"Emergency", though that could be more wild rock than jazz.
Honorable mention to Mike Stern's "Upside Downside". He comes the
closest to combining the other three. Has too many rock cliche
sustained screaming high notes for me, aside from that he could be the
best of all.
Panasonic
> I'd go for George Benson's "Beyond the Blue Horizon" (it was a big
> surprise when he later turned into a singer),
Later? He sings more earlier in his career (on "It's Uptown W/
The George Benson Quartet" and "The George Benson Cookbook" for
example.
I agree, though. "Beyond the Blue Horizon" is a classic.
Sum1
"Panasonic" <ahe...@our.time> wrote in message
So, too, is Breezin'.
Panasonic
> > Later? He sings more earlier in his career (on "It's Uptown W/
> > The George Benson Quartet" and "The George Benson Cookbook" for
> > example.
> >
> > I agree, though. "Beyond the Blue Horizon" is a classic.
>
> So, too, is Breezin'.
"Breezin'" is the last Benson album I purchased for a long time (until
Absolute Benson.) He went very "pop" in Breezin'. Still a good listen
if I'm in the right mood (or with the right lady), but he definitely
abandoned jazz in future releases.
JC Martin
"JAZZCORNER" <w.borg...@rz-online.de> wrote in message
news:b06lvu$f66$1...@news.rhein-zeitung.de...
True. But whether you like McLaughlin or not, he is hardly a great
classical player, much less the best.
-JC
Frisbie Einstein
> True. But whether you like McLaughlin or not, he is hardly a great
> classical player, much less the best.
>
> -JC
True as well. But over in rec.music.classical.guitar they are amazed
with how well he does playing with a pick as opposed to classical
finger technique.
Papa Andy
A
--
Play I Some Music with Papa Andy
Reggae, African and Caribbean Music
http://wxxe.org
Saturday 8 PM - 11 PM ET
All Nite Rewind 11 PM - 3 PM
"pikaru" <pika...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:995b437c.03011...@posting.google.com...
Gerry Scott-Moore
<playiso...@email.com> wrote:
> No one has mentioned Terje Rypdal or Volker Kriegel (until now)
Any minute now we'll be going into local guitarists. I heard a guy
named Stinky in Tishimingo Oklahoma in 1974.
PJBMHB
gorgeous sound and immaculate use of a volume pedal. his writing is wonderful
too.
=-) PJ
Victor Eijkhout
> And that's enough for now. Like I said, there are lots more, but that
> should get you started.
Just make sure you save a few pennies for "Ask the ages" by Sonny
Sharrock.
V.
PJBMHB
>Sharrock.
another great player!
=-) PJ
Mark P
nothing like classical guitar (or classical jazz guitar as it is nowadays) but
great music.