Virtuosos (Bass) Abraham Laboriel and Lee Ritenour

WIKIPEDIA

Abraham Laboriel, Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks.^{[citation needed]} Guitar Player Magazine described him as: "the most widely used session bassist of our time".^{[citation needed]} Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and film composer Mateo Laboriel.

Laboriel was born in Mexico City. Originally a classically trained guitarist, he switched to bass guitar while studying at the Berklee School of Music. Henry Mancini encouraged Laboriel to move to Los Angeles, California and pursue a recording career.^[1] Since then, he has worked with artists as diverse asDonald Fagen, Lee Ritenour, Christopher Cross, Larry Carlton, Dave Grusin, Andy Pratt, Stevie Wonder, Hanson, Barbra Streisand, Al Jarreau, Billy Cobham, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Ray Charles, Madonna, Paul Simon, Keith Green,Carlos Skinfill, Alvaro Lopez and Res-Q Band, Lisa Loeb, Quincy Jones, Leo Sayer, Russ Taff, Engelbert Humperdinck, Andy Summers, Umberto Tozzi, Ron Kenoly, Rabito, Johnny Hallyday, Crystal Lewis, Lalo Schifrin,Herbie Hancock, Chris Isaak, Paul Jackson Jr., and Michael Jackson. When Laboriel recorded his three solo albums (Dear Friends, Guidum, and Justo & Abraham), he recruited a cast of musicians that included Alex Acuña, Al Jarreau, Jim Keltner, Phillip Bailey, Ron Kenoly, and others.

Laboriel was a founding member of the bands Friendship and Koinonia. He plays live regularly with Greg Mathieson, drummer Bill Maxwell, and Justo Almario. Abraham is now in the band Open Hands with Justo Almario, Greg Mathieson, and Bill Maxwell.

In 2005, Abraham was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the Berklee College of Music.

Virtuosos (Bass) - Charlie Haden with Pat Metheny

Charlie Haden

Born in Shenandoah, Iowa, Charlie Haden began his life in music almost immediately, singing on his parents’ country & western radio show at the tender age of 22 months. He started playing bass in his early teens and in 1957, left America’s heartland for Los Angeles, where he met and played with such legends as Art Pepper, Hampton Hawes, and Dexter Gordon. In 1959, Haden he teamed with Ornette Coleman to form the saxophonist’s pioneering quartet (alongside trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Billy Higgins). In addition to his still-influential work with Coleman, Haden also collaborated with a number of adventurous jazz giants, including John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny. In 1969, Haden joined forces with pianist/composer Carla Bley, founding the Liberation Music Orchestra. The group’s self-titled debut is a true milestone of modern music, blending experimental big band jazz with the folk songs of the Spanish Civil War to create a powerfully original work of musical/political activism. An acoustic bassist of extraordinary gifts, Haden’s talents as a musicain have been in constant demand by his fellow artists. As a result, he has collaborated with a genuinely stunning array of musicians, including Hank Jones, Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Paul Motian, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker, Kenny Barron, and Pat Metheny (with whom Haden shared a 1997 “Best Jazz Instrumental Individual/Small Group” Grammy® Award for their Beyond the Missouri Sky) . Haden’s love of world music has also seen him teaming with a variety of diverse international players, including Brazilian guitarist Egberto Gismonti, Argentinean bandoneon master Dino Saluzzi, and Portuguese guitar giant Carlos Paredes. In addition, Haden has explored diverse streams of American popular music with both his acclaimed Quartet West, as well as on such recent collections as 2002’s inventive alliance with Michael Brecker, “AMERICAN DREAMS.” Charlie Haden who was invited to establish the jazz studies program at California Institute of the Arts in 1982, has earned countless honors from around the globe, including and the Los Angeles Jazz Society prize for “Jazz Educator of the Year”, two Grammy Awards (alongside a multitude of nominations), myriad Down Beat readers and critics poll winners, a Guggenheim fellowship, four NEA grants for composition, France’s Grand Prix Du Disque (Charles Cros) Award, Japan’s SWING Journal Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. Montreal Jazz Festival’s Miles Davis Award - http://www.charliehadenmusic.com/bioShort.htm

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Pat Martino and John Scofield

Pat Martino (born August 25, 1944) is an Italian-American jazz guitarist and composer within the post bop, fusion, mainstream jazz, soul jazz and hard bop idioms. - WIKIPEDIA

John Scofield (born December 26, 1951 in Dayton, Ohio),[1] often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham, Medeski Martin & Wood, George Duke, Jaco Pastorius, John Mayer, [2] and many other well known artists. At ease in the bebop idiom, Scofield is also well versed in jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul, and other forms of modern American music. - WIKIPEDIA

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Jeff Beck

WIKIPEDIA

Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck (24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. One of three noted guitarists, with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, to have played with The Yardbirds, Beck also formed The Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. He was ranked 14th in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time",[1] and the magazine has described him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock".[2] MSNBC has called him a "guitarist's guitarist".[3]
Much of Beck's recorded output has been instrumental, with a focus on innovative sound and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues-rock, heavy metal, jazz fusion and most recently, an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica. Beck has earned wide critical praise; furthermore, he has received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance five times. Although he has had two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained a broad following or the sustained commercial success of many of his collaborators and bandmates.[3] Beck appears on albums by Mick Jagger, Kate Bush, Roger Waters, Stevie Wonder, Les Paul, Zucchero, Cyndi Lauper, Brian May and ZZ Top. He also made a cameo appearance in the movie Twins (1988).
He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of The Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Eric Clapton

WIKIPEDIA

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time.[2] Clapton ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"[3] and fourth in Gibson's Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.[4]
In the mid sixties, Clapton left the Yardbirds to play blues with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. In his one-year stay with Mayall, Clapton gained the nickname "Slowhand", and graffiti in London declared "Clapton is God." Immediately after leaving Mayall, Clapton formed with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, the power trio, Cream, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and "arty, blues-based psychedelic pop." For most of the seventies, Clapton's output bore the influence of the mellow style of J.J. Cale and the reggae of Bob Marley. His version of Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" helped gain reggae a mass market.[5] Two of his most popular recordings were "Layla", recorded by Derek and the Dominos, and Robert Johnson's "Crossroads", recorded by Cream. A recipient of seventeen Grammy Awards,[6] in 2004 Clapton was awarded a CBE for services to music.[7] In 1998 Clapton, a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict, founded the Crossroads Centre on Antigua, a medical facility for recovering substance abusers.

I was trying to upload, the YouTube from the concert One More Car, One More Rider, but the embed code is disabled. I am posting here nonetheless a rip of that concert. The concert has an all star cast with Steve Gadd on drums and Nathan East on Bass.

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Les Paul and Stanley Jordan

I can't get enough of guitar virtuosos in the net, there are plenty of them, some are playing solo, others in twos or trios... so many great guitarists in this planet.

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Al DiMeola, Paco De Lucia, John Mclaughlin

These guys have been performing a lot in the past, known as the Guitar Trio

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Larry Carlton

Larry Carlton's own musical story began in Southern California. He picked up his first guitar when he was only six years old. He was introduced to jazz in junior high school after hearing The Gerald Wilson Big Band album, Moment of Truth, with guitarist Joe Pass. Larry then became interested in Barney Kessel, Wes Montgornery and the legendary blues guitarist B.B. King. Saxophonist John Coltrane was also a major influence on Carlton, beginning with Coltrane's 1962 classic Ballads.

In 1968 he recorded his first LP, With A Little Help From My Friends (Uni). The enthusiastic industry response garnered him a place among jingle singers The Going Thing, recording on camera and radio commercials for Ford. Mid-season in his second year, he segued to Musical Director for Mrs. Alphabet, an Emmy-nominated children's show on the same network. It was here that Carlton showcased his acting skills, performing as the show's co-star, "Larry Guitar." - http://www.larrycarlton.com/bio.html

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Lee Ritenour

Lee Ritenour's current biography

Growing up in L.A. in the 60's, Grammy award winning guitarist Lee Ritenour received a rich cross section of exposure to jazz, rock and Brazilian music. From one of his first sessions at 16 with the Mamas and Papas to accompanying Lena Horne and Tony Bennett at 18, his forty year eclectic and storied career is highlighted by a Grammy Award win for his 1986 collaboration with Dave Grusin, Harlequin; 17 Grammy nominations; numerous #1 spots in guitar polls and the prestigious "Alumnus of the Year" award from USC. He has recorded over 40 albums, with 35 chart songs, notably the Top 15 hit "Is It You," which has become a contemporary jazz radio classic. In the 90s, Ritenour was a founding member of Fourplay, the most successful band in contemporary jazz, with keyboardist Bob James, bassist Nathan East and drummer Harvey Mason. The first Fourplay album in 1991 spent an unprecedented 33 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart. Adding to this legacy is his latest CD Smoke ‘n' Mirrors; the recently completed Grammy nominated recording Amparo, (a follow-up with Dave Grusin to their highly-successful 2001 Grammy Award nominated contemporary classical crossover CD) and producer of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band's latest CD Act Your Age (which is nominated for 3 Grammys.

It's been a long road since the seventies, when Ritenour's legendary Tuesday night appearances at the famed Baked Potato, with a band including Dave Grusin, Patrice Rushen, Harvey Mason and Ernie Watts became part of the musical landscape for five years. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Joe Sample, and even Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell could be seen in the audiences that would pack the house till the wee hours of the morning. From rock to blues to jazz, his diverse music became the foundation of over 3,000 sessions as a young guitarist with a broad spectrum of artists such as Pink Floyd (The Wall), Steely Dan (Aja), Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, B.B. King, Frank Sinatra, Simon & Garfunkel, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand. Not to forget the dazzling array of talent appearing on his solo works and collaborations, notably-- Phil Collins, Brazilian greats Ivan Lins, Caetano Veloso, Djavan and Jao Bosco, George Benson, Chaka Kahn, Herbie Hancock, Michael McDonald and opera great Renee Fleming. - http://www.leeritenour.com/biography

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Joe Pass

WIKIPEDIA

Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua) (January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. His extensive use of walking basslines, melodic counterpoint during improvisation, use of a chord-melody style of play and outstanding knowledge of chord inversions and progressions opened up new possibilities for jazz guitar and had a profound influence on future guitarists.

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Kenny Burrell

WIKIPEDIA

Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell (born July 31, 1931)[1] is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.

Burrell was born in Detroit, Michigan to a musical family and began playing guitar at the age of 12. His influences as a guitar player include Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, and Wes Montgomery. While a student at Wayne State University, he made his debut recording as a member of Dizzy Gillespie's sextet in 1951. He toured with Oscar Peterson after graduating in 1955 and then moved to New York City in 1956.[1]
A consummate sideman, Burrell recorded with a wide range of prominent musicians. He also led his own groups since 1951 and recorded many well received albums.[1]
In the 1970s he began leading seminars about music, particularly Duke Ellington's. A highly popular performer, he has won several jazz polls in Japan and the United Kingdom as well as the United States.
He has recorded about 40 albums, including Midnight Blue (1967), Blue Lights, Guitar Forms, Sunup To Sundown (1990), Soft Winds (1993), Then Along Came Kenny (1993), and Lotus Blossom (1995).
In 2001, Burrell performed "C Jam Blues" with Medeski, Martin & Wood for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease.
As of 2007, Burrell has served as Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA, mentoring such notable alumni as Gretchen Parlato and Kalil Wilson.[2] Burrell teaches a course entitled "Ellingtonia", examining the life and accomplishments of Duke Ellington.

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Wes Montgomery

WIKIPEDIA

John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968)[1] was an American jazz guitarist. He is unanimously[citation needed] considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Emily Remler, Kenny Burrell, Pat Metheny, and Jimi Hendrix.

According to Jazz guitar educator Wolf Marshall, Montgomery often approached solos in a three-tiered manner: He would begin a repeating progression with single note lines, derived from scales or modes; after a fitting number of sequences, he would play octaves for a few more sequences, finally culminating with block chords. He had little knowledge of scales or modes, let alone musical theory. He used mostly superimposed triads and arpeggios as the main source for his soloing ideas and sounds. .[1]
The use of octaves (playing the same note on two strings one octave apart) for which he is widely known, became known as "the Naptown Sound". Montgomery was also an excellent "single-line" or "single-note" player, and was very influential in the use of block chords in his solos. His playing on the jazz standard Lover Man is an example of his single-note, octave- and block-chord soloing. ("Lover Man" appears on the Fantasy album The Montgomery Brothers.)
Instead of using a guitar pick, Montgomery plucked the strings with the fleshy part of his thumb, using downstrokes for single notes and a combination of upstrokes and downstrokes for chords and octaves. Montgomery developed this technique not for technical reasons but for his wife. He worked long hours as a machinist before his career began and practiced late at night while his wife was sleeping. He played with his thumb so that his playing would be softer and not wake her. This technique enabled him to get a mellow, expressive tone from his guitar. George Benson, in the liner notes of the Ultimate Wes Montgomery album, wrote, "Wes had a corn on his thumb, which gave his sound that point. He would get one sound for the soft parts, and then that point by using the corn. That's why no one will ever match Wes. And his thumb was double-jointed. He could bend it all the way back to touch his wrist, which he would do to shock people."
He generally played a Gibson L-5CES guitar. In his later years he played one of two guitars that Gibson custom made for him. In his early years, Montgomery had a tube amp, often a Fender. In his later years, he played a solid state Standel amp with a 15-inch (380 mm) speaker.

Virtuosos (Guitar) - George Benson

WIKIPEDIA

Breezin' is an album by jazz/soul guitarist George Benson.
The album marked the beginning of Benson's most successful period commercially. Breezin' topped the Pop, Jazz and R&B album charts in Billboard and spun off two hit singles, the title song (which has become a smooth jazz standard) and "This Masquerade," which was a top ten pop and R&B hit.

Virtuosos (Guitar) - Pat Metheny

From the Pat Metheny Group Album.

WIKIPEDIA

Pat Metheny Group is the first album by the Pat Metheny Group, released in 1978. It features Pat Metheny on guitar, Lyle Mays on piano and keyboards, Mark Egan on bass guitar and Dan Gottlieb on drums.

Track listing

"San Lorenzo" (Composed by Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays)
"Phase Dance" (Metheny & Mays)
"Jaco" (Metheny)
"Aprilwind" (Metheny)
"April Joy" (Metheny)
"Lone Jack" (Metheny & Mays)

Different Version - One Note Samba (Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd)

Cool and soothing . . .

Different Version - Spain ( Paco de Lucia Al di Meola and John McLaughlin)

All I can say is . . . WOW!!!

Different Version - Take Five (George Benson)

George Benson in Montreaux Jazz Festival

John Williams - Cavatina (Live)

WIKIPEDIA

"Cavatina" is a classical guitar piece by Stanley Myers and is most famous as the theme from The Deer Hunter.

The piece had been recorded by classical guitarist John Williams, long before the film that made it famous. It had originally been written for piano but at Williams' invitation, Myers re-wrote it for guitar and expanded it. After this transformation, it was first used for the film, The Walking Stick (1970). In 1973, Cleo Laine wrote lyrics and recorded the song as "He Was Beautiful" accompanied by John Williams.

Following the release of The Deer Hunter in 1978, Williams' instrumental version of "Cavatina" became a UK Top 20 hit. Two other versions also made the Top 20 the same year - another instrumental recording by The Shadows, with an electric guitar played by Hank Marvin (#9 in the UK singles charts); and a vocal version (using Cleo Laine's lyrics) by Iris Williams.

The song was also recorded by Paul Potts on his debut album, One Chance. There is a gospel version set to Cavatina called "Beautiful" the author is Billy Evmur and it appears in the "Dove On A Distant Oak Tree" collection. Another vocal version with different lyrics was recorded by Vince Hill (released on the compilation The Ember Records Story Vol. 2 - 1960-1979).

Pat Metheny - Have you Heard (live in Japan 1995)

The song is from the album "Letter From Home" - Picking up where Still Life (Talking) leaves off (instead of throwing listeners a curve ball like Song X), the equally triumphant Letter from Home stresses Brazilian elements with superb results. While a number of these treasures -- including "Beat 70," "Have You Heard," and "Every Summer Night" -- are light and accessible enough to have enjoyed exposure on some smooth jazz stations, Letter contains the type of depth and honesty that's sorely lacking in most smooth jazz. Metheny has always known the difference between light and lightweight, and even at his most delicate, he avoids entering "Muzak" territory. True to form, the improviser doesn't shy away from making extensive use of technology, but is insightful enough to do so in a very warm and soulful fashion. Like Still Life, Letter from Home is a fine example of a CD that is both a commercial and an artistic success. ~ Alex Henderson (CDUNIVERSE)

Eric Clapton, Somewhere Over the Rainbow

A truly gifted guitarist, Eric Clapton this time his own version of "somewhere over the rainbow", a jazzy, standard approach. With him is Billy Preston, Steve Gadd, Nathan East among others in "One More Car, One More Rider" Concert.