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.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, January 11, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, January 8, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
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)
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)
Virtuosos in their own field
I'm thinking of posting videos or stories of the different virtuosos in the field of music. I will group them according to the musical instruments, like for example, I would start with the guitars featuring my favorite musicians, Pat Metheny, Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, George Benson, Eric Clapton etc. And I will move on to Piano, Saxophone, Drums, Bass Guitar and a lot more.
I will make a shortlist on a notebook, a real notebook, I mean where you write something on it with a pen. Then, I'll research on the net and perhaps in Magazines and books. Let us see where this will lead to.
I will make a shortlist on a notebook, a real notebook, I mean where you write something on it with a pen. Then, I'll research on the net and perhaps in Magazines and books. Let us see where this will lead to.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Different Version - Blackbird (Crosby,Stills and Nash)
Another band that gives justice to songs composed by other artist without being a copycat and putting on their signature on it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
