Sunday, February 7, 2010

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

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

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).

Saturday, January 30, 2010

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.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

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.

Monday, January 25, 2010

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

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

Friday, January 22, 2010

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

Thursday, January 21, 2010

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