Jazz Guitar Albums For A Newbie

it was mentioned early in this thread, but My favorite is Grant Green - Idle Moments

 

Phil Upchurch/Tell The Truth!

 

I enjoyed Howard Alden's over-dubs of the fictional Emmet Ray (Sean Penn) from the Woody Allen film, Sweet and Lowdown . I don't have any Alden, but are any of his albums on CD worth getting (great mastering/performance)? Who from the 50s/60s era plays a similar guitar and style?

 

Good call on a guitar player that doesn't get much mention around here.

 

There is one Mike Stern album that stands out from the rest. Full disclosure, I haven't heard anything new by him for many, many years. Still, if your taste is more straight ahead bop over fusion style I will recomend his album
Standards (and other songs). There are no screaming Hendrix or Beck influenced licks on the album.

 

Another good call. I was going to list some Paul Desmond albums with Jim Hall on guitar but Ed Bickert is also pretty great on Paul's albums. Two solo albums I have by Ed are Third Floor Richard with Dave McKenna playing with Ed's trio and a trio album on the small P.M. label simply titled Ed Bickert.

Desmond used Jim Hall on just about every RCA album and they include Glad To Be Unhappy, Easy Living, Take Ten, Desmond With Strings, Bossa Antigua and East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Pure Desmond and the live Desmond album on CTI both feature Bickert on guitar.

It took me a while to truly appreciate the subtleness of Jim Hall's style of guitar playing but after repeated listening he got under my skin and now I'm a big fan. Jim also recorded a live album with the same rhyhtm section and venue that Desmond used on Pure Desmond and his live album. Then there's Concierto on CTI too that has had several audiophile pressings made.

Then there are the RCA albums Jim Hall recorded with Sonny Rollins which are not to be missed either.

Pat Martino - Exit and Live, both on the Muse label and for something a little different, East! on Prestige.

 

The new cd with Larry Coryell, Joey Defrancesco and the ageless Jimmy Cobb is excellent. I caught a terrific set recently at Blues Alley in DC and I'm not sure who was having more fun-the players or the audience!

 

For a more modern Jazz guitar flair:

Lee Ritenour

 

I have several Alden albums on Arbors Records and I think you would enjoy them. They sound quite nice. Those I have are "I Remember Django" and "The Jazz KENnection."

I think you may also really enjoy Marty Grosz. My favorite is "Songs I Learned at my Mother's Knee and Other Low Down Joints."

http://www.martygrosz.com

 

Another great Paul Desmond one featuring Ed Bickert is "Paul Desmond Live", on Horizon, recorded at the Bourbon club in Toronto in '75 or '76, a double LP set. Sounds sssso good!! And a nice A&M pressing too! With Don Thompson on the bass (+++) and Jerry Fuller on the drums.

 

^ Correct title is "The Paul Desmond Quartet Live".

Nice, big sound... Nice, intimate atmosphere - 15 persons in the club max.? Certainly not as noisy and rude an audience as on "Jim Hall Live" (same venue, same year)... A freaking telephone even rings during one of the quietest parts... Yes, a big ol' one! ...But I'd still buy the extended deluxe CD version of this if I could... Jim Hall at the Bourbon smoked!!

 

Try this one.

 

For that more Jazz/Fusion type of thing get any recordings with "Guthrie Govan" or his trio called The Aristocrats.
He as well as his group are at the top of his game at this time IMHO.
This is like what back in to late 60's but only today you'd call a "SUPER GROUP".

 

I love Guthrie and The Aristocrats but that stuff is more Progressive Rock. At least in my opinion.

 

I guess this would be why I as a musician hate to put "Labels" on music.

Believe me it's a Jazz/Fusion to the umpth degree. BTW Guthrie can play the crap out of bebop tunes like Charlie Parker stuff as well as Post Bebop Jazz material to tunes like Coltrain's "Giant Steps" while playing
as clean guitar sounding minus the crunchy overdrive that he uses with his group.

 

Andreas Varady is only 16. Just bought his debut album today. A few originals and some interpretive covers.

http://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/1310