Jazz Guitar Albums For A Newbie

Has This Been Mentioned?

Jim Hall Conceirto

 

t-bone with bb king 1967. wow! i've watched this clip many times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0q_EEugHw8

 

Did anyone mention Billie Bauer?

 

Could not disagree with you more. I own the Goodman stuff but seldom listen to it. When I listen to the Goodman stuff with Christian, I come away shrugging - "What was all the fuss about?" The playing sounds almost laughably tame by modern guitar standards and Christian, IMHO, wasn't a guy who was able to show his full capabilities when confined to making very short, concise statements (as opposed to many other musicians who I find frankly "needed" the severe forced editing that 78s required). All this meant that for many years, other than appreciating what a pioneer of the electric guitar Christian was, I really didn't "get" why he was held in such high regard.

When I finally heard the Minton's stuff, where he has tons of room to stretch out, I totally "got" it - the guy was like from another planet, light years ahead of his time. So what if the recording quality is a bit rough? His genius shines through loud and clear.

To some degree my Tal Farlow rec is similar - much as I love all his studio recordings (I own the Verve Mosaic for example and it's one of my favorites), it's the informal private recordings I suggest that really display what he was capable of. Farlow himself has said that he didn't ever really feel comfortable in the formal studio setting; it's in keeping with his whole reticence about being in the limelight. On those living room recordings, even though they're a bit rough, you can easily hear how relaxed and centered he felt - it shines through in his playing, which is up several notches from his already other-worldly standard.

Much of the greatest music (jazz in particular) unfortunately just wasn't that well recorded. I think if you skip those rougher recordings you'll miss a ton of great music. YMMV of course.

I don't think they did - this one is fantastic:



If we're going lesser known, I also find the recordings below to be wonderful examples of 1950s era jazz guitar. Lou Mecca is basically totally unknown these days but his 10" for Blue Note is wonderful. The only CD issue I've seen of this title was a Japanese RVG (unfortunately - wish there was a non-RVG mastering, but it sounds decent enough and is in a nice mini-LP sleeve:



Sal Salvador is a bit better known as he continued to record sporadically; his Blue Note 10" below is just wonderful (the CD reissue, in the Blue Note Connoisseur series, added a whole second 10" session, also great).

 

One player I don't think anyone has mentioned is Gene Bertoncini, who is heard most often in duet with bassist Michael Moore. I can't recommend a particular record, but I have seen him live. I first heard him on a track of the Wayne Shorter album 'Odyssey of Iska'.

Of contemporary players, since people are mentioning music well outside of 1950-1975 I suggest James Blood Ulmer, Joe Morris, and Mary Halvorson as a start.

 

I recommended Bauer's "Plectrist" in post #50.

 

I have that Sal Salvador cd collection mentioned above and it is pretty great.

 

I have been listening to a lot of Joe Pass recently. I love his playing.

 

I haven't read the thread, so this may have already been mentioned:



Mark Whitfield - True Blue

One of my favorite albums. All instrumental. Reference sound quality.

 

Went to used LP shop today and picked up a few albums based on the recommendations above:

Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
Oscar Peterson - The Paris Concert w/ Joe Pass & Niels Pederseon
Al Di Meola - Elegant Gypsy
Al Di Meola - Land of the Midnight Sun
Pat Metheny - Bright Size Live w/ Jaco Pastorius & Bob Moses!!
Kenny Burrell & Grover Washington Jr - Togethering

And a non-guitar one: Art Blakely & The Jazz Mesengers - The Big Beat

 

^^^^ Great, lots to enjoy there!

ATR and I think some others prior mentioned James Blood Ulmer. He has some very fine recordings under his own name but I like his work on this classic recording by alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, originally issued on Columbia and then reissued on CD on the Koch Jazz label:



Larry Coryell has mentioned previously but I wanted to put a plug in for his very fine work on both acoustic and electric guitars on this album, recorded for the Shanachie label:

 

Blood is great in a supporting role on Lenox Avenue Breakdown, but if he even takes a solo I don't remember it. I think he got faded out a couple of times on that album.

I recommend the Odyssey trio with violinist Charles Burnham as second string voice. The original Columbia album 'Odyssey' is hard to find, probably easier is 'Back in Time' on Pi. The three Columbia albums, Free Lancing, Odyssey, and Black Rock are all very different and the best produced of Blood's music. None are easy to pick up, though.

Spent my evening listening to the MusicMasters Charlie Christian at Minton's set, BTW.

 

I am not sure he solos on LENOX either, I agree - but I find his rhythm playing on this recording is well worth hearing for guitar nuts. I'm a big rhythm guitar fan. To me it's an overlooked aspect of the instrument in the post-rock era, everyone always focuses on the solos.

For Ulmer as a leader, I don't have ODYSSEY, but I do have ARE YOU GLAD TO BE IN AMERICA (DIW Japan)? and while it's fine music, Ulmer to my ears gets upstaged by the other musicians (drummers Ronald Shannon Jackson and G. Calvin Weston especially).

I will try to pick up ODYSSEY or one of the other Columbias.

How's TALES OF CAPTAIN BLACK (DIW)? That one also seems to get a lot of praise, slightly earlier than AMERICA?

An evening well spent!

 

Don't forget Teddy Bunn,hard to find but worth it

 

Captian Black is great (I think I might have recommended it ealier in this thread). It's a quartet date with Ornette Coleman, Jaamaladeen Tacuma and Denardo Coleman. A lot like the work Ornette was doing at the time (eg Dancing in Your Head) but the compositions are all Blood's.
The LP is fairly common (at least in my part of the world) and was cut by Rudy Van Gelder.

All his Columbia albums are great. Similar principles but more accessible. The albums by Music Revelation Ensemble are worth hunting down too - started as a collaboration with tenor saxophonist David Murray, but later became a vehicle for Blood to play with various other saxophonists like Sam Rivers, Arthur Blythe, Hamiet Bluiett, Pharoah Sanders and John Zorn.

 

If you think he gets upstaged by Ron and G. Calvin, I hope you've heard Ron's Eye On You, which is my avatar and a record I produced. Features Bern Nix and Vernon Reid (his first appearance on record) on guitars.

The Odyssey band is terrific.

 

At the risk of hijacking this thread to a James Blood Ulmer thread, the live Part Time album by the Odyssey trio on Rough Trade is worth hunting down too, as are the more recent reunion albums.
Also Arthur Blythe's Illusions, the seemingly less well-known follow up to Lenox Avenue Breakdown. Blood plays on three of the six tracks.

The Shannon Jackson albums with Vernon Reid are also excellent. As well as Eye on You, I like Barbeque Dog a lot.

 

Besides Eye on You, Street Priest, on Moers Music, is the way to go.

 

Agreed.

Getting further away from the original request, but I want to put in another plug for Sonny Sharrock's Ask the Ages, my favourite jazz guitar album from the last couple of decades. Sharrock, Pharoah Sanders, Charnet Moffett and Elvin Jones, getting their Coltrane freak on. Jones is an absolute monster on this session.

It's such a shame Sharrock died before he could get to record a follow-up.

 

Wow, this is turning into a great thread, I have never heard of these guys. Thanks.

 

I am starting a listening room right now right HERE. Nothing but jazz guitar. Here's what I'll be playing. Come take a listen if you're interested.

 

No Mike Stern fans here? Highly recommended.

 

My fave choice for Miles' band in the 80s. His playing absolutely smokes that of Sco, Ford, et. al.

 

I would also add Ralph Towner. I'm listening to "Matchbox" w/ Gary Burton. One of my favorites is "Solstice", and "Chiaroscuro"...on the so called "smooth jazz" side of this genre, one of my favorites band is Acoustic Alchemy.

 

I like Mike Stern OK, also like Scofield. Have to admit, I was never tempted to seek out Stern's stuff outside of Miles Davis, whereas Scofield has a number of recordings I listen to often. Stern has a beautiful sound, but he sustains and wails a bit too much for me. Like Holdsworth, he has great chops but it sounds like rock to me, not jazz. Might as well be listening to Jeff Beck, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Of all the guitar lineups that Miles had I prefer Cosey and Lucas, but those outtakes with Sonny Sharrock on the Jack Johnson box are also right up there. Of course, Mahavishnu had his moments as well.