Jazz Guitar Albums For A Newbie

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by oneslip17, Feb 15, 2011.

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  1. Is this guy a killer or what?...

    I have just - don't laugh - discovered Pat Martino, with a recent CD from the library entitled "Remember - A Tribute To Wes Montgomery", on the Blue Note label...

    ...Really something else with his mile-long lines and flaming imagination! There is kind of a funny swing to his playing on most of the tracks, like he would be picking downstrokes only (I know it's impossible with such speedy playing, but that's just how it sounds to me), a little behind the beat... Somehow it calls up George Benson a bit... whom I adore(d) anyway!

    :goodie: :goodie: :goodie:

    I have just read a little bit about his past operation to the brain, and how he had to completely re-learn his art. Was he a different player before that (compared with this new recording)?
     
    Beatle Terr likes this.
  2. Gary Freed

    Gary Freed Forum Resident

    Charlie Byrd is another one worth mentioning.

    Stan Getz usually is recognized as bringing the Bossa Nova sound to the US but it was
    Byrd who actually introduced it to Stan Getz.

    Byrd is way up there for Jazz Guitar

    My pick is the "The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd"

    Jazz Samba, was the recording which pushed bossa Nova into the mainstream of North American music before Getz/Gilberto was ever recorded.

    He was a classical Jazz Guitarist and played with nylon strings.
     
  3. DrJ

    DrJ Senior Member

    Location:
    Davis, CA, USA
    I recognize Byrd's talent but he's never done a thing for me, for some reason - just doesn't move me at all as a player. For one thing, too much "thwack" and "twang" on the nylon string - it's downright distracting (to me) on some of the JAZZ SAMBA tracks. For another, at least on JAZZ SAMBA, I find his time feel rather stiff. For me it's a great record in spite of rather than because of his playing.

    Anyway clearly YMMV - but if you like Byrd in a bossa nova bag, you might check out Luiz Bonfa's playing on the SOLO IN RIO 1959 field recordings on the Smithsonian Folkways label:

    [​IMG]

    For me, that's the real stuff where nylon string bossa nova and jazz playing is concerned. Bonfa was a GIANT.

    Also there is some considerable controversy about just who introduced Bossa Nova to jazz in the U.S. - may not have been Byrd at all. See this discussion thread (and the link our host provides):

    http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-67842.html

    Big article about this same issue in JazzTimes around the time Steve started his thread. Drummer Buddy Deppenschmidt probably deserves more credit for launching the bossa nova craze in jazz than he's generally given.
     
  4. SuperFuzz

    SuperFuzz Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC USA
    Not a different player, but he sounded very different back then... he absolutely smoked. His playing is just as beautiful now, but he's not the hard-bop monster that he was. Check out his stuff form the late 60s and early 70s on Prestige and Muse.

    Here's a live bootleg audio recording on YouTube. I hope you don't own a precious guitar, you might want to smash it after hearing this.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqWd_ZM-QeQ
     
  5. SuperFuzz

    SuperFuzz Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC USA
    :eek:
    I love Stern too... know him pretty well. But he and Holdsworth are night and day... Holdsworth sounded more rockish in the 70s, and even in the 80s, but have you heard anything from his album "Secrets" onward (post 1990)? It is 100% jazz... he sounds more like a horn player than a guitarist. With Stern, it doesn't matter which records you get, they all kinda sound the same - not a bad thing, at least he's got his own sound.


    BTW nice job on the Eye On You record... I remember looking for years for a copy, then walked into Downtown Music Gallery in NYC and they had a vinyl reissue and a CD-R (needledrop), I got the CD. They said it was authorized.
     
  6. ATR

    ATR Senior Member

    Location:
    Baystate
    Those are the original vinyl records, not reissues. The CD-R's were not produced by About Time. DMG has an odd idea of what authorized means. Maybe you should have asked them how they were produced, and who authorized them. Thanks for the compliment, making that recording was an interesting experience.
     
  7. Dang it... SIXTY-mile long lines!! :eek:
     
  8. DrJ

    DrJ Senior Member

    Location:
    Davis, CA, USA
    Resurrecting this thread to say that on forum member ATR's suggestion I picked up a used copy of ODYSSEY today (CD resissue from 1996 on Columbia/Legacy, nicely mastered by Mark Wilder) - cost me a whole 99 cents - the deals on great music on CD in the record stores these days are unbelievable, bad for the industry but great for those of us who like to haunt the used bins.

    Anyway I heartily second ATR's endorsement of this one. A wonderful set, driving and hypnotic and with a lot more variety among tracks in terms of feel and impact than I had anticipated for some reason. This is superb.

    Thanks for the tip.
     
  9. Alex D

    Alex D Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    :thumbsup:
     
  10. DrJ

    DrJ Senior Member

    Location:
    Davis, CA, USA
    Realizing I neglected to add that's ODYSSEY, led by guitarist James Blood Ulmer. :o
     
  11. Alex D

    Alex D Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    "Live at Yoshi's" with Joey DeFrancesco on the Hammond is some sweet stuff- saw that trio back in 2001 and it was hot!
     
  12. ATR

    ATR Senior Member

    Location:
    Baystate
    I've never seen any of those three Blood Ulmer recordings on CD except as pricey Mastersound imports. Then again, I haven't been in any good used record/CD stores lately either. Great pick up, and if you can find either Free Lancing or Black Rock get them too.
     
  13. DrJ

    DrJ Senior Member

    Location:
    Davis, CA, USA
    I had a truly, truly amazing day at the used stores today (I will list all the finds in another thread). But anyway, yes this is a U.S. ODYSSEY issue on Columbia/Legacy from 1996, with liners by Bill Milkowski. Unfortunately it looks to be long OOP and perhaps hard to find cheap. My copy only cost 99 cents, guess they didn't now it was scarce (neither did I until just now); the cheapest I see it listed for on line is $20.

    To my knowledge neither FREE LANCING or BLACK ROCK has made it to CD at least in the U.S., seemingly confirmed by a quick Google search, but I'm not sure.
     
  14. ATR

    ATR Senior Member

    Location:
    Baystate
    I have a Japanese Mastersound CD of Black Rock. I agree that Free Lancing has never been issued on CD.

    Again, congratulations on picking up the Odyssey disc. I saw the band live at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, MA. something like over 20 years ago. The telepathic interaction between guitarist Ulmer and Charles Burnham is something to witness.

    There are two more Odyssey albums that I know of, Reunion on Knitting Factory and Back in Time on Pi. Reunion was a disappointment considering the quality of that Columbia record and the high expectations of a long recording hiatus. Back in Time, on the other hand, was a bonus. Not as good as the first album, but solid nonetheless. Blood and Burnham also appear together on a Chesky SACD by a band called The 52nd Street Blues Project, 'Blues and Grass'. The band includes bass guitar and vocals. It's not Odyssey, but it has its moments.
     
  15. Mike B

    Mike B Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Like with other jazz, I started with guitar stuff in the 60s (Grant Green) and 70s (McLaughlin) but now find much more to treasure in earlier work.

    I'm sure Django Reinheardt and Charlie Christian were name-dropped but really I can't stress enough how amazing their work is.

    If you want some guitar playing straddles the line between jazz and blues, is super-influential, and has great soul (and yes, you do want that), check out Lonnie Johnson. I have comp called Blues In My Fingers.
     
  16. Don't miss the little-known Marc Johnson (bass player) album "The Sound of Summer Running." Jazz guitarists Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell meld their styles particularly well on this one.
     
  17. 33Sound

    33Sound New Member

    Location:
    CNY
    Sonny Sharrock and Marc Ribot!
     
  18. yogibear

    yogibear Active Member

    Location:
    Roy, Utah, USA
    pat metheny - pat metheny group
    kurt rosenwinkel-the next step
     
  19. Mike in OR

    Mike in OR Through Middle-earth...onto Heart of The Sunrise

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Never heard it, but based on the recommendation, I just picked up a copy. Look forward to hearing it.
     
  20. Beatle Terr

    Beatle Terr Super Senior SH Forum Member Musician & Guitarist

    WOW, I gotta get that!!!

    Thanks Jose...:righton:
     
  21. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

    Location:
    .
    Great thread. How about this guy? Your jazz guitar collection won't have a proper grounding without him.

    Eddie.jpg
     
  22. Jose Jones

    Jose Jones Outstanding Forum Member

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    You're welcome. Don't hesitate for a second. My 4 year old son (see avatar) LOVES this DVD. We watch it all the time.
     
    Beatle Terr likes this.
  23. DrJ

    DrJ Senior Member

    Location:
    Davis, CA, USA
    Today's my day to circle back and comment on recordings I've picked up on the recommendation of other SH Forum members.

    Earlier in this thread member ATR posted (after I'd posted on finding the James Blood Ulmer album ODYSSEY):
    I happened upon a nice condition used LP copy of FREE LANCING last weekend in a local comic book store that had a few LPs for sale, and picked it up. Very different feel than ODYSSEY, but still wonderful stuff! Definite keeper. Ulmer sounds on fire throughout - "relentless" is the word that comes to mind. Ulmer is truly an original - a word that is often used but seldom apt. I really can't think of any other guitarist who plays even remotely like him. Thanks for the tip ATR!
     
  24. ATR

    ATR Senior Member

    Location:
    Baystate
    Relistened this weekend to one of my Jean Paul Bourelly discs, Boom Bop II. Bourelly played with Miles on Amandla. This one features Dennis Chambers, and among the many horns Olu Dara on cornet who has a nice solo on Free Lancing. He can get some Miles Davis sounds without plugging in. Both of the Boom Bop discs by Bourelly carry my recommendation.

    Glad you enjoy Free Lancing. Very hard to find on CD, but I think there was a Japanese issue.
     
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