New Kid On The Block

AG-95 · #1 01-15-2011, 12:01 AM

Hello all! I'm not a jazzer, but I'd like to learn more. Mostly a classic rock/blues kinda guy, with some classical, and everything in between. I started playing guitar 40 years ago, but gave it up in my early 20's when I got fed up with Berklee (yes, thatBerklee); I didn't realize it was a jazz oriented school, and I wasn't prepared for it (sight reading 101, ear training 101, everything 101!). But it was mostly because I was a rocker, and pretty much treated like an outcast by faculty and classmates alike. I seriously returned to playing the guitar about 3 years ago, and, ironically, I'm tired of playing pent scales, and here I am, wanting to learn more about jazz. Maybe not "jazz" per se (I'm really not crazy about labels. Music is music.) But I think breaking out of the pent boxes can only expand my horizons (if only I paid more attention in theory class). I really enjoy all genres of music, but think I can only benefit by hanging out a bit with jazz oriented people. I guess I'm leaning towards a fusion type of sound, or simply jazz up my pent soloing. So, that's it for now. Looking forward to meeting everyone, but I am pretty busy, so I may not be here often, but I will drop by when I can. Here's something that probably many of you would have killed for- I used to hang out at a music store in Queens, NY where I met Lenny Breau. For whatever reason, he took a liking to me, and gave me a handful of free lessons. But he was so over my head, I didn't know what to make of his lessons (he did have a drug problem, and didn't articulate things very well). He talked me into going to Berklee. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to accept what he was trying to pass on to me. This was in the early '70s. Well, it's never too late to learn. So, I'm prepared to learn, and, ideally, contribute to any budding player's growth as well.

PS: I picked the username AG-95 for my first jazz guitar. Sounds great, but I still love my Strats, Tellys, and other rock guitars! Cheer!

mississippi · #2 01-15-2011, 01:18 AM

welcome aboard

Banksia · #3 01-15-2011, 05:50 AM

Hi and welcome to the forum. You certainly picked a good guitar. As for Lenny, I don't think it was the drugs. Technically, Lenny was probably way over the heads of most players.

kenbennett · #4 01-15-2011, 07:05 AM

Hello, AG. I've been into and out of jazz for 40 years. My father offered to send me to Berklee when I was 17, but I wanted to be a classical composer. That didn't go anywhere. I've played with a lot of Berklee guys since then; all of them are excellent, especially the drummers (Berklee drummers can hear chord changes better than a lot of guitar players).

Anyway, jazz (per se or not) is a long, sometimes overly intellectual road. It takes a lot of thinking and a lot practice to get to the point to where the thinking doesn't get in the way of the playing.

This site is a big help. Dig in and enjoy.

pierre richard · #5 01-15-2011, 10:47 AM

welcome here ag...

the journey is better than the destination....

you will learn much here...

time on the instrument...pierre

AG-95 · #6 01-15-2011, 11:01 AM

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Re: Lenny- yes, he was above and beyond any player I'd ever met; he seemed to be able to to play in any style. He didn't understand most other mortals didn't have the ears he had. E.g, when he was introducing me to modes (something I knew nothing about), he say, "here's X mode" then play it once, start comping some chords, and tell me to solo. I was totally lost. He was terribly strung out on drugs, and that really got in the way of his teaching, and getting gigs. The more I learned about him at the time, it seemed he was some kind of legendary guy. I learned a few other things from him, like clawhammer fingerpicking (something I've since forgotten). I simply wasn't prepared to learn what he had to offer.

@Ken- yes, music in general can be over-intellectualized, in my opinion, but I've since learned I really need to learn the language of music better simply to get out my own ideas. I'm of the "don't think" school of playing, still, I need a much better foundation to get to where I want to go.

@Banksia- I really love my AG-95. I was going to get the AS-75, but it wasn't in stock. I traded in a Mexi-Strat & Mexi-Telecaster for a $300 credit towards the guitar (I should have haggled more about the price, but the store manager knew I wanted to get rid of them). The tones are beautiful. If I were the modding type, I'd swap out the pickups, as the neck pup can get a bit muddy. Still, it's a great guitar.

btw- what kind of led me to delve more into jazz was listening to some live performances of George Benson, Steffan Schackinger (more a fusion type of player), Django. I was somewhat a fan of old time jazzers, but didn't appreciate what they did when I was younger. I'm always looking to expand my horizons.