lets talk recorded chord melody...

[mr. beaumont]

anybody got any favorites? i always liked barney kessel's "solo" album on concord-- i know he was getting a little older and a little sloppy, but it's such a relaxed, vibey kind of record, like you were just in the guy's living room or something...

so what are your favorites?

[wizard3739]

My favorite is George Van Eps "Mellow Guitar" album. But also Barney Kessel has a few really good chord melodies and if you listen to Howard Robert's "The Real Howard Roberts" you will hear some great chord melody. Serenata is the one I remember from Howard Roberts. Almost anything new from Ron Eschete or Howard Alden (both play mostly 7-string) will feature nice, modern chord melodies.

best wishes

[pete]

Sort of qualifies as jazz, I guess... Chester Atkins' "Starry Night" just blows me away. I spent an awful lot of time transcribing that one...

[derek]

Wow, picking a favorite would be tough. Joe Pass' Virtuoso was a total revelation the first time I heard it. Martin Taylor's live cd (can't recall title) is amazing, and Jimmy Bruno's Solo features some incredible chops.

Ted Greene, Joe Diorio, Jody Fisher, man there are so many good solo discs out there.

[Jazzaluk]

Joe Pass "Unforgettable"... This is an album that will grow on you, particularly if you appreciate that it was recorded late in his life when he was very ill. He toured a bit after this album did some shows in Toronto. Unfortunately I didn't see any but those who did said they could really sense that Joe was saying goodbye.

[Jazzarian]

Originally Posted by wizard3739

My favorite is George Van Eps "Mellow Guitar" album. But also Barney Kessel has a few really good chord melodies and if you listen to Howard Robert's "The Real Howard Roberts" you will hear some great chord melody. Serenata is the one I remember from Howard Roberts. Almost anything new from Ron Eschete or Howard Alden (both play mostly 7-string) will feature nice, modern chord melodies.

best wishes

"Ron Eschete or Howard Alden"

Some great ones. Let's not forget the Pizzarellis either.

[czgibson]

Favourites:

Lots of Joe Pass' albums, particularly the Virtuoso series.

Martin Taylor's 'Solo' is also stunning.

Another one that I always think of in this bracket is Johnny Smith's 'Moonlight in Vermont'. Even though it's a quintet album, lots of his playing there relies on his chord-melody abilities.

I'll definitely be checking out some of the other recommendations here.

[gravitas]

I'm fairly fond of Lenny Breau's Live at Bourbon Street. Him and David Young, that's it. Breau supplies all of the harmoniy as he solos. Got one of my favourite Breau cuts on it, too: an iconic rendition of Summertime.

I'm fond of a lot of new age guitarists, too, Michael Hedges, Don Ross spring to mind. More percussive, but I'd still call it chord melo. You be the judge:

YouTube - Don Ross - RockBarra - Guitar - www.candyrat.com (Don)

YouTube - Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries (Mike)

[derek]

Michael and I are from the same state, so I saw him quite a few times thru the years. I remember when AB came out. I couldn't fathom how someone made a guitar sound that way, and had to go see him.

Very creative, gentle, eccentric guy. Was a shame to lose him a few years ago.

[gravitas]

Yeah, him and Eric Roche both.

[wizard3739]

Jazzarian: I am in total agreement with your choices for good chord melody. George van epps (Mellow Guitar) was my major influence and Howard Roberts was my favorite teacher at G.I.T. Ron Eschete (a good friend) was our instructor for chord melody and Howard Alden was in my G.I.T. graduating class in 1977. We voted Howard Alden "most likely to succeed" and we really picked a winner! His first good opportunity came a few days before graduation when he was offered a job as Red Norvo's guitarist. He accepted the job and the rest is history. He is now truly a master guitarist and highly respected by all of the top jazz musicians he has worked with. (far too many to list here).

best wishes,
Howard

[big bang]

favourites:
kenny burrel's round midnight,the genius of joe pass dvd

[grampastumpy]

Joe pass fo sho. I recently got one of the Virtuoso CD's(not entirely sure which), and it was amazing. I had had Unforgettable before that as well. Great stuff. After a while, you kinda just give up trying to follow the actual tune and instead just go with the flow.

[m78w]

Ted Greene Solo Guitar

YouTube - Ted Greene playing Autumn Leaves and more pt 1

YouTube - Ted Greene playing Autumn Leaves and more pt 2

Lenny Breau Five O'Clock Bells/Mo Breau

YouTube - Lenny Breau - The Claw

Ralph Towner Solo Concert

YouTube - Ralph Towner 1