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Tony would be the first one to tell you he's not a jazz guitarist. There's a CD he had out several years where he covered "4 on 6" , "Green Dolphin Street" , "Nardis" , maybe some others I don't remember. He has a beautiful touch on that old Martin and does an amazing job. I had the pleasure of hanging out with him on a friends tour bus when I was handed a 1937 D-28 and told "hey Mike play some guitar for Tony". I stuck with jazz tunes and he was a total southern gentleman. Suggesting voicings, phrasing etc. Check him out if you get a chance....
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02-25-2018 01:45 PM
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I couldn't agree with you more. I remembering hearing Tony Rice play his solo guitar renditions of "Summertime" and "Shenandoah" several years ago (maybe it was from the same album) and they were absolutely beautiful.
It seemed that he was starting to transition over to more of a jazz approach to playing ballads at that point as he was using some nice chord voicings with single note lines in between. It was all uniquely Tony Rice which made for memorable arrangements!
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Tony Rice may not consider himself a jazz player, but that's no slight. The man is truly one of the greats, I think, instantly recognizable.
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I saw the Rice Bros. from a front seat sometime in the late 80's/early 90's at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. I swear that Allison Krause played with them as well, but I could be mistaken. I remember it being a really great show.
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I have that jazz influenced CD mentioned in the original post and Rice plays really nice, as always. I discovered Rice from the David Grisman albums he was on (the David Grisman Quintet album released in 1977 is my favorite "bluegrass meets jazz" album and a recording that took me in the direction of this type of 'fusion').
I saw Grisman with Stephane Grappelli but Rice wasn't in that band.
Anyhow, I loved the sound Rice got out of his Martin. It had a nice 'bite' to it and he sounded great comping and soloing (which one shouldn't take for granted with recordings of acoustics instruments).Last edited by jameslovestal; 02-25-2018 at 07:45 PM.
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I love Tony, man does he have a great time feel when playing lines.
I watched this a while ago, hope some of you enjoy it as much as I did, come to think of it I think I'll watch it again. I like the contrast between austere Tony and laid back Dave.
D.
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I saw Tony Rice with Grisman way back in the late 70s or was it the early 80s. A monster, great taste and tone.
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Originally Posted by Freel
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I don't think I have ever seen him live, but his albums with Norman Blake are some of my favorites.
This is my favorite bluegrass tune by far, with the great Doc Watson sitting in and urging Tony on during his solo...
Tony has had a lot of health problems over the last decade including spasmodic dysphonia and arthritis. I am not sure if he even plays much anymore. It's sad, but that's life. At least we have his recordings.
Tony Rice, Guitar Hero - The New York Times
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This Tone Poems I disc is great but the cut I always enjoyed most was this:
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Another big fan of Tony's here. His vocal album's are stunning and as an instrumentalist, his taste and touch are impeccable regardless of the too restrictive confines of genre, like "bluegrass" and "jazz".
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Shady Grove- Rice, Grisman, Garcia:
Long Black Veil:
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tony is also unusual in that he prefers nickel roundwounds on his flat tops...
he was a d'aquisto endorser for years....until d'aquisto strings folded...
he currently has a martin retro monel signature series...(monel is a vintage nickel derivative)
cheers
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Here we go, a little bit of controversy...
I know my bluegrass pretty well. Tony Rice is a superlative player, taking over where Clarence left off. Along with Doc there was no one better or even close. These days a lot of new faces have come up, like Grier, Bryan Sutton, and all the rest, and they're beyond good too. The music evolves, which is inevitable, but Tony Rice paved the way. He was the guiding light, fast, innovative, constantly fresh. Unfortunately, as someone mentioned, his body has crumbled after years of strain. Vocally he's about had it and both arms are crippled with tendinitis, arthritis and just about everything else. He's not a good sight these days, a gaunt shadow of his former self. In fact, I believe they've started a fund for him because he's not earning. Damn shame.
That said, I have to say I never really took to Tony doing jazz. It started with Grisman's Dawg music, a sort of hybrid bluegrass-jazz style which I personally find much of a muchness. It all kind of washes into one sound and becomes repetitive. No one expects the bluegrass boys to play 'jazz as we know it', a la Wes, Joe, and so on. That's a different style entirely.
But the point I'm making is that Tony never really got away from his pentatonic style. You can't really play bluegrass scales (a sort of major and blues scale combination on acoustic guitar) over jazz tunes. I think maybe it works better with the gypsy stuff (somebody's posted Swing 42 upthread). It also works fairly well with tunes like Summertime, Georgia, and so on, which are blues-based.
I suppose it's a question of him and Grisman finding a sort of middle way between bluegrass/acoustic music and jazz - if by jazz we mean complex and altered harmonies. Then it's a question of whether you like it or not. I can't say I do that much although apparently many people do. The Tone Poems album was great, of course. Lovely music on that.
But Tony did/does know his chords, though. He studied with John Carlini and produced an album with him. Here's their Summertime.
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Tony is very influenced by listening to jazz without calling himself a jazz player. I think you have to accept him for what he is - a highly advanced progressive Bluegrass player (if you need to find a label).
Jazz guitarists can learn a lot from Tony re how to accompany a vocalist. Case in point, this atmospheric Peter Rowan cowboy tune where Tony's fills are like musical caviar - tasty and beautifully conceived. The rhythmic placement of his lines against the 3/4 beat is quite nice.
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Yes, I know that one very well. There's a live version with Sharon Gilchrist on mandolin - one of the most superb and underrated players around - and Bryn Davies on bass. The irony is that Bryn Davies is a jazzer, she majored at Berklee. She also plays cello and piano.
And there's not a hot-blooded man in the land who doesn't envy that bass :-)
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This is Tony cutting his teeth with the New South. They hadn't got round to wearing suits at that point
That opening song by Utah Phillips is one of my favourites.
Incidentally, for all the cognoscenti, in that second song, Old Home Place, it's got Tony pulling off a perfect floating lick right at the start of his solo. That's how to do it!
Martin GPC-11E (CANADA ONLY!)
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