The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    The recent thread by a new poster here and his acclimation into a big band (as well as Vihar's "sound tests") got me thinking...

    What if I just played rhythm guitar for a month? And I'm talking old school, Freddie Green shit. I feel like it could be tremendous for my ear, so hear a tenor line moving through the music...a deep dive...

    I think I'll only play along with records that don't have it. No backing tracks.

    Anyway, I don't have much going on, so I think I'm going to do it. Feel free to talk me into or out of it

    Or, here's some great music with a nicely audible Freddie Green (EDIT: Freddie Green style a la Barry Galbraith):




    Should anybody want to go down this road with me, feel free
    Last edited by mr. beaumont; 01-25-2023 at 02:42 PM.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Just to be pedantic, it’s actually Barry Galbraith on guitar.

    But it sounds like a great (and fun) idea all the same.

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    Just to be pedantic, it’s actually Barry Galbraith on guitar.

    But it sounds like a great (and fun) idea all the same.
    My mind was just blown. I swear my copy says it was Freddie...but sure enough, you look it up, it's Barry.

    Now I need to go find that CD!

  5. #4

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    Sounds like fun! You could also create sort of "negative backing tracks", where you play only melodies and improvisations of any tune to a steady click or some swinging groove (f.ex. both created with a looper or recorded quickly), then let the rhythm part loose.

  6. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
    My mind was just blown. I swear my copy says it was Freddie...but sure enough, you look it up, it's Barry.

    Now I need to go find that CD!
    well you had me wondering at first, because I have that CD too and I was sure Freddie wasn’t on it, so I had to get it and check!

  7. #6

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    I think a Rhythm-Only February would be a great annual challenge for all of us on this Forum!

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    well you had me wondering at first, because I have that CD too and I was sure Freddie wasn’t on it, so I had to get it and check!
    It's very weird. I've had it in my head for 20 years that it was Freddie. I have it in my head that the whole reason I ever bought this particular album was because it would put Freddie in a smaller setting, so I'd have a better chance of hearing him.

    The Mandela Effect, I believe they call it.

  9. #8

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    Just rhythm guitar? That sounds like work.
    Comping guitar, yes. I'm in.

    1 hour:

    comp.mp3 - Google Drive

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
    It's very weird. I've had it in my head for 20 years that it was Freddie. I have it in my head that the whole reason I ever bought this particular album was because it would put Freddie in a smaller setting, so I'd have a better chance of hearing him.
    Definitely Galbraith, here’s the CD.

    But a good one for hearing Freddie is the one he did with Herb Ellis, called ‘Rhythm Willie’.

    A month of Rhythm Guitar-9e9417b1-65c2-4545-aae7-38b07b9b7068-jpeg

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    Definitely Galbraith, here’s the CD.

    But a good one for hearing Freddie is the one he did with Herb Ellis, called ‘Rhythm Willie’.

    A month of Rhythm Guitar-9e9417b1-65c2-4545-aae7-38b07b9b7068-jpeg
    Yes! Rhythm Willie is great.

    And wait now...is it Freddie on Frank Wess' "Jazz for Playboys" too or have I completely lost my mind?

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
    And wait now...is it Freddie on Frank Wess' "Jazz for Playboys" too or have I completely lost my mind?
    Ah, I don’t know that one. But just checked wiki and it says Freddie G. and Kenny Burrell.

  13. #12

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    You could jam along to later Duke Ellington records, I don’t think he had a guitar in the band after the 40s.

  14. #13

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    I have the guitar chair in five rehearsal bands. Every month is rhythm month! I'm taking next week off though.

  15. #14

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    I don't practice electric guitar much, but when I do I just pick it up and play rhythm to say .. a drum genius track, or a full track with a looper. I actually prefer playing rhythm on solid bodies rather than soloing.

    Playing Freddie Green stuff is mega hip.

  16. #15

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    Well, it's set. Looking forward to trying this. We shall see where it leads.

    I'll probably start in mid-February, after my basketball coaching duties are finished and my life isn't spent in various gymnasiums.

  17. #16

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    Freddie was a master at moving every quarter note.

    To do that at a high level, I have to think about the voicings one at a time, get things to flow nicely (good voice leading, some melodic content created (usually) by the soprano voice of the chord) and avoid getting distracted from keeping the groove tight with the proper accenting.

    And, then, I have to get it all up to the right tempo.

    It's more intricate that I might have thought.

    Working that stuff out for a month has to be helpful.

  18. #17

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    Bucky P's "5 for Freddie" is a must-listen album in the genre.

  19. #18

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    chunk, chunk chunk, chunk...... to get the authentic experience be sure to raise the action on your guitar to an absurdly high level.

    A month of Rhythm Guitar-freddie-green-4-3084716930-jpg

  20. #19

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    There's a really nice CD of three 1956 sessions led by Ruby Braff: "Braff!" with some tracks featuring Coleman Hawkins. Aside from the pleasures of hearing those two together, I find the backing guitarists fascinating: nine with Freddie Green and seven with Steve Jordan. I always look for recordings where Green's backing can be heard in the mix, and these have that. And what's really striking is how distinctly different Jordan's playing is.

  21. #20

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    I recall reading about Steve Jordan maybe 50 years ago.

    As I recall, he was a DC based acoustic rhythm guitarist. No electronics. One of the last of a breed.

    If I recall correctly, Count Basie and Oscar P. did an album together where Freddie is very clearly audible. It's a very cool sound.

  22. #21

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    Over can do the moving every beat thing by combining drop-3 voicings witg diminished in between or just chromatic voicings.

    For current incarnations, James Chirillo has all these hip videos to watch.


  23. #22

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    This could be a great reason to dig out my "Birth Year" Gibson L50 and give "Rhythm February" a whirl.

  24. #23

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    I always post this because it’s a fantastic representation of Freddie’s early style. The Savory collection recordings are great for hearing the guitar (and on streaming seevices.)


  25. #24

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    I've got rhythm, who could ask for anything more. Yep, it worked for Gershwin too

  26. #25

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    So, after reading all this I thought I'd give gypsy rhythm another go, just for fun. After an hour online I'm reminded why I gave it up before: everybody hates everybody else's way of doing it! So many conflicting opinions. So, if I'm going to get anywhere with it, I'll spend the coming month listening only to the original Quintette du Hot Club de France, and do my best to cop what they did.

    ...and then I'll spread hate online about anyone who does differently!




    Probably not...