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I realise that this may not be very helpful but here goes!
As a 66 year old who has played and also collected records for many years,I feel that although there are many excellent records in your 100 list,perhaps many of your members are not aware of many older LPs which is maybe why there are many 'newer' records mentioned.The problem I have in mentio9ning them is that I have 7000 LPs locked in a garahge in the UK and I am in a small flat over 2000miles away, so I am unable to refer to them.
Some may be regarded as 'old fashioned by youner listeners,however the choices do not fully recognise the progress and history of jazz guitar from Eddie Lang in the 20's(handful of Riffs) , Karl Cress ,later as a duo with George Barnes.Early Les Paul etc.
Also it is apparent that many chose "double Standards by Martin Taylor because it is 'current'They should hear 'SOLO' or his Live CD from late 90's or ARTISTRY also solo performance from 1992.
There are many Lenny Breau LPs hard to find.One is The sound of L B ...NOW with a wonderful version of 'It Could Happen To You on acoustic 7 string where he sounds like 2 guitars,the solo line plus a 4/4 'Errol Garner' vamp.
There are SO MANY.Even the DAnish multirecording guitarist Jorgewn Ingmann's LP GUITAR IN HIFI alsao called SWINGS SOFTLY in the USA,which is very tasteful and the best introduction to jazz guitar aas you can sing the improvised choruses not for note.
Finally(I know I'll get hung for saying this) the Friday night album with 3 guitarists...to me its just a load of technique with not much actual music...it's who can play the fastest runs etc.
These days the younger element seem to miss out on harmony etc and go for speed or if its rock volume and distortion.OK that should cause some lethal replies.
I'll try to list some older great stuff when I can remember.
Gewoff Menzer
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11-05-2009 05:39 PM
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Dear Mr. Menzer,
I am 20 years younger and I totally agree with you on all you said including the Friday Night album ... Still I a missing work from Gilad Hekselman an incredible you genius ... There is far to much pop jazz in this list IMHO ... Luckily some of the great made it as well
Kind regards,
Richard
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Forgot "Matador" by Grant Green!... "Street of Dreams" is also worthy...
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Breezin' - George Benson
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Jeff Beck just kinda slips his way in there.
I think a list like that should have some Chet Atkins on it.Maybe
Reflections with Doc Watson or
Standard Brands with Lenny Breau.
CraigB said "kind of blue".Was that a joke or did you mean the "Buckethead
shreds kind of blue"album?
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Great list. It could go on and on, but it covers most of the really great albums, I think. I might add Jimmy Raney's 'Live in Tokyo' (recently re-released on cd). And what about his son, Doug Raney, e.g. 'Introducing Doug Raney' - recorded when he was 21 years old?
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...oh, and of course the early Enja recordings with Scofield, especially 'Live' and the extremely hard-to-find (vinyl only) 'Bar Talk'!
Originally Posted by Nils
Nils
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And here are the jazz guitar results....
George Benson 4, Derek Bailey 0
Mike Stern 4, Django 2
John McLaughlin 1 (and a half), Pat Metheny 4
Charlie Christian 2, Wes Montgomery 5
George van Eps 1, Jeff Beck 1
Bill Frisell 1, John Scofield 2
Chet Atkins 0, Danny Gatton 1
James Blood Ulmer 0, Robben Ford 1
Yeah, right......?
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Dear Mr.Menzer & dear Richard,
This is the start of a nice discussion. I fully agree with your points
of view but on the other hand there is one thing we should keep in mind:
Like many kinds of music also the jazz is subject to evolution and this goes for the musicians too ! So are we're talking about generations ?
Players "from the past" (Burrell,Kessel, Montgomery) do sound more
traditional than the somewhat younger generation (Metheny,Benson
Beck) allthough there are young players who continue playing in the
way "the oldies" did. (Jesse van Ruller, Leonardo Amuedo, ever heard of?)
For me, a Wes Montgomery or Jim Hall, just to mention 2 names are
jazzplayers in the way jazz should be played on a guitar and I still find
it difficult to call AldiMeola or George Benson a real jazzguitarist. But
I realize that this is not quite fair. Jazz has also become jazz-rock,funk,
fusion etc. In a way we are talking about the same evolution in the mind
of Miles Davis who has millions of fans who love the period before.......
and the same number of followers who don't want anythig else than
the period after..............
Keeping this in mind the top 100 is a representative list, good job !
Regards to all
Harry
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Al Di Meola 1, Sonny Sharrock 0
Slim Gaillard 0, Jim Hall 5
Rosenberg Trio 1, Birelli Lagrene 2
Barney Kessel 2, Joe Pass 2
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Steve Herberman - Ideals
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I'm just glad Joe Diorio and Ted Greene made the list lol
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It is amazing that one of the most talented jazz players, Lenny Breau is not included in the top 10 Jazz Guitar greats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In my book he is in the top 5.
Also, even though he has only been on the seen for a few years what about Chuck Loeb, very talented writer and player!
All things considred excellent list covering a lot of time.
Thanks for sharing
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I would have to agree that it is rather astounding Lenny Breau doesn't make it into the top ten all-time great jazz guitar players. Chet Atkins referred to him as "the greatest guitar player walking on the earth". (I mention Chet not only because he was a great player but also because he was such a prolific producer. He knew a lot about talent and who had it.) What we think of as "jazz" has exploded since the time Bitches Brew, Larry Coryell, and others of that era came into the limelight.
It's really difficult to include or even be aware of all the new players and styles that have come along in the last forty or so years. The final list opened my eyes to quite a few new players I had never heard of and I very much appreciate that. I suspect Jeff Beck would never have even been considered for most jazz guitar player lists when Blow By Blow was released. How times have changed along with new variations in the jazz genre.
Anyway, back to Lenny Breau ... he was definitely a true innovator that pushed the envelope further than almost any other guitar player ever has. His unique five-finger picking style alone is a thing to behold and no one else ever came close to what he did with adding harmonics into the blend of bass, chords, and melody that he did while playing such original and complex music effortlessly. If you have never heard Lenny Breau it is probably well worth the time and effort to go find and listen to some of his recordings.
Perhaps having a few different genre-based lists (fusion, traditional,etc. as has been suggested) may help to get the spotlight on more styles of players so we could share our influences according to the genres within jazz itself?
If so, Lenny might have a list of his own!
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Lenny Breau was almost impossible, the more I think about it. He's one of those people I cannot even "imagine" playing like, even just to copy, in this world. I would have to place him in the top 5, at least.
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Thank you for your comments as I found Lenny a few years ago and have since stumbled upon a crude recording of Lenny and Bill Cotten playing some venue in Nashville which I believe Randy Bachman put together a few years ago.
If you have not heard please pick up a copy of Picken Cotten. Awesome work.
I too can not imaging trying to copy lenny's style and the thought that he worked with the 7 string guitar years ago is also astounding.
We lose the great ones way too early.
Take care and love this Jazz Forum.
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Hello, I would like to post a few of my favorites.
In my opinion, Folks might examine Lee Ritenour's
WesBound. It is truley a great tribute to Wes Montgomery.
Anything from Jimmy Bruno should be required reading at the academy.
How about Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour's Larry and Lee Album.
Would it be permissable to post some blues guitar
favourites?
I am still blown away when I listen to Johnny Winters "Be careful with a fool" The guitar work is nothing short of Fantastic!!!!
Stanley Jordan seems to me to be in a class all by himself. There is some phenominal guitar on his most recent album.
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this really is such a gem bag.So many new players to check out and good leads on the "right"discs to buy from players I already was gaining interest in.
Thanks everyone.
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Inspired by the above comments, I have just watched the video of Stanley Jordan on his website playing Stairway to Heaven - a phenomenal achievement requiring huge skill to tap the lead on one guitar with his right hand whilst tapping a comp on another guitar with his left. However, I couldn't help thinking that if I had been watching a keyboard player, playing the same notes with left and right hands, I wouldn't have been one tenth as impressed. It begs the question - how is important is the display of technique in one's enjoyment of the music ? Stanley's achievement could be dismissed as being a triumph of technique over musicality, (albeit a technique I would die for !).
Any comments ?
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Anything Joe Pass recorded with Ella.
The JP Virtuoso 1
Charlie Christian for being a pioneer.
Django Reinhardt for the same reason.
Anyone who steps out and has the courage to believe in a new sound!
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Charlie Christian
Django Reinhardt
Lenny Breau
John McLaughlin
Tal Farlow
... are my top five for "most influential through innovation" in the art of jazz guitar.
I saw Joe Pass with Ella and Oscar Peterson live ... wowsers! Joe Pass is great and so is Barney Kessel, Freddie Greene, Ed Bickart, George Benson, ... heard all of them live and each one is truly "one of the greats" in their own right. If George Benson hadn't gone "commercial" I'd have put him in the top five knocking out Tal Farlow. I saw (meaning - "heard") him live before he went commercial then again a few years later. He was far more innovative and took a lot more chances prior to the "Breezin" album IMHO. Kinda miss the 'edge' he used to play with ... but I would be willing to give up any essential body part that I have two of (other than arms and hands) if I could play like him!
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That was an impressive list. Good work.
Originally Posted by dirkji
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Here a few of mine, no order and some I think still not mentionned
Django Reinhardt : Nuages (a month before he dies...pure magic)
Bill Frisell, Dave Holland and Elvin Jones : best Frisell ever!
Jim Hall & Pat Metheny : superb guitar duo
Lenny Breau - 5 O'clock & Mo' breau: one of the most original and poetic solo guitar record
George Benson - Giblet Gravy good old Benson stuff. The cover of Sunny is a...sun in your living room ;-) One of the best version of "What's New" I know
René Thomas - Guitar Groove, Chet Is Back: You HAVE TO listen to him!
Philip Catherine - Guitar Groove one of the finest records of the belgian guitarist. Really singular atmospheres, harmonies and melodies.
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Herb Ellis and Joe Pass - - Two for the Road
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no, because their "7 come 11" is a good deal better!
ax
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