Telecaster jazz players

[boatheelmusic]

Check this out:

youtube guitr comparison telecaster vs archtop lerch - Bing video

[Tal_175]

Check this out:

youtube guitr comparison telecaster vs archtop lerch - Bing video

I agree that there is an overlap between the sounds of archtops and solidbodies with the right neck pick ups (not just Tele's).
If you put heavy gauge flatwouds and turn the tone down on both archtop and solidbody and if you play with even dynamics and don't dig in very hard then they can sound very close.
But that's just one archtop sound. If you turn the tone up higher on an archtop and play with varied dynamics. Dig in hard with double stops and block chords, you get all kinds of different things happen like in the Kenny Burrell video above. Not to mention the sound of roundwounds on archtops.
You can nail a limited range of archtop sounds with solidbodies but archtops do have a whole a lot of other voices and responses. That is not to say Tele's aren't great in their own right, jazz and other styles.
PS. BTW by archtop I obviously mean fully hollowbody arcthop.

[Robertito]

I've always enjoyed Gary Potter's playing on a Telecaster:

[Robertito]

Here, Robben Ford demonstrates his Telecaster:

[Robertito]

And Adam Rogers playing with Chris Potter Underground:

[Gitfiddler]

A very lovable quality of Tele's is that they have this unique ability to fill their owners with a sense of pride that they are above everybody else. Like they know something all these flashy Strat and Les Paul players don't. They are just Coca-Cola kids.
The preference for this deceptively crude and simple instrument is a clear indication that the owner of Tele has reached the purest level of maturity in musical appreciation.
As a Strat and hollowbody player, I've been fortunate enough to be in the presence of Tele players in many occasions. Some of them with an unmatched display of humility even tolerated me playing with them.

This sounds like a snooty wine taster, dare I say cork sniffer description of a newly released Pinot Noir!

[gitman]

G.E. Smith said it very well, once. He claimed that the Telecaster is the Harley-Davidson of guitars. Other guitars may have more flash--i.e., they are the BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Duccati, etc., of the guitar world. Harley/Tele is a very straightforward, simple tool. It does a simple array of things very ably and with no BS.

Oh, yeah...don't screw with a Harley/Tele man.

A good friend is a bike nerd and has owned a few Harleys, plays a little guitar also - he once mused about the Tele / Harley relation that no Harley bike could ever roll as long as the countless 50's and 60's Teles have without having every single scew, nut and bolt replaced .... IMHO the myth surrounding that brand is a perfect example of clever and consistent marketing whereas the Tele magic/legend/myth is for real ...


Speaking of sounds : the first time I heard the Paul Desmond Quartet (Ed Bickert, Don Thompson on bass, Jerry Fuller on drums, live at Bourbon Street/Toronto 1975) on the radio I thought there was a guy playing a Fender Rhodes piano .....

[gcb]

Tropea

[cosmic gumbo]

Larry Coryell

John Abercrombie

Lee Ritenour

Larry Carlton

Marc Ribot

Joe Beck

[gcb]

Spinozza

[gcb]

Teles are at home in country music

[gcb]

[rabbit]

Every time a Telecaster is purchased...

...a demon gets his horns.


Have Mercy!

[D.G.]

[jazzbow]

Ah! Telecaster players.

Hugh Cornwell, Jimmy Page, etc.

Joe Strummer got a signature edition, John 5, Sheryl Crow, Avril Lavene, um?

Keef? Nope.


Ed Bickert didn't though.

But really he did...


He changed his name to Graham Coxon and became the guitar player of Britpop band called 'Blur'.
Well done Ed, you got there. Ah, no royalties in your dotage. The music business eh!


I can't wait around to be famous, time is finite, I made my own signature Telecaster.


Here's a way in for the Ed Bickert Tele, G&L Bluesboy



But Jazzbow is always working to a budget, he tried the Tribute version.
I liked this soooo much I ended up with one.

Just a little tweak and it's good to go.

[Alder Statesman]

On his tour earlier this year James Taylor and Micheal Landau traded licks on an extended jam of Steamroller Man. Both played Teles the night I saw them.

[borneteatret]

I used to bring my telecasters to jazz gigs all the time. The dry bite, the twang, the chime, Ted Greene, Ed Bickert, all of that. Just wonderful. This one is a '68 and it was horribly hacked out under the pickguard; knock a dollar off. It also has the maple cap neck, which makes it sound a bit darker than the one piece maple necks. Or maybe it's just in my head.
Cheers, Mads

[patshep]

love his tone here, i always like other peoples tone with a vox, but not mine, so far... he's such a great player, i tried to take a lesson with him years ago but was $$$$$ more than i could afford

[ruger9]

This is great! I think you totally nailed the Ted Greene solo guitar playing. One of my all time favorite albums. That's where Tele shines. All these dreamy sustaining overtones and defined chord tones. But it doesn't sound like hollowbody to me.
My favorite modern player sort of comes close (at times). But I like the Tele'ness in his playing as well:

I haven't gotten into Lage yet. That was awesome. I'll have to go look him up (I'm aware of him, have checked him out a bit on youtube, but nothing has made me purchase yet... )

[ruger9]

Might seem out of place on a jazz forum, but... Brad Paisley?

Yes... Brad Paisley:

[ruger9]

Guthrie Trapp (if you are unfamiliar with his debut masterpiece, "Pick Peace", you owe it to yourself...)

Again, coming at it more from the country side... (actually Cuban music is a favorite of his)...

[Cunamara]

Sort of a country Allan Holdsworth... hoeing his own row. That was fun! Thanks for mentioning him!

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Sort of a country Allan Holdsworth... hoeing his own row. That was fun! Thanks for mentioning him!

He played a Tele? I can only picture him with his signature Carvins.

[Socalbill]

Every time a Telecaster is purchased...

...a demon gets his horns.


Have Mercy!

Never heard a demon use a horn section, but it could be cool...

[Gitfiddler]

I'm in awe of Julian Lage!! What a player!

Hey, check out blues/funk master, Kirk Fletcher.