The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    Hi guys, I have been here reading since 2018 but I never posted. I hope I have been posting in the right section.
    I don’t want to make the usual post where somebody criticize the artist I need to mention.
    I am a big fan of jazz guitar and lately I have been checking closer this amazing guitar player and artist called Charles Altura. Unfortunately I don’t live in New York so I am not able to book a lessons with him. Maybe here somebody did.
    the thing is. If you know him you saw few videos of him with Virgil donati, when he was younger. His technique is almost unique. After holdsworth the way he plays certain phrases, I never saw something like that in others players like Moreno, rosenwinkel ecc. I am not saying he’s a better musicians than them. But I really like the way he articulates. If you ever transcribed Charlie Parker, Coltrane, especially trumpets players you would have noticed that certain phrases are almost impossible to play in guitar with the right way, with the right articulation if you do not play them with stretches positions or at least 3/4 notes per strings.
    the crazy thing is that he uses to play also a very stretched fingerings like minor third between ulnar and pinky finger. I transcribed a phrase where he plays a fifth in the same string. He’s impressive. But the thing that scares me the most is his dexterity of playing through the changes as you can see on YouTube in those videos with the Colin strahanan trio where they play 26/2 and conception.
    I wanted to ask you guys, or somebody who got the chance to study with him, what do you think could be his background in terms of technique ? For sure there are a lot of fusion music influences (if you watched the Virgil donati videos Charles can play diminished arpeggios 3 note per strings witch is almost impossible ). I guess his fluidity could be helped by not using fat strings.
    Last edited by aflomus; 10-05-2023 at 10:58 AM.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Hi! I'm a big fan of Altura's playing, too! No idea about his background, but here's a great vid to enjoy!



    Marc

  4. #3

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    Guitar, sax, keyboard, violin family, all have abilities and inabilities with regards to how they can and cannot play or phrase a series of notes. That's a very good thing. I want to hear the variety of what can be done within the parameters of each instrument and their individual players. Sure it's good to cop a bit of phrasing from other instruments but a guitar is played like a guitar and a piano like a piano. Given the differing ways each instruments make sound, there's no reason why a saxophone should articulate notes in a way similar to a piano or guitar. I don't think sax and piano players worry about not being able to articulate like a guitar. Please take what I say here now with the caveat that I recently posted a comment that I find playing a Les Paul rather than a hollow body allows one to play more horn like lines/phrases.

  5. #4
    Truly enjoyable performance!

  6. #5

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    This interview from 2016 mentions that piano was his first instrument, he still plays and composes on it (at the date of the interview anyway). Also he mentions transcribing Coltrane and trying to make the guitar sound like a horn.

    Flow State: Charles Altura Speaks — Jazz Speaks

  7. #6

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    An amazing Charles Altura solo: