The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Just wondering...what do you all think as far as Chet's music (specifically his guitar playing) and how he compares to all the great jazz guitarists discussed in these forums? I'm such a newbie, but thus far he's been the biggest influence in my playing, and to me he seems to make every note count (i.e., no filler).

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  3. #2

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    I liked the stuff that I heard from him when he played with George Benson and Earl Klugh. A long time ago I used to have a cassette (I know I'm dating myself ) of those 3 playing together. It was just recorded from a radio broadcast. It's one of those recordings that I listened to a lot way back when. Other than that, I did not really follow anything else by him.

    -FunkyE9th

  4. #3
    If you're interested, there are some sweet videos of Chet, George, and Earl on youtube. The looks Chet and George give eachother when they play are priceless.

  5. #4

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    I've seen some of those videos. I actually posted the Manha De Carnaval video on this forum a while ago. Good stuff!

    -FunkyE9th

  6. #5

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    Chet did some absolutely delicious and very sophisticated arrangements. I hold his playing in high esteem.

    His chord-melody take of "Starry Night" is among my favorite bits of guitar playing of all time in any genre.

  7. #6

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    Chet was not what I would call a "Jazz player" ....could he play Jazz? hell yeah, but it was his own way of interpretation as far a that goes.he truly was a master of the guitar & he listened [& recorded] with a lot of different players in many genres which is just cool as hell artistically.he'll always be one of my heroes even though I haven't copped much of his technique, but I'm sure I've been influenced by him.

  8. #7

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    I think Chet was one of the best guitarist on the planet. He could seamlessly move from one genre to another with full mastery. He has influenced two generations of players at this point, and was, by all accounts, an incredibly nice guy.

    I wouldn't call him a jazz player either, but he could play jazz, and do it very well. To call him a jazz player pigeonholes him into one genre, and he was more than that imo.

  9. #8

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    Chet Atkins was more than a guitar player, he actually advanced the guitar as a virtuoso instrument along with the likes of Joe Pass, George Van Eps and Lenny Breau. I think that any technique or harmonic ideas you gain from Chet can be applied to any style including jazz.

  10. #9

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    Correct me if I'm wrong, but not only was Chet Atkins an exceptional guitarist... but I think I recall reading somewhere that he never had a lesson in his life.

    Somehow that puts him in a league of his own, if that's correct.


    .. love his stuff BTW

  11. #10

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    Those sorts of ideas get thrown around a bunch for guys from the past generation, and they are misleading. Kinda like the urban myth that Wes was unschooled. Nonsense.

    Musical education during Chet's time was apprenticeships. Playing on the bandstand with others who are veterans was the "school" of the day. Today, jazz has moved out of the club and dance hall scene to the university and internet.

    I read an article this summer where the number of college based jazz programs has just exploded in the past decade. My question is, where are all these graduates going to perform? They certainly aren't buying jazz, as downloads and cd sales continue to spiral downward.

    The numbers of jazz gigs has dwindled significantly in the past 50 years. First it was rock and roll, then DJs and Karaoke. Today, music is something that is perceived to be free, or of little value, and the idea of paying a premium to have musicians perform is getting more and more quaint.

    If Chet were an emerging guitarist today, would he even be noticed? I sincerely doubt he woud reach the level of recognition he did.

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by derek
    Those sorts of ideas get thrown around a bunch for guys from the past generation, and they are misleading. Kinda like the urban myth that Wes was unschooled. Nonsense.

    Musical education during Chet's time was apprenticeships. Playing on the bandstand with others who are veterans was the "school" of the day. Today, jazz has moved out of the club and dance hall scene to the university and internet.

    I read an article this summer where the number of college based jazz programs has just exploded in the past decade. My question is, where are all these graduates going to perform? They certainly aren't buying jazz, as downloads and cd sales continue to spiral downward.

    The numbers of jazz gigs has dwindled significantly in the past 50 years. First it was rock and roll, then DJs and Karaoke. Today, music is something that is perceived to be free, or of little value, and the idea of paying a premium to have musicians perform is getting more and more quaint.

    If Chet were an emerging guitarist today, would he even be noticed? I sincerely doubt he woud reach the level of recognition he did.
    All good points Derek. However, with respect to Chet Atkins being noticed today - the same could be said of almost all of the greatest guitarists of yesteryear (Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, etc..). However, today's artist have built upon many of those guitarists' repertoires.

    Guitarists may be more technically proficient, but the element of innovation led Chet and others to be so great still remains. There are people who can play as well as, or better than, many of the greatest players - but if those players never existed how long would it have been until someone else came along and did what they did?

    I suspect they are more important as foundations to build upon, rather than to be compared to contemporary artists. Would Beethoven get noticed today? Eh, prolly not, but bet your ass Britney Spears would and she can't sing, play, or compose.



    Now, where are all these new, upcoming jazz artists going to play? That's another story. Perhaps they will take music in another direction, someplace new... one never knows. Maybe a new form of music that builds upon the jazz foundation will evolve much in the way jazz evolved from blues, and blues from... well you get the point.

    Honestly, there are plenty of uncharted waters musically -- and today just like 50 years ago, only a small percentage of musicians will make a bunch of money. The rest will need to supplement their income, or do music on the side and have another career.

  13. #12

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    Chet could play anything he wanted to...jazz, country....whatever. Don't forget that one of his biggest areas of influence was behind a desk, where he worked as an executive for RCA, and pretty much single handedly directed the development of the "Nashville Sound."....and on top of that....a nice man.

  14. #13

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    There is a wonderful song by the incredibly versatile (yes, in jazz too) guitarist, Pat Donahue, called "Stealing From Chet".

    Toward the end of the studio version, you hear Chet himself come in and say how he stole it from Merle Travis... who stole it from...

    If memory serves. Been a while since I heard it.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by pete
    There is a wonderful song by the incredibly versatile (yes, in jazz too) guitarist, Pat Donahue, called "Stealing From Chet".

    Toward the end of the studio version, you hear Chet himself come in and say how he stole it from Merle Travis... who stole it from...

    If memory serves. Been a while since I heard it.
    Merle Travis learned the style of alternating thumbpicking from Mose Rager, who learned from Kennedy Jones, who learned from Arnold Shultz, a black fiddler/guitarist...what a great way to play...melody/chords & bass at the same time...it's a shame there are no recordings of the original guy.
    Last edited by swingbilly; 02-11-2008 at 10:43 AM.

  16. #15
    Uh....back to Chet Atkins, he's probably my favorite guitar player. And in my opinion, though he wasn't a "jazz" guitar player, per se, he certainly incorporated alot of the ideas and sounds into what he played, and is, in short, freakin' fantastic.

  17. #16

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    I grew up listening to chet...granmother was a county music fanitic...on the radio..no tv yet...

    then the records ..78s...still have about 30 of his and play them at times..man could he play...his classical stuff was good too...

    remember he and les paul did an album and les said chet can play like me but i can;t play like chet...

    time on the instrument..pierre

  18. #17

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    chet is an icon one of the best i love his arrangment of liza or how about the mule skinner blues with chet and late great jerry reed.awesome

  19. #18

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    I think Chet Atkins was great. There's a lovely vid on youtube of him playing "The Entertainer" in the 70s (which means it's nice mic'd guitar not that horrible piezo quacking that everyone seemed to switch to afterwards).
    I like the fact that even though he wasn't a great singer he chose to do it so that he could communicate better with the audience.
    And Chet singing "I Still Can't Say Goodbye" at that gig with Mark Knopfler is about as moving as it gets.

  20. #19

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    I think Chet was one of the all around greatest guitarists ever.

  21. #20

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    J. Scofield & friends included the Chet's 'Mountain Melody' into the 'Progressions: 100 Years of Jazz Guitar' collection. So Chet is definitively a jazz guitarist (too).

  22. #21
    iam 58yrs old and listen to chet since i can remember ive heard him jam with other people and do jazz riffs. yes he could. also listen to les paul and mary ford. i love that clean sound.

  23. #22

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    I agree. He is the man even though he has passed on he will live forever through his music. I was always curious about one thing. Chet was the greatest influence on my music and also George Van Eps the great 7 string guitarist who has worldwide fame and yet I have never heard him or Chet speak of each other. They had to know each other existed.

  24. #23

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    Chet was bigger than jazz.

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
    Chet was bigger than jazz.
    Yes. He was greater than jazz. Although Chet idolized many Jazz greats such as Django Reinhardt and Lenny Breau as many of them did him. He was always quick to give credit to talent wherever he saw it.

  26. #25

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    Chet's music is great! Wish I had gotten into him when I was starting out... I rented those vestapol dvds years ago and that done it, I was hooked. Also got the Guitar Legend RCA years cd and there's a couple of tracks that are pretty jazzy like "So Rare" and "Satan's Doll"... incredible stuff.