The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    This thread is about...The Allman Brothers. The greatest group ever to come out of Macon, GA.

    I have been listening to a ton of them recently, and they only continue to grow in my estimation. They may be the greatest rock group ever.

    I mean, they have one of the greatest singers, greatest guitarist(s), greatest rhythm section...the real deal.

    Most importantly, they have a feel for the music that is second to none. They take the old blues and country and meld them into a Southern-fried concoction that is peerless.

    The 2-guitar attack...so imitated...but no one has done it better.

    The vocals--listen to Whipping Post--don't you feel that right down into your soul? Just like you're dyin'?

    Duane's slide leads...who else except maybe Derek Trucks can you listen to for more than 1 minute on slide guitar?

    And Dickie Betts, severely underrated guitarist, who had to learn all of Duane's licks when he died but could always hang with the best of them.

    The guitar tone is to die for. Each of their guitarists, old and new, had a distinctive sound with distinctive phrasing and "Allmanisms." I appreciate the way they play in and out of the rhythm, playing with the shuffle and against it. There are a lot of repetitive riffs that seem to build up, then there's a changeup that resolves the tension. They were a jam band before jam bands. Unlike the Dead or a lot of others, they (usually) are tight and avoid meandering.

    Their first album has to be one of the great first albums ever...an absolutely superlative and assertive document. But even their last albums, as Gregg was suffering from liver cancer, are worthwhile and better than 99% of the crap on the radio these days.

    Being an Allman wasn't easy, and unfortunately seemed to have a high morbidity and mortality. But the music...like St. Peter himself came down and gave us the gift of these brothers.

    Everybody has a favorite, hard to diss Live at the Fillmore East, but for me the gateway drug was Eat a Peach. My first Allman album and pretty much worn out at this point.

    I saw them twice, once in Chattanooga in the late 70's and once in Atlanta in the early 80's--would like to relive those shows.

    Cheers, guys. If heaven doesn't have the Allman brothers, I don't want to go.

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  3. #2

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    the derek trucks-warren haynes version wasn't too shabby either


    derek t is one of the best out there



    cheers

  4. #3

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    I'll never forget talking to the world famous bossa nova guitarist Charlie Byrd one evening during a break when he was playing at his club in Annapolis, MD in the early 1970s.

    He was so excited about having just heard The Allman Brothers play live a couple of days earlier that I could hardly get a word in edgewise! He said he had never heard a band that had so much energy and emotion in their playing.

    That really caught my attention considering Charlie used to play and record with The Woody Herman Orchestra and The Tommy Newsom Orchestra. Not to mention all of the other famous jazz big bands, trios, and quartets that he had heard play live along the way.

  5. #4

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    Great singer? Never thought about Gregg that way.

    I agree with you that they were great and I loved them in high school. Learned their solos. Gregg's autobiography was an entertaining read. Dicky Betts' behavior during the Cher years was quite funny. I also saw them twice. Once live after Duane was gone but they were at the top of their game anyway, and once in an airport walking right next to me. They looked like they were in cowboy movie.

  6. #5

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    Big fan. They played "dumb" music incredibly "smart," if that makes any sense.

    Should also mention, my dad met greg in an elevator aND he was the coolest cat ever.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
    Duane's slide leads...who else except maybe Derek Trucks can you listen to for more than 1 minute on slide guitar?
    One of my favorite bands ever! Then again, I can listen to a lot of different people play slide for over a minute. But I would agree that Derek and Duane are at the top of the list...with Kelly Joe Phelps close behind.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by neatomic
    the derek trucks-warren haynes version wasn't too shabby either


    derek t is one of the best out there



    cheers
    I have never seen him live except for videos, but do you know if Derek ever flat/alternate picks? Seems to be a great finger only player with everything that he does.

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by lammie200
    I have never seen him live except for videos, but do you know if Derek ever flat/alternate picks? Seems to be a great finger only player with everything that he does.
    Fingers only. I've seen him several times. Managed front row tickets back in November for TTB. He was great as always. His fingerstyle technique is strange but effective. And that band is incredible.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by lammie200
    I have never seen him live except for videos, but do you know if Derek ever flat/alternate picks? Seems to be a great finger only player with everything that he does.
    he has occasionally and is equally adept flat picking...but his preferred method is 5 finger picking..he's insane good!!

    cheers

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by neatomic
    he has occasionally and is equally adept flat picking...but his preferred method is 5 finger picking..he's insane good!!

    cheers
    He used a pick early on (decades ago) and has used a pick for effect on recordings, but do you have any example of his flatpicking elsewhere? I'd love to check it out. I've never seen it and he claims to play fingers only.

  12. #11

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    I transcribed the intro solo and the middle solo of Ramblin Man... It's surprising to me how much I like it even though it's almost completely G penatonic.

    Not my style of playing, even playing that style of music, I play more of a chord tone style with chromatics, enclosures, and approach tones etc., more like a Jerry Garcia approach. That is also the style that fits my tastes better as a listener. Probably because of my time spent listening and practicing jazz... and listening to Garcia and others.

    Jack Pearson played for a while with the Allman Bothers. That guy is a monster, the best guitarist to play with the Allman Bros., imo. He said the reason he left the band was Dickie Betts plays so loud.

    I still can appreciate the key center approach and/or pentatonics. If it sounds good it is good.

  13. #12

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    Being Good Ole Boys, they had their flaws. Alcohol, cocaine, etc.

    And then there was this...



    Nevertheless that doesn't take away from their legacy. Cher remained friends with Gregg and had some kind words to say after he passed.

    BTW, Gregg was diagnosed with liver cancer about a year after his transplant and was given 6 months to live. He lived for 5 more years and toured most of that time.

  14. #13

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    I swear that Jimmy Herring covered an AB tune in his opening act for the John McLaughlin farewell tour. I would be interested if anyone knows that it was an AB tune. If so, it was a more obscure instrumental.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by lammie200
    I swear that Jimmy Herring covered an AB tune in his opening act for the John McLaughlin farewell tour. I would be interested if anyone knows that it was an AB tune. If so, it was a more obscure instrumental.
    He does Les Brers sometimes. Others as well but that was my first thought.
    Jimmy Herring and The Invisible Whip Live at The Fox Theatre on 2017-09-08 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by morroben
    Yeah, pretty sure that's what it was. Thanks.

  17. #16

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    First saw them in Oct of 1970 at the college I was attending at the time. Helped load their equipment onto their truck after the show. All of the band were nice folks. The last time I heard them was in Nov of that same year in Atlanta. They were second bill to Santana. The opening act was an obscure an eclectic band named Insect Trust. Both shows were amazing.

    My favorite LP was and still is "Live at the Fillmore". The version of ABB with Derek Trucks and Warren Hayes while good were in my opinion the ultimate tribute band.

    Someone mention Derek Trucks technique. He from what I have seen mostly uses P and I with a bit of M and A thrown in on the faster tempos. See the rehearsal link for a Santana Tribute show.

    Last edited by rob taft; 02-27-2018 at 05:12 PM.

  18. #17
    The Allman Brothers were the one group that first piqued my musical interest ('Liz Reed live at the Fillmore still gives me chills), and incidentally they were the group that first routed towards jazz. I kept reading about Duane's interest in Trane, and even heard he was working on an arrangement of My Favorite Things before he passed. I always wondered what direction the band would have gone had Duane not split, after all he seemed to be quite the guiding visionary for that group. I know that's a pointless hypothetical, and I certainly don't intend to devalue the other configurations of that band (after all the final line up with Trucks-Haynes-Burbridge-etc. might be my favorite!).

    Sadly, I never got the chance to see them live, and I regret not seeing Gregg perform in his final years. I did see Tedeschi Trucks Band last year, shortly after Gregg passed. Derek made several references to ABB melodies throughout the evening, much to the audience's delight. It was during those moments I knew that this is music that will inspire listeners for many generations to come!

  19. #18

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    Hearing Duane for the first time was the spark that ignited my interest in the guitar .

    Will

  20. #19

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    I've played slide guitar for over 40 years, so obviously a tip of the hat to maestro Duane.The Allmans certainly were the real deal. I had heard Taj Mahal do Statesboro Blues with Ry Cooder, then I heard the Allman version.... I immediately got myself a slide. To this day it is the ultimate electric slide showpiece, IMO.


  21. #20

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    Not to derail this thread and maybe someone will start one about this topic, but I just finished watching the new Clapton film. Little bit about Duane Allman in it. None of it is anything really new, but it gives a good sense of Clapton's downs.

  22. #21

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    Duane Allman and Dicky Betts both played Les Pauls, if I recall correctly. Unusual that both guitarists in a band played the same guitar. I saw the Allmans at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY, in 1971 I think, a week after their Fillmore East concerts in NYC, which have been immortalized. Identical show. Third row center. Perhaps the best show I ever saw. Saw Derek Trucks and his band in nearby Mamaroneck, NY around 1996. As good as Derek was (is), there's no contest. Duane played with eloquence, fire and passion. Derek played with great technical skill but dispassionately and more intellectually, in my view.

  23. #22

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    I am also a die hard Allmans Fan - big time. I wore out a few Fillmore Albums from my teens into my mid 40’s copying every Duane and Dicky lead solo. I still have 30 year old Coricedin glass bottles for my slide guitar. My original 76’ Les Paul is unplayable due to ruts in the frets. It sits in its case with the original $350 Bill of Sale.

    To me Duane Allman - was the most innovative electric guitar player of his time.

    From an originality standpoint - his creative slide guitar phrasing is still unsurpassed . Yes, Trucks copies him the best - but his creativity, inventive phrasing and driving energy is not the same as Duane. Duane was a phenomenal musician and mimicked the sound of Harp players -

    The Allmans were an aberration of talent - the sum of the individual parts was just explosive. Butch Trucks freight train driving percussion with Berry’s pounding beat supporting Duane and Dickey’s interplay were unsurpassed. The funny thing is , they played simple pentatonic leads - but it’s how they phrased the notes , the string bending and emotion was off the charts. You can see this on old Fillmore footage on YouTube.

    Copying Duane requires the upmost in emotion and energy , or it doesn’t sound like him. For those wanting to try this out - learn every subtlety in Stormy Monday , or the explosive take in Hot Lanta . It took me years to really nail down Duanes bending technique - which involved bending the strings before actually picking , then pulling off with a smooth vibrato. Listen to beginning solo of dreams and you will hear this.

    47 years after Fillmore - the Allmans music is still alive and well and played throughout many clubs today. Before I leave this life - I would love to visit Rose Hill and pay my respects.

    My favorite band ever !
    Last edited by QAman; 04-03-2018 at 01:54 PM.

  24. #23

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    When the Allman Brothers began to get noticed on a national level, there was a corresponding change in the way jazz guitar players started answering the question "who do you like among rock players?" The answer was almost always "Duane Allman."

    As for me, I bought and used my share of Coricidin bottles and eventually got the 50 watt Marshall Plexi that Duane preferred to the 100w (I have one of those for back-up). Live at the Filmore East / Eat a Peach remain a touchstone for grit, guts, and glory.

  25. #24

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    He was only a sporadic Allman, but Jimmy Herring is the man.

  26. #25

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    Duane Allman was my gateway into jazz; my teacher at the time told me that Duane loved jazz and was very into the Kind of Blue album. I think there's a description of this in the Kind of Blue liner notes (or perhaps one of Duane's albums liners...it's been too many years now).

    Duane's playing on Live at Fillmore East continues to amaze. His slide playing aside, his fretted work was also amazing. On Stormy Monday...man, so killin. If you're a Duane fan then you should pick up his Anthology Volume 1 two-disc album (not so much Volume 2...). Some great stuff there including the version of Hey Jude which led to Clapton declaring that Allman's playing "scared the hell out of him" or something like that, and which ultimately led to the Derek & the Dominoes album.

    Playing like Duane is *very* hard because as QAman pointed out, there is so much nuance. Having said that, trying to play like Clapton *in his prime* is not any easier. Ditto Mike Bloomfield.

    I've seen Derek Trucks live - great player, but Duane was something else.

    Finally, FYI Duane was left handed but played guitar as a righty. Many believe that is part of the reason for his amazing slide and nuanced fret work since it was his dominant hand. But obviously the picking hand is important too, especially for slide (fingers) so it's not like he had any kind of unfair advantage here.