The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    don't forget he was Carl Kress' student and they recorded those fabulous duets back in the day

    tony mottola carl kress - YouTube

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    "If you can't stand the insipid arrangement drenched in reverb"

    Easy Listening isn't my preferred genre - even when viewed years later through an ironic, hipster lens.

    However, If you listen to this recording on good headphones or even in the car you'll be impressed with the high quality of the recording and the brilliance of the studio engineers. The music really surrounds you in a
    powerful way.

    I accept the Easy Listening genre for what it is. It's not jazz, it's highly arranged pop music played (largely) by virtuoso jazz musicians who were glad to get the extra income, feed their families, get to hang with their pals, and play pretty tunes. In music like in cuisine, we don't always want a steady diet of the haute' cuisine of jazz. Sometimes we crave the fried clams and beer of pop, rock and other genres. My only criteria for any genre is .... is it well played with conviction and feeling? Tony certainly brought his A-game to every session.

    If you want to hear reverb, check out Day-O by Harry Beleafonte. RCA records at that time sound like they were almost recorded in a a galvanized steel silo. The secret to Duane Eddy's sound was running his amp's signal out to a huge water tank outside the studio and then bringing the reverb'd signal back to the board. It still sounds massive today.

  4. #28
    TARGUIT...Looking forward to seeing a transcription of Moon River/What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?
    I also love this Tony Mottola arrangement. Thanks for sharing. LEERAM

  5. #29

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    Thank you very much, that really helps.

  6. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by monk
    Judging from the low bass notes, I'd guess the second guitarist in the medley to be Bucky Pizzarelli.
    Possibly...and they played together in the studios. However, Mottola was one of the early guitarists to have a seventh string put on his guitar. He had an L5 that he had a 7th string placed on. I believe the guitar is now up for sale, but it has been restored to 6-strings. So, it is entirely possible that the low notes were played by Tony M.

  7. #31

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    A beautiful rendition of that lovely song (The Shadow of Your Smile).... thanks for posting. The guitarist looks like Laurindo Almeida to me... but his playing is like Mottola... I don't know. Perry Como sang that melody with understated control and beautiful legato style.

    Perry Como made an LP with combo backing and it has Mottola onboard. The record is "We Get Letters." Guitar is featured throughout:

    Last edited by Dave Johnson; 01-28-2023 at 11:22 PM.

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Johnson
    A beautiful rendition of that lovely song (The Shadow of Your Smile).... thanks for posting. The guitarist looks like Laurindo Almeida to me... but his playing is like Mottola... I don't know. Perry Como sang that melody with understated control and beautiful legato style.

    Perry Como made an LP with combo backing and it has Mottola onboard. The record is "We Get Letters." Guitar is featured throughout
    Tony Mottola was Como’s favorite accompanist for years. The Perry Como Show started in 1955, and I got my first guitar in September of that year. My parents watched it regularly and I discovered TM by watching with them. I was in love with the guitar before that - but once I heard Mottola behind Como, I knew it would be a lifelong relationship. I started buying his albums and still have (and listen to) all of the Command issues. I learned every tune well enough to start gigging within 3 years, although I’m still picking up and adding the complex lines I couldn’t get back then.

    I dragged my college girlfriend from Boston to New York in 1966 to see him with the band at a taping of the Tonight Show - he was a regular with both Skitch Henderson and Doc Severinsen from the mid ‘50s through the early ‘70s. They played before the show and through multiple breaks for commercials etc. It was one of the musical highlights of my life!

    I love his intros, fills, and lines. His intro to The Song is You on Mr Big is still my favorite way to start that tune. Here’s the tune on a reissue they put out about 5 years later under the name “Guitar…Mottola” for reasons I can’t figure out (it’s the same album).



    and here’s the whole album:


  9. #33

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    I really dig this:


  10. #34

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    This performance is gorgeous. Thanks!

  11. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by AndyV
    This performance is gorgeous. Thanks!
    I think it’s fair to say that everything he played was gorgeous just because he played it, Even though a lot of the program material was ordinary and boring when played by most others, his interpretations and his ability to execute them artfully brought new life to it. I still find myself admiring his sound and feel even when playing a normally boring potboiler like Arrividerci Roma.

    TM was the consummate pro. He was as consistent as an atomic watch and as musical as Tin Pan Alley. And even though a lot of the tunes he played were elevator music except for his playing, he could also blow with the best of the jazz world.

    He solos at 1:42 on the first one.




    He made ballads come alive. Here’s a 1946 quartet recording that displays both his tasteful improvisation and some serious chops in the middle:


    He played the blues with deep feeling -


    I still get a thrill when I find another of his old recordings.

  12. #36

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    There’s a nice story on him in the current edition of Vintage Guitar Magazine.