The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Tony Mottola is a great chord melody player. I would like to have some discussion/transcriptions/theory and examples of his work. I am certain there many Tony Mottola fans out there who would welcome and contribute to this effort. Thank you for this site and all the hard work you do. Lee Ramirez

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  3. #2

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    He was a great player, and he had an affiliation with a label that supported him Enoch light or something like that and command 3. He also had some instructional books, or books of his arrangements. There used to be Easy listening stations that played string arrangements of popular songs and Tony got a lot of air play from the string section arrangements he'd record with. I remember finding a record of chord melody arrangements of his. He was one of the ones who made me want to learn guitar.
    David



    Last edited by TH; 04-21-2014 at 01:05 PM.

  4. #3

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    I believe I still have in storage a Tony Mottola record that was an inspiration to me as a young boy.

    That medley with Moon River and What are you doing for the rest of your life is one of the best versions I have heard as a guitar duet. Wonder if he has another guitarist or if it is overdubbed?

    I think I may turn this into a transcription or two. Elegant guitarist with razor focus on the music.

    Jay

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by targuit
    That medley with Moon River and What are you doing for the rest of your life is one of the best versions I have heard as a guitar duet. Wonder if he has another guitarist or if it is overdubbed?
    They were actual duos, and often in those days the studios were populated by great players, Tommy Tedesco, Jim Hall, Sal Salvador, Johnny Smith,... and there'd be a session and amazing people would be on rhythm, too often without liner note credit.
    David

  6. #5

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    David, you are in the Boston metro area, no? How is the market for session work for jazz and classical style guitar? I know Boston is brimming with musicians.

    I realize this question is off the subject, but just an incidental inquiry.

  7. #6

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    There's not a big studio scene here, not like LA or NY. There's not a session factory thing going on here, but there are plenty of performance venues, mostly affiliated with the many schools here. Any night of the week you might go out and see music that ranges from free chamber music of the highest caliber, to celebrity series performances at Symphony hall, or jazz from some traditional directions but much more for more modern jazz, experimental and several places where you can see international acts on a regular basis. Session work though, nothing to speak of. It's a school dominated city, a place to cut your teeth and find a musical identity, some jam sessions (there were more in Philly when I lived down there, 'don't know about now though Natalie's closed since I left)
    If you're a musician looking for work playing, Boston is a tough town. If you're not quite an exceptional player looking to get by as a musician, I'd have to discourage you. It's a town where inspiration abounds but work is hard to find. Teachers in the schools have worked hard to establish the name, bookings and audience to work, and even then, often you teach so you can play to a sparse but appreciative audience.
    That's my experience. Others may tell of more fortunate experiences.
    David

  8. #7
    Thanks for sharing, guys. Here in San Antonio, its mostly/entirely country/blues/honky-tonk. Hard to find someone who plays Chord Melody Jazz. There are some. But no easy access. Since I'm retired, I spend my time attempting to transcribe some of my favorite chord melody players and having a lot of fun learning theory! Tony Mottola is one of my favorites.

  9. #8

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    Judging from the low bass notes, I'd guess the second guitarist in the medley to be Bucky Pizzarelli.

  10. #9

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    I have an old book (I picked it up in the mid 1970s) of his transcriptions, "Mel Bay Presents The Tony Mottola Guitar Style". Half of the ten pieces are laid out in duet format but most could be played solo.

    It's interesting to note that a number of the tunes in this collection are adaptations of classical guitar pieces or based on classical music. I think Spanish classical guitarist Andres Segovia had a big influence on many of the jazz guitarists in that first half of the 20th century. As Segovia was becoming big news all over the world, it seems the jazz guys sat up, took notice and started incorporating a lot to the classical guitar technique, stylings and material into their playing....

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scot Tremblay
    I have an old book (I picked it up in the mid 1970s) of his transcriptions, "Mel Bay Presents The Tony Mottola Guitar Style". Half of the ten pieces are laid out in duet format but most could be played solo.

    It's interesting to note that a number of the tunes in this collection are adaptations of classical guitar pieces or based on classical music. I think Spanish classical guitarist Andres Segovia had a big influence on many of the jazz guitarists in that first half of the 20th century. As Segovia was becoming big news all over the world, it seems the jazz guys sat up, took notice and started incorporating a lot to the classical guitar technique, stylings and material into their playing....
    Hey I have that too! I so much wanted to be able to play chord solo. In a similar vein, I remember getting a book of chord solo pieces in the classical style by Laurendo Almeida. Arrangements of movie themes like Laura, Blue Moon, Sandpiper... Really good resources for learning a chord playing vocabulary and getting some really pretty arrangements in the process.

    David

  12. #11

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    I have that book also - in a box somewhere in the garage I think. I think I recall that he played in the Doc Severson/Tonight Show band.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...p;sr=&qid=
    Last edited by fep; 04-22-2014 at 09:30 AM.

  13. #12

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    I started listening to Tony Mottola and Al Caiola mostly because of their great sound but ended up becoming a fan of the style as well.
    I didn't know of the mel bay transcription book, thanks for the info, I will look for it.
    Some time ago I transcribed the beautiful intro to "Anema e core" played by Tony Mottola on "Roman Guitar vol.2". Impressive how much he achieves there with relatively little. I understand why he was so appreciated as a studio artist.
    I also made a video of the transcription if you are interested, here the link:

    Last edited by GuitOp81; 04-22-2014 at 02:27 PM.

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitOp81
    I also made a video of the transcription if you are interested, here the link:
    GuitOp81,

    Great job on the transcription AND the playing.

    Regards,
    Jerome

  15. #14
    GuitOp81

    How do I print out your transcription of Anema E Core, Please??

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by monk
    GuitOp81,

    Great job on the transcription AND the playing.

    Regards,
    Jerome
    Thank you Jerome, neither of them is impeccable but the video was a way to force myself to work on the transcription.

    Quote Originally Posted by leeram
    GuitOp81

    How do I print out your transcription of Anema E Core, Please??
    I uploaded a pdf here

  17. #16
    Thank you, GuitOp81 for the great work you do. It is a challenge to learn Anema E Core, but I will try.

    leeram

  18. #17

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    GuitOp81, thanks for the transcription.

  19. #18

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    I started working on a transcription of the medley of Moon River and What are you doing the rest of your life last night. Also just doing the latter song on its own as well, that is a longer or more complete version with vocals. As it turns out, I already do a version of The Shadow of Your Smile in the same key as Tony played with Perry Como.

    As an aside, I'm trying a different recording approach with these songs lately, in that I record a couple of tracks of the solo guitar against the vocal, then building the accompaniment around it. Such as any added tracks like piano, bass, or strings. Kind of like that clip of Tony and Perry making it happen.

  20. #19

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    Some of Tony's Transcriptions have appeared in "Just Jazz Guitar" Magazine.

    Stardust is one that comes to mind.

    DG

  21. #20
    Daveg.

    Thanks for the info. Another one in JJG magazine by Tony Mottola is Cry Me a River.

  22. #21

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    Tony Mottola Guitar ... Paris. This easy listening album of Tony's captivated me as a young boy. His tone and execution were so beautiful and elegant.

  23. #22

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    I first heard Tony when I was a kid in high school. My dad had two of those new fangled "stereo" albums that bounced percussion all over the place. One was called Big Band Bossa Nova by Enoch Light and the other was Tony's own album called Roman Guitar. The latter also had Bucky Pizzarelli and Al Casamenti on rhythm and second guitar.

    I wore those records out trying to figure out what everybody was using, and, after not hearing them for decades, I was pleased to find that they are available on iTunes. Nice memories. And now it doesn't sound quite so daunting.

  24. #23

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    New member; what a great & informative site!

    I'd also like to give props to Mr. Mottola; have most of his albums. Arguably his finest effort is (as mentioned above) the duet album he recorded with Bucky Pizzarelli called "Two Guitars For Two In Love." I can't WAIT to see a transcription for Moon River/What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life!

    To GuitOp81: GREAT transcription to Anema e Core; thanks very much for sharing!

    There may be others, but here are the Just Jazz Guitar mags I'm aware of that contain Tony's transcriptions:

    Issue 1 "Tony's Tune"
    Issue 19 "Cry Me A River"
    Issue 21 "Danger"
    Issue 24 "Stardust"
    Issue 33 "Tea For Two"
    Issue 35 "Mitzi"
    Issue 56 "Always"

    Hope this information helps a bit.

  25. #24

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    Going slightly Off Topic:

    The ES355 pictured above is the only Gibson instrument with those Low Impedance Pickups which did not bear Les Paul's name (apart from the early L5s ).

    It was made as a prototype for a possible Tony Mottola Gibson ES355 which never materialized.

    He used it on one of his last LPs - "All The Way".

    DG

  26. #25

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    Pretty much all of this album is available on YouTube.
    If you can't stand the insipid arrangement drenched in reverb, Tony has a solo at 1:20.