The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    fairly obscure early 60's organ/soul jazz guitarist..worked with all the best organ jazzers of the day ie jimmy smith, johnny hammond smith, larry young etc

    pics show him with early gibby goldtop es-295..with tailpiece/bridge combo..certainly had a more toppy tone than most...

    Thornel Schwartz Soul Jazz Guitar-tumblr_lxhldftrtq1r3sdivo1_500-jpg

    nothing too mindbending, but good solid soul...died early at the age of 50...but left a pretty solid discography

    Jimmy Smith – A new sound a new star vol 1 – Blue Note BLP1512

    Jimmy Smith – A new sound a new star vol 2 – Blue Note BLP1514

    Jimmy Smith – The incredible Jimmy Smith vol 3 – Blue Note BLP1525

    Jimmy Smith – At Club Baby Grand vols 1 & 2 – Blue Note BLP1528 & 1529

    Johnny “Hammond” Smith – All soul – New Jazz 8221

    Johnny “Hammond” Smith – That good feelin’ – New Jazz 8229

    Larry Young – Testifyin’ – New Jazz 8249

    Jimmy Forrest – Forrest fire – New Jazz 8250

    Larry Young – Young blues – New Jazz 8264

    Larry Young – Groove Street – Prestige 7237

    Thornel Schwartz – Soul Cookin’ – Argo 704

    Bill Leslie – Diggin’ the chicks – Argo 710

    Jimmy McGriff – The Christmas album – Jell 1888

    Jimmy McGriff – Live where the action’s at – Veep 13515/16515

    Jimmy McGriff and the big band – Solid State 17001/18001

    Jimmy McGriff – Let’s stay together – Groove Merchant 506

    Jimmy McGriff – A bag full of soul – Solid State 17002/18002

    Johnny “Hammond” Smith – Ebb tide – Prestige 7494

    Big Joe Turner – Singing the blues – Bluesway 6006

    Sylvia Syms (with Johnny “Hammond” Smith) – For once in my life – Prestige 7489

    Byrdie Green (with Johnny “Hammond” Smith) – I got it bad – Prestige 7509

    Jimmy Smith – Respect – Verve 8705

    Jimmy McGriff – I got a new woman – Solid State 18030

    Wildare Express – Walk on by – Brunswick 754162

    Jimmy McGriff – The worm – Solid State 18045

    Richard “Groove” Holmes – X77 – Pacific Jazz 20163

    Milt Buckner – Rockin’ again – Black & Blue 33043

    Joe Johnson – Jazz in Jersey – Darien 1723





    cheers

  2.  

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  3. #2

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    Thornel was an underrated player for sure.
    I have all the lps listed except the 3 vocal led records, Turner, Syms and Green.
    oh, and never even heard of the 'wildare express' session.

    quick story about the 'Soul Cookin' lp neatomic posted.

    I had won the record on ebay some time ago and the second high bidder emailed and asked if I could make him a cassette as his father in law, saxophonist Bill Leslie was on it [he's pictured on the left]
    so I said sure, and sent him the tape.
    a couple weeks later I received a signed copy of a cd his son in law made from the tape.
    the son in law said he was walking home from work one day to find Bill listening to it on the porch and occasionally making a face when he heard something he didn't like--he hadn't heard the record since it came out in the early 60's

    the son in law emailed me few days later expressing his gratitude and said Bill passed away but he was glad he got to hear it before he died.

  4. #3

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    wow glad i started this thread, just to read that story wintermoon!!...wonderful tale


    btw ts discog was courtesy of

    Thornel Schwartz - Artists - organissimo forums


    cheers

  5. #4

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    I encourage those that aren't familiar w/the lp 'Soul Cookin' that neatomic posted to give it a good listen.
    it's not on cd and may never be, along w/it's companion Argo lp 'Diggin' the Chicks' by Bill Leslie, w/Thornel as sideman this time.
    like neatomic said, he's probably not going to going to make you forget Wes, Kenny, Pat, George from a chops point of view, etc., but to me he's got a cool personal sound, heavy on the blues, I really dig him.
    he carved out a little chunk of soul/jazz guitar history in his brief lifetime, along w/others like Boogaloo Joe Jones, Wilbert Longmire, etc...

    for bonus points, can you name the organist on Soul Cookin' ?
    no googling, but if your a B-3 fan you'll know within a few moments just by listening.
    btw, he's listed under a pseudonym on the record for contract reasons.

  6. #5

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    thornels unique tone & stylings upfront with larry young




    cheers

  7. #6

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    my fave track off that session is this one
    Thornel really shines on this one as he does on most slow blues.
    and what a great original organist Young was, this early on in his development.


  8. #7

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    really cool playing on this one by Young.






  9. #8

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    here you go wintermoon... obscure one..but thornels tone can be heard in the mix




    cheers

  10. #9

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    I never knew about this guitarist before but really he does more for me than most of the "intellectual" music since 1960.... and as for Walk on By... I really wish Coltrane had done it with Dionne

    Last edited by sunnysideup; 04-07-2016 at 09:37 AM.

  11. #10

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    I caught Thornel a couple of times with Jimmy Smith, he was great in the live context, excellent comping, meaty solos.

  12. #11
    dortmundjazzguitar Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ronjazz
    I caught Thornel a couple of times with Jimmy Smith, he was great in the live context, excellent comping, meaty solos.
    oh, man. what a treat. did you also see eddie mcfadden? so much fantastic guitar playing in those organ combos.
    here's vinnie corrao giving martino a run for his money:



    beutiful playing by eddie mcfadden with patterson:


  13. #12

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    Another guy who played in organ groups that I liked years ago was Cal Green.
    I bought one of his records when I was a kid, and I was surprised to realize that i still play some of his licks today.

  14. #13

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    as soulful as can be)

  15. #14

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    Yeah, he was good---as was Eddie McFadden---2 guys no one ever mentions.

    Kind of interesting (to me at least) too, that he was a black Jew...

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by djg
    Whoa, just when you think you've seen it all on youtube.
    Never seen Thorny w an ES-150, usually it's his 295.
    Thanks for posting!

  17. #16

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    Got to watch the whole video, it was superb.
    I believe this is the only video of Thorny out there, and there's only one other pre 80' clip of Mcgriff on youtube.

    If you like Mcgriff or Hammond organ jazz, I'd highly recommend watching the whole concert, the last tune is absolutely smokin

  18. #17

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    Here one I got. 10” 331/3 impact sound recording studio, caster ave. Side 1, Erika. And working on a groovy thing. By Joe Johnson-organ, Thornel Schwartz- guitar, Frankie Jones- drums. Side 2, J.S.F. Special and unit 7.

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Geojand73
    Here one I got. 10” 331/3 impact sound recording studio, caster ave. Side 1, Erika. And working on a groovy thing. By Joe Johnson-organ, Thornel Schwartz- guitar, Frankie Jones- drums. Side 2, J.S.F. Special and unit 7.

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Geojand73
    Here one I got. 10” 331/3 impact sound recording studio, caster ave. Side 1, Erika. And working on a groovy thing. By Joe Johnson-organ, Thornel Schwartz- guitar, Frankie Jones- drums. Side 2, J.S.F. Special and unit 7.
    Hah, I used to gig w/Joe Johnson back in the day.

  21. #20

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    nice!!! this is the one i listed above in op... in thornels discography

    engineered by frank "guitar boogie shuffle" virtue



    cheers

  22. #21

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    Great post, Neatomic!
    It brings back great memories of the organ trios who played live in Chicago during the 60's and 70's and could be found from straight ahead Jazz Clubs to neighborhood bars. It was the first time I saw alto saxophonist Sonny Criss and Chicago guitarist Phil Upchurch playing live at the Hungry Eye lounge in Oldtown(Chi) in 1968. Thornel was a gigging musician and earned his chops on the road. His approach to the music is what I call organic(no pun intended). Thanks for the post. Here's Chicago guitarist Phil Upchurch ,of whom some of you may not be familiar, playing "Midnight Special" with the incomparable Jimmy Smith on organ, Jimmy Jackson, drums, and the soul bopping, dirty tenor of Herman Riley. Good playing . . . Marinero



  23. #22

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    I think that it's René Thomas's guitar. He played at the same Jazz Festival in Belgium.