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its so clear - its so easy to watch and hear...
he is surely as good as anyone has ever been - at least
(incidentally - and this is not the purpose of the post - this is the closest i come to really digging solo guitar)
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05-12-2016 04:13 PM
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I agree it his one of the best ever his ideas, sound, just everything. I think it's from having old school players as his teachers early on, then getting to apprentice like old school guys gigging a lot with some of the same people. Then he got to spend time with and play duos with Jim Hall. As he says in interviews he not a theory type of person he's about ear and playing tunes. It keeps coming up over and over the three essentials of really learning to play Jazz is: lots of listening, learn tunes, and lots of playing.
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I checked out Peter's solo set at Smalls one night with a piano playing friend who sat on a stool right next to the stage. Bernstein was on fire and told me later that it was the first time he'd done the gig without taking a break. My friend was left shaking his head in amazement that he'd just listened, utterly transfixed to an hour and a half of solo guitar playing. As beautiful as PB's touch and tone is, when he's in the zone, the instrument falls away to leave pure expression.
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" when he's in the zone, the instrument falls away to leave pure expression."
the hallmark of a great musician....
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One of the best jazz musicians on the planet. Stunning performance! Thanks for posting that.
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And after that... I wanna die.
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Bernstein plays so great with a band too
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As great as PB's Yesterdays is, check out PG's.
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PG has technique, but not the feel, feel is what matters.
Originally Posted by sgcim
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You're kidding, right? Originally Posted by NoReply
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He's got it.
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Since I became interested in jazz I've Heard about Oscar Robertson and his technical virtuosity against his feeling, then I listened him playing and I thought: Bollocks! This man is awesome!
The same with Bernstein, this man is a killer guitarist, technique is always working in the better way to express with his instrument.
I like to watch his hands, just like chinese shadows, sometimes I see the Wes hand, sometimes the Breau hand,..., incredible picking hand as well.
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I think you mean Oscar Peterson, although the Big-O (Robertson) possessed unbelievable virtuosity on the basketball court. Can anyone think of another player who averaged a triple-double every time out on the court? Me, either.
When I hear Bernstein, I am not particularly struck by his technique. Sure, he has gobs of it. But, he doesn't seem to be playing "flashy," to me. He just seems to be playing well in service of the tune he is presenting. He has great swing for a younger player. His sense of time is just infectious. He has Joe Pass' and Jim Hall's flair for the _right_ time. AND, Bernstein's lines are just super.
Full disclosure: I was never put off by anything OP played. I just rolled along with Peterson's masterful sense of swing.
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I do admire Pasquale's incredible virtuosity, and I was tempted to buy his solo CD from CDBaby. But after listening to all the soundclips, I realised I would soon tire of the sheer torrent of notes, so I decided against. It's the same with Art Tatum, I like it for about one or two tracks, then I can't listen any more.
Whereas I can listen to a whole CD by Peter Bernstein with no problem.
This is no reflection on Pasquale, I think he is really great, it's just my subjective feeling. Peter Bernstein is just more in tune with what I like.
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Originally Posted by NoReply
oh jeese...here we go...
That being said, I probably liked PB's video a little better. It's also worth keeping in mind PB is old enough to be PG's dad; PG isn't even 30
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Probably comes as a surprise as I play so much solo guitar, but I'm not a big fan of listening to "solo guitar" for extended periods.
PB would be an exception. I could listen to him all day.
Grasso's solo playing is not my kind of thing (neither is the hallowed Joe Pass), but he's a badass, and if you think he doesn't have feel, you're a hater.
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Bernstein is still in his 40s. That's young, to me. But...I guess he could be Pasquale's dad.
Why has there always been a curse on guys with great chops? Wynton Marsalis has labored under this funky pox for 35 years, I'm afraid. I have always enjoyed his playing and haven't found it cold, analytical, etc.
Years back, the great, self-taught pianist, Bobby Enriquez, had the same knock--too many chops. I found Enriquez very listenable and enjoyed his playing all the way up to his untimely death.
The only technician that bores the snot out of me has been Kenny Gorelick (Kenny G). Gorelick has fountains of chops and is very musical, but he plies his chops in the smooth jazz arena that sounds like elevator music, to me. Saw him in concert once. He stood next to me in the aisle and circular breathed a note for about 60 seconds. The crowd went nuts. If you knew what he was doing, though, it was a yawn...sorta like listening to 60 seconds of tapped triplets on the guitar.
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Originally Posted by Groyniad
Watch Martin Taylor, you will dig it even more.
ken
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Greentone, I agree, and it's a pet peeve of mine. As my generation would say: "Haters gunna hate"
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Y'know, Grasso is a m*th*rf*ck*r and all, and Martin Taylor has some amazing chops, but I would go with Pete Bernstein's approach to solo playing...
Personal taste, something about the way he does it without too much Guitar Playing. (Not that Pete's stuff is exactly easy to play...)
It's also absolutely, at the same time, guitar playing - very honest. He's not trying to be a pianist. He's not trying to be a whole band with bass, piano and sax - he's just playing jazz really really well on his guitar, in a guitar way.
For me, here's something about hearing something where you go 'hmmm... that sounds like something I could do... almost.'
Except you can't, because it's deceptively difficult to play with that level of clarity, swing and invention, even though he isn't playing walking bass lines all the time, or playing blazing runs of drop 2 block chords or anything like that. It's like Jim Hall, Wes, Grant Green... All those guys...Last edited by christianm77; 05-17-2016 at 10:29 AM.
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IMO Oscar Peterson was one of the most swinging musicians of all time. He would have been great even if he'd had one tenth of the chops he possessed... .
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jjajajjajajajajaj that's right! I can explain my mistake. I've played basketball almost all my life. Originally Posted by Greentone
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The great thing about Bernstein's interpretation is that he makes a jazz waltz out of it, but Tatum's version never gets old for me: Originally Posted by grahambop
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Originally Posted by joe2758
oh jeese...here we go...
That being said, I probably liked PB's video a little better. It's also worth keeping in mind PB is old enough to be PG's dad; PG isn't even 30
only if you take it there, feel is always the bottom line whether its a million notes or one.
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i don't like joe pass solo guitar either - and i really can't stand much martin taylor (although i admire him hugely as a guitarist - hugely)
i think people put their fingers on it here
its because he is not trying to cover all the bases like a piano can
so it feels like he's not trying to prove something about how close to piano jazz guitar can come
so it feels more confident
and he does a fabulously good job of suggesting enough of the harmony and using repetition of even quiet complex long phrases to keep everything going along as it needs to
he often accompanies himself with the use of a single note phrase rather than a chordal sequence - i'm getting into this a lot recently - and it works very well
but this sort of performance - and thank goodness he's doing a lot of it at the moment - really gives me new conviction as a guitarist
as is so often true when you encounter a really great player you find yourself kind of amazed that no-one else did this before he did
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