The roots of chord melody guitar. (Who were the pioneers?)

[Wesley]

Hi there,

I was wondering about the history of chord melody guitar. Who were the first guitar players to play chord melody stuff? Was it Eddie Lang? Or did it start with Wes Montgomery? George Van Eps? Who would you say were the pioneers of chord melody guitar?

Can anyone give me some examples of early chord melody recordings?

Thanks a lot.

[Rob MacKillop]

You'll find a few of them on my website, taken from Masters Of The Plectrum Guitar, a Mel Bay publication: Masters – ArchtopGuitar.net

Harry Volpe did some interesting stuff, and even Mel Bay himself.

[Wesley]

You'll find a few of them on my website, taken from Masters Of The Plectrum Guitar, a Mel Bay publication: Masters – ArchtopGuitar.net

Harry Volpe did some interesting stuff, and even Mel Bay himself.

Thanks Rob! I had never heard of Harry Volpe!

[Rob MacKillop]

Harry Volpe was a genius, one of the greats, but sadly largely unknown to most modern players.

[Cunamara]

Also Dick McDonough, Carl Dress, etc., were early jazz guitar pioneers. In those days chord solos and such were de rigeur because single notes from the guitar just couldn't be heard in a band- you had to bang the chords out. Nick Lucas is worth checking out. Van Eps started out on banjo, as did Carl Dress, and switched to guitar.

[Rob MacKillop]

I prefer Carl Kress Sorry, couldn't resist!

[grahambop]

I recently got this CD which has great playing by Lang, Kress and McDonough, sound is pretty good too.

Challenge Records International - Pioneers of Jazz Guitar, 1927-1939 - Eddie Lang - Carl Kress - Dick Mcdonough

[grahambop]

By the way, Eddie Lang has the bizarre distinction of being the only jazz guitarist who died because of Bing Crosby.

Eddie Lang - Wikipedia

[Greentone]

Eddie Lang was certainly recording early chord melodies in the mid-20s. Here's one from 1927. It sounds a bit primitive to the modern ear, but it surely contains the seeds of chord melody that would follow.

[Doctor Jeff]

Joe Pass listed Eddie Lang, Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhardt at the 3 major innovators in jazz guitar.

[destinytot]

...and switched to guitar.

(The switch from banjo to guitar - 'Dross-Kressing'?)

During the interview with Ted Greene, George Van Eps talks a bit about Carl Kress:

My hero Marty Grosz - who's still with us - uses a variant of Carl Kress tuning, which I've taught myself to play after a fashion (I started a thread about it a while back: Marty Grosz tuning).

[destinytot]

Check out Alan Reuss, Teddy Bunn, and the marvellous Steve Jordan - whose delightful delivery of lyrics I first heard thanks to this thread: I Go For That - Steve Jordan

[vintagelove]

Classical guitar players?

[Guitarzen]

I know you are specifically referring to jazz guitar, but really it was classical guitar players. They've been doing it for centuries.

[Rob MacKillop]

And there's fairly clear evidence that Volpe, Kress and others were influenced by Segovia and his repertoire. But I'd argue that Eddie Lang came from another tradition, an Italian tradition of mandolin and/or violin accompanied by the guitar. Usually that guitar was steel strung. In the late teens, early 1920s, mandolin and guitar orchestras and small ensembles were immensely popular, and you can hear some of that, I believe, in Lang's solo performances. I think his style differs from that which emerged from guitarists a decade later, under the influence of the tenor banjo, where chord melody was already established and quite advanced.

[destinytot]

Rich heritage - and legacy:

[Doctor Jeff]

Rich heritage - and legacy:

Didja see the banjo work that girl into a frenzy??

LOL!

[Doctor Jeff]

I know you are specifically referring to jazz guitar, but really it was classical guitar players. They've been doing it for centuries.

I was about to make some highfalutin' pronouncement disagreeing with your premise, like "a group of notes played in arpeggio isn't really chord-melody, no matter how complex, unless the chords provide a recognizable framework for the song and there is a clear melody that can be discerned."

Then I was listening to Segovia playing Tarrega, and realized that's exactly what he was doing.

I think where "classical" sticks to folk songs and the like (e.g., Tarrega) with a strong melody, that's chord-melody. The chord choices are different from modern popular music, but that's a minor point.

However, I do think popular guitar moved away from melody to become a rhythm instrument at the turn of the last century, and had to rediscover melody played simultaneous with the chordal framework. That's where Lang and others come in.

[Guitarzen]

I was about to make some highfalutin' pronouncement disagreeing with your premise, like "a group of notes played in arpeggio isn't really chord-melody, no matter how complex, unless the chords provide a recognizable framework for the song and there is a clear melody that can be discerned."

I don't think the term "chord-melody" was ever meant to exclude arrangements that use something other than block chords with a melody on top. I've heard plenty of great solo jazz guitar arrangements that relied heavily on arpeggiation, or otherwise sparse playing that didn't include any block chords. I prefer the term "solo guitar arrangement" over "chord-melody" anyways. To me there doesn't need to be a second sub-class of solo guitar arrangements called "chord-melody".

Then I was listening to Segovia playing Tarrega, and realized that's exactly what he was doing.

But yes, a great example of an early solo guitar arrangement that can be compared to what we do with a solo jazz guitar arrangement, whatever you want to call it. One of my favorite pieces, and at one point I could play this piece from memory! Which reminds me I need to practice it.

[Doctor Jeff]

Guitarzen I think the term chord-melody is rather ambiguous but has come to mean a certain way of jazz playing, ala Joe Pass.

The Tarrega stuff is a little above my skill level. Most of the classical stuff I play includes studies, which I would not group with this piece. The lack of variation of key signature or chord changes distinguishes it from jazz-style chord melody.

The guitar composer who I think most closely approaches the idea of jazz chord-melody is Villa-Lobos. His Preludes and Etudes are wonderful.