UK's Jazz Guitar Pioneers

[GuyBoden]

Mike Walker is an exceptional modern Jazz guitarist, he has influenced many UK guitarists with his playing style.
(A Manchester guitar legend)

The Impossible Gentleman

[Wolfie175]

I really enjoy the album Mike Walker made with Stuart McCallum, The Space Between. The track Yewfield will tickle any Metheny fan. McCallum is a fantastic player too, not jazz per se but definitely an improviser live. His duo project The Breath with Rioghnach Connolly is remarkable.

[sgcim]

Mike Walker is an exceptional modern Jazz guitarist, he has influenced many UK guitarists with his playing style.
(A Manchester guitar legend)

The Impossible Gentleman

Ran into Mike Walker on TGP a number of years ago. He told me about how he bought a Borys B-120 and loved it, but had to sell it.
He searched all over the place for another one for years, and wound up finding his first one and bought it again.

I just finished reading Johnny Dankworth's bio "Jazz in Revolution", and I was disappointed to find the only jazz guitarist he mentioned was Johnny Mac, who played on the album "Windmill Tilter'. The album was composed and arranged by Kenny Wheeler, and featured KW as a soloist throughout. The only reason it was under Dankworth's name was because KW used JD's big band to play the parts. It also marked the recording debut of Dave Holland, who was a student at the time of JD's regular bass player Kenny Napper. Napper had to send Holland as a sub for the recording date because he cut his playing finger on a bread knife.
JD could have at least made some mention of Dave Goldberg, who was on the scene at the same time as JD, but he only mentioned guys that played in his bands.
I posted JD's theory on why jazz musicians will never make any money on the "Why Isn't Jazz Popular?" thread in another section here.