The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hi guys,

    I need your help for my thesis, I'm looking for innovations brought to life by important guitarists like:

    - Eddie Lang: from banjo to guitar
    - Charlie Christian: from the rhythm section to the solo instrument
    - Pat Martino: continuous phrasing and use of the plectrum
    - Joe Pass: the guitar / piano: a new concept of solo guitar
    - Jim Hall: development and evolution of the harmonic approach on the guitar
    - Tal Farlow, Kenny Burrell, Lenny Breau: new tonal experiments
    - John Scofield: the guitar like sax, the evolution of the legato


    Thank you!

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Howzabout hardware innovations?

    Les Paul. Nuff said.

    Pat Metheny - early adoption of guitar synth and computer software for writing music

    Tom Scholz - rockman

  4. #3

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    Stanley Jordan for the 2-handed tapping stuff?

  5. #4

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    Don’t forget George van Eps, development of solo guitar and 7-string guitar.

  6. #5

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    Tuck Andres is cool

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    Stanley Jordan for the 2-handed tapping stuff?
    Lots of folks before him.

    Tapping - Wikipedia

  8. #7

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    Derek Bailey - non-idiomatic improv (how he described his own playing).

  9. #8

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    Was Django innovative?

  10. #9

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    Wes set the benchmark for tone and perhaps melodicism as well.

    Johnny Smith's chord voicings.

    Whoever started using rock type sounds for jazz. Coryell?

    Who established that a guitar could be the only chord instrument in a jazz group? Jim Hall? I don't think anybody has done it better.

    First player to hit bop tempo like the horns? Chuck Wayne? Tal Farlow? Jimmy Raney? Oscar Moore? Billy (last name I can't recall)?
    Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 06-25-2018 at 07:21 PM.

  11. #10
    Thank you so much, I’m searching for some new ideas to develop I’m thinking about a sort of brain-storming and from that I will select the things that interest me and finally I will work on them.
    I’m 24 so there are so many good people with more experience than me and they could give me nice ideas and new information.
    But if you think that this isn’t the right way I can delete the discussion

  12. #11

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    Jimi Hendrix

  13. #12

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    How about:

    Charlie Byrd - Brought Bossa Nova guitar music to the U.S. and made it famous here.

    Johnny Smith - Played classical guitar pieces and techniques with a pick on archtop guitars.

  14. #13

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    Anyone that doesn't sound like anyone else. Should be the norm, but some guitarists are dead set on sounding like some other guitarist.

  15. #14

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    Allan Holdsworth bringing the "sheets of sound" and bitonalism approaches to fruition, as well as having a melodic and harmonic conception that was so idiosyncratic. And being able to do it all live. Listen to "None Too Soon" and "Sixteen Men of Tain." Jeepers.

    Ed Bickert for, well, being Ed Bickert. A unique harmonic concept. "Out Of The Past" is a good intro. There is not a lot of information out there along the lines of analysis of style and approach, you'd be starting from basic principles with him.

    Lenny Breau for being, well, Lenny Breau. A unique technical approach to the guitar (7 string with a high A). And one of the least reliable jazz guitarists ever.

    As Grahambop mentioned, George Van Eps for inventing the 7 string guitar; for developing and writing chordal harmonic mechanisms to an extent that few ever get through the first book, let alone all three; for pushing fingerstyle jazz guitar beyond what anyone else had done; for being present and innovative throughout most of the history of the guitar in jazz. George may be one of the most important and least-known jazz guitarists. If you weren't looking at the stage and he started playing solo, you could be forgiven for saying "hey, nice trio."

    And Ted Greene for... well, watch some of the videos. Ted's hard to describe and there won't be another like him. Jazz-baroque fusion?

  16. #15

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    Hi Dave93 and Rob,

    Re. Django as an innovator - the classical guitar technique of using artificial harmonics took a while getting heard in jazz guitar. Although Eddie Lang used natural harmonics, I've not heard him (or anyone else) use artificial harmonics — perhaps Django did this first on record?

    - the earliest example I've spotted is part of the theme near the end (2.03) of 'The Man I Love' from 1939:



    A year later Django takes this technique further again, on one of his early recordings of 'Nuages', playing the first phrases of his beautiful solo in artificial harmonics:



    All the best,
    Mick

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
    Was Django innovative?

  17. #16

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    DiMiola... I never get tired of listening to him play... On the opposite end of the spectrum I can only take a few minutes of Yngwie before switching it off.