The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Chuck Wayne - Wikipedia

    The Wiki article on Chuck Wayne has a lot of technical info about his systems for chords, scales and arps.

    It is accurate to the extent I can verify it from my lessons with Carl Barry (who studied and worked with Chuck).

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    along with johnny smith and barry galbraith, considered one of the more technical players on the early nyc jazz/radio/session scene

    great player



    cheers

  4. #3

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    one of my most listened to jazz guitar releases of all time...bill de'arango lou mecca and chuck wayne...3 lps combined into cd/digi format..great stuff..always in my listening rotation



    cheers

  5. #4
    Here's my Chuck Wayne story.

    I grew up in Brooklyn near King's Highway, on E17th St.

    I went for guitar lessons at the local music school. My teacher was the owner, Sid Margolis, a big band guitar player in the 40s and the guitarist on the Arthur Godfrey radio program in the 50s. He did the chord melodies, if anybody remembers that.

    A few years later, I studied with one of the young guys who taught there, Carl Barry, who is still around. Another one of the young teachers was Jack Wilkins.

    I think I was 16 when Carl suggested I come to one of his gigs. It was Sunday night in a neighborhood bar in Bensonhurst. There was a tiny elevated stage in back, as I recall it, and Carl was playing in a trio. I believe it was Jack Wilkins on bass, and there was a drummer. First time I ever had a beer in a bar, which they shouldn't have served, but I was there with the band, sort of.

    At some point in the evening, Chuck Wayne came in. I believe that he had just played the Ed Sullivan show that evening and came right to this Brooklyn bar. I remember thinking that he could solo in 4 note chords about as fast as I could play single notes. Sounded incredible.

    As I remember it, the bar was nearly empty the whole time and nobody else was paying any attention to the music.

    A couple of years ago, I went to hear Strings Attached at the Zinc Bar. Jack Wilkins, Joe Cohn, Vic Juris and Mark Whitfield. I think it was David Gibson on drums. I don't know who was on bass. I said hello to Jack and mentioned that long-ago night, 52 years earlier. He mentioned that Carl would be there that night and, sure enough, he was. We had a nice conversation. First time I'd seen him in 52 years. He told a story about how he came to work with Chuck Wayne.

  6. #5

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    Great story. I also studied with Sid Margolis just after he left Brooklyn and moved to Massapequa. I was 16 years old and Sid was recommended to me by Matty Greco - who was a good friend of my parents. Matty owner a catering business in the City - and was a very wealthy guy who owned D’Angelico and D’Aquisto guitars.......and was very well connected.

    The lessons I learned from Sid were invaluable - and I still have every book and hand written lesson he provided.......that was 46 years ago.

    Thanks for sharing your story.

  7. #6

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    I had a late friend George Bowman from North side of Chicago (ZION ILLinois) who knew Chuck personally and his wife. Told me Chuck's wife was a great lady I believe a model in her younger days. He told me Chuck lived and breathed the guitar. He was always playing and took up classical guitar. George also said that Chuck never quite got the fame as some of the New Yorker players but it never mattered he was totally a guitar nut even as he got older. I believe Parkinson's disease finally took its toll on him and he was really taken by not being able to execute like he wanted to on the guitar. After his death my friend keep in touch with his widow.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by QAman View Post
    Great story. I also studied with Sid Margolis just after he left Brooklyn and moved to Massapequa. I was 16 years old and Sid was recommended to me by Matty Greco - who was a good friend of my parents. Matty owner a catering business in the City - and was a very wealthy guy who owned D’Angelico and D’Aquisto guitars.......and was very well connected.

    The lessons I learned from Sid were invaluable - and I still have every book and hand written lesson he provided.......that was 46 years ago.

    Thanks for sharing your story.
    For posterity, or something, here's a story about Sid.

    His studio was on Kings Highway around E. 19th street, upstairs. It started as Duet Music. Sid had a partner, Buddy Geier, who was a horn player and who later owned Buddy's Music Center (Ave P near Coney Island Avenue) where I taught for several years. Also a store a few subway stops towards Coney Island. I took accordion lessons from Buddy when I was 8.

    At 13, I returned for guitar lessons. I liked to sing and wanted to accompany myself. I guess, in retrospect, Sid just did his usual thing, which I'm now grateful for.

    He started with a Belwin beginner's book. Then Mel Bay 2. Then Colin/Bower Complete Rhythms. Then a clarinet book which iirc correctly had Moto Perpetuo by Paganini. Then Advanced Dance Rhythms. Then Pasquale Bona's book on reading, which I got about halfway through.

    At some point, I got the old 3 songs per page Fake Book, the one based on the old index cards. Sid began by teaching Don't Blame Me. He'd write out the chords and circle the root. By then, I knew the fingerboard so I would move the chords and learn all 12 keys. I can still play that arrangement. Decades later, I played it someplace and a guy came up to me and told me it reminded him of listening to the Arthur Godfrey radio show with his mother. How about that? That was Sid!

    Next was Moonglow. Stars Fell On Alabama, Stompin' At the Savoy, Crazy Rhythm and more. I believe that it all took 26 months. I practiced 2 hours per day, religiously. My father nagged me to go out and play ball.

    At that point, I could read, I knew the chords used by big band guys.

    Sid taught "runs", which were arpeggios on the basic chords. So, I knew those, but I didn't learn much about how to apply them. I think I was limited largely to chord tones and the occasional embellishment, for example, blue notes, which I could always hear. The notion of ear training never came up.

    I had my first gigs, playing rock in the Catskills.

    By then, I was teaching a bunch of kids at Buddy's and a little bit at Sid's.

    I recall Sid mentioning that there was an album he wanted. It was Mellow Guitar by George Van Eps. The players in Sid's era were in awe of Van Eps. I took the subway to Colony Records in midtown (motto: "I found it at Colony"). I recall that I had to tell the counterman the name of the album and he went in the back and found it. Like buying auto parts. Sid appreciated it. I also recall going to a dusty upstairs midtown jazz record store that didn't have it. I think that was a famous place, but I had no awareness of the world it inhabited at that time.

    Sid and I agreed, somehow, that it was time for me to graduate and that's when I started studying with Carl Barry, who was a devotee of Chuck Wayne and taught a system which I believe Chuck developed.

    Sid was a wonderful guy and a great teacher. I remember him very fondly and I use what he taught me every time I pick up the guitar. Even now, most of the calls I get are based on my ability to read standard notation. And, the foundation he gave me allowed me to progress.
    Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 08-21-2020 at 04:27 PM.

  9. #8

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    Great story!

  10. #9

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    great clip of early chuck wayne with george shearing

    on drummer denzil best tune- move



    cheers

  11. #10

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    Anyone been through the three books of Chuck Waynes?

    Originally there was a book he did with Ralph Patt called the "Guitar Arpeggio Dictionary" published by Henry Alder Inc.

    Then with the help of a Student he put together two books "Chords" and "Scales" published by Hal Leonard Corp.

    Chucks exact chord voicing....

    Last edited by oceanslider; 12-01-2021 at 02:02 AM.

  12. #11

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  13. #12

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    Found a good clip showing Chuck's hybrid technique. Starts at the 1:05 mark or there abouts.

  14. #13

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    In my NYU days (1974-1978), I used to see Chuck Wayne play a duet gig with Joe Puma at a westside NYC bar called Strykers. No cover charge (all you had to do was buy 1 drink per set). I saw that gig many times. Chet Baker and Lee Konitz also had regular gigs at that bar (and I saw both of them many times during those years). I once went there on New Years Eve and all 4 of those jazz legends were playing together.

    I saw a lot of great jazz in NYC in the 70's. But I was a young college student, so buying the $1000 D'Angelicos that were regularly for sale at the various music stores on 48th street were beyond my means.

    In those days, I studied with Allen Hanlon, who shared a studio with Sal Salvador and Barry Gailbraith. My jazz guitar education was enriched by being in the right place at the right time for sure.

    And Chuck Wayne was one of the greats. Lucky for us, many superb recordings exist. Lucky for me, I got to see him do it live.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stringswinger View Post
    In my NYU days (1974-1978), I used to see Chuck Wayne play a duet gig with Joe Puma at a westside NYC bar called Strykers. No cover charge (all you had to do was buy 1 drink per set). I saw that gig many times. Chet Baker and Lee Konitz also had regular gigs at that bar (and I saw both of them many times during those years). I once went there on New Years Eve and all 4 of those jazz legends were playing together.

    I saw a lot of great jazz in NYC in the 70's. But I was a young college student, so buying the $1000 D'Angelicos that were regularly for sale at the various music stores on 48th street were beyond my means.

    In those days, I studied with Allen Hanlon, who shared a studio with Sal Salvador and Barry Gailbraith. My jazz guitar education was enriched by being in the right place at the right time for sure.

    And Chuck Wayne was one of the greats. Lucky for us, many superb recordings exist. Lucky for me, I got to see him do it live.
    Seeing Joe Puma and Chuck more than once in a small club setting must have been pretty amazing. The album they did together is fantastic.

  16. #15

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    I met Joe Puma at the 5 Towns Guitar Show out on Long Island maybe almost 30 years ago. He was really nice and very unassuming could play the guitar like so well and lines just made sense. I remember him being very friendly and he seem to be very short with those choppy Italian fingers that made sense when he played/

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanslider View Post
    Found a good clip showing Chuck's hybrid technique. Starts at the 1:05 mark or there abouts.
    Chuck had his own way of doing things. He used hybrid picking on that video to play octaves, rather than to add chords the way guys do today.
    He fingered the octaves the way classical players would, with the low note on the A string, and the high octave on the B string.
    Then he sweep picks all his arps, and uses economic picking to play his other lines.
    All of this resulted in a very legato sound, which made it easier to play fast bebop lines in a smooth way, like sax player's did.
    This would be very effective when playing fast heads with a horn player or vibes and piano, like he did so well with the Shearing group.
    Maybe that's why he developed that technique. To make it sound smooth, he would roll the tone down.

    When he solos using that technique, I find that constant legato playing,rolled down tone, and lack of plectrum accents, to get kind of monotonous after a while. OTOH, he could sometimes build up a solo with these techniques and play an explosive solo, like he did on "You Stepped Out of a Dream".

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by deacon Mark View Post
    I met Joe Puma at the 5 Towns Guitar Show out on Long Island maybe almost 30 years ago. He was really nice and very unassuming could play the guitar like so well and lines just made sense. I remember him being very friendly and he seem to be very short with those choppy Italian fingers that made sense when he played/
    I just read in the recent book on the final days of the Bill Evans Trio "Times Remembered" by Joe La Barbera,that Puma had a stroke that affected his left arm some time in his career (?), To compensate for it, he built a special guitar at Jimmy D'Aquisto's shop that made it easier for him to play, and used an unusual playing position that also helped him.
    He was close friends with Bill Evans, and they used to go to the racetrack together to bet on horse races.
    I bought the album he made with Evans, "Joe Puma Jazz" on vinyl years ago for $40. It had Evans on one side, and Eddie Costa on the other side (playing vibes, not piano unfortunately) and Oscar Pettiford on bass.
    I saw the Chuck Wayne/Joe Puma Duo many times, and watched Puma go from that great staccato style he had, to incorporating a lot of Chuck Wayne's legato style in his playing.
    When Wayne and Puma broke up after only making one album, Puma had a steady trio gig at Gregory's in NYC, and I'd drop by to see him every time I had a gig in Manhattan. He was a cool guy to talk to, and had a legendary sarcastic sense of humor. Check out Bill Crow's books for some of his great lines.
    I gigged a lot with his fellow Bronx friends, Eddie Bert and Aaron Sachs, and Aaron duped me a copy of his cassette tape of a trio gig he had with Joe, and Joe played those beautiful lines that always made sense like the Deacon described, and did great chord work.
    I've bought every record he made as a leader, and they're all excellent.
    He was featured as a sideman on many records with such diverse artists as Artie Shaw (Gramercy Five), Gary Burton, Herbie Mann (in the 50s), The New York Jazz Quartet, and J.R.' Montrose.

  19. #18

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    Speaking of Chuck Wayne, Mark Myers' daily Jazz Wax email yesterday was about "Jazz on TV: Don Elliott and Hal McKusick." He specifically talks about a WCBS TV show called "American Musical Theater" that ran from 1959 to 1965. Myers writes that the show "pulled back the curtain on a corner of the arts through in-studio performances by star guests for a studio audience comprised mostly of of local high school students. The series was created and written by Ethel Burns, who was affiliated with New York's Board of Education."

    The episode in question featured a quintet with Don Elliott on vibes/mellophone; Don Abney, piano; Hal McKusick, tenor/clarinet/bass clarinet; Trigger Alpert, bass; Specs Wright, drums; and this post's subject, Chuck Wayne. There's also a large studio orchestra. The music was from the show "A Thurber Carnival," which I believe Jimmy Raney worked on for a time.

    Here's the link to the YouTube video:



    Chuck is playing his D'Angelico Excel, albeit without the D'A tailpiece for some reason. While he does get to solo a few times, you really can't observe his picking technique very well due to Elliott and others getting in the way.

    Here's a link to the full Jazz Wax article:

    Jazz on TV: Don Elliott and Hal McKusick - JazzWax

    I highly recommend subscribing to Mark's email. He's a very talented writer and likes many of the same artists we do, like Barry Galbraith, Ronnie Singer and more.

    Enjoy!

    John Galich

  20. #19
    I have a Chuck Wayne story. I think I've told it on here before so forgive the repetition.

    Probably around 1966 my teacher, Carl Barry, invited me to one of his gigs.

    It was at a neighborhood bar in Bensonhurst Brooklyn. I recall that it was on a street with an el train. 86th St? Not my part of Brooklyn so I don't recall.
    First time I was ever in a bar. I was underage, but Carl got me in. Bartender served me beer -- first one I ever had.

    The band was a trio. Carl on guitar, Jack Wilkins playing bass (I knew them both from Sid Margolis' studio on Kings Highway) and a drummer.

    It was a Sunday night. Chuck Wayne came in after finishing his gig -- the Ed Sullivan show.

    I recall Chuck soloing in chords and thinking, he can play chords as fast as I can play single notes.

    Carl introduced me and we shook hands. I don't recall the conversation but I do recall him as being very nice.

    I eventually moved on from Kings Highway and didn't see Carl or Jack for more than 50 years. Then ran into them both at the Zinc Bar and had a chance to say hello and talk to Carl for a while.

  21. #20
    I got that disc recently and agree, it's all really good.

    Was familiar with Chuck and Bill, but Lou was a brand new one for me.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by guitouttaheah View Post
    I got that disc recently and agree, it's all really good.

    Was familiar with Chuck and Bill, but Lou was a brand new one for me.
    What disc?

  23. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by AllanAllen View Post
    What disc?
    Oh, sorry, forgot to reply with quote.

    It was from neatomic's post above dated 8/20/2020 referencing the 3 Swinging Guitar Sessions disc that has 3 albums on one CD - by Lou Mecca, Bill de Arango, and Chuck Wayne. On Fresh Sound Records label.

  24. #23

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  25. #24
    [QUOTE=oceanslider;1161971]Anyone been through the three books of Chuck Waynes?

    Originally there was a book he did with Ralph Patt called the "Guitar Arpeggio Dictionary" published by Henry Alder Inc.

    Then with the help of a Student he put together two books "Chords" and "Scales" published by Hal Leonard Corp.

    Chucks exact chord voicing....

    [/QUOTE

    Great video. Carl Barry told me, a very long time ago, that Chuck would harmonize every note for a chord melody and then try to solo on all the chords used in his chord melody. This video brings some of that to life. Thanks for posting it.

  26. #25

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    Used to have Chuck and Joe's album, I remember they used wah-wah pedals on a track or two, e.g., Lester Leaps In.

    Interactions - Chuck Wayne | Album | AllMusic