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Reading Stanley Crouch’s chapter in Considering Genius got me listening to Ahmad Jamal’s Piano Scene album, which in turn got me wondering why no-one ever mentions Ray Crawford — what a great small-ensemble guitarist!
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09-22-2020 12:28 PM
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Crawford was different than most jazz guitarists, because he had already had a career as a sax player before he shifted to guitar. I've got his "Smooth Groove" CD. Great stuff.
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Originally Posted by sgcim
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Ray is one of my absolute favorite players. I hold his small group playing with Jamal as the absolute gold standard in making perfect short statements, something I aspire to do.
And he did the bongo trick better than Herb Ellis.
Here's a little tribute to that I made a while back.
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nice mr. b...check out the great scotty moore
guitar percussion circa july '54...rodgers & hart tune...influence was supposedly billy eckstines 1948 version
scotty gear (L-5) and legend
cheers
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Originally Posted by neatomic
Speaking of guitar percussion...
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it's not at all about elvis...it's about scotty moore!!! the guitarist!!! he was great!...he and the rhythm section made all that stuff up..elvis (& sam) picked material (genius) but then just sang on top of what scotty & co laid down...scotty says as much in interview linked ^
cheers
ps- johnny cashs singular guitarist- luther perkins- wished he was scotty!! hah
& i love luther..heavy flats on fender esquire and then jazzmaster...his whole short career..
cheers
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I’ve always admired Crawford’s playing on the early Ahmad Jamal recordings. His interplay with piano and use of the bongo effect were really interesting. I found one or two CDs after he left Jamal and didn’t find them as interesting. I guess he was better suited to comping and short solos as a sideman than as a bandleader.
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I'm a Luther Perkins certified nut...done gigs where I had to learn his parts exactly...which actually is really weird! I know I've shared before:
But of course, the beauty of that old "walk the line" recording is Johnny's playing...with a piece of paper tucked in the strings to sound like a drum.
Anyway, going back a little further with guitar as percussion...
But I suppose the idea is really from some unknown Spanish gitane...as old as the 6 string guitar is itself...
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^ and strummin on the ole banjo!
cheers
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If memory serves, Ray Crawford’s playing here:
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Mr Crawford played wonderfully in the Ahmad Jamal Trio. I stumbled on one of the Trio's LPs with him several years ago, and enjoyed. Later, I found this reissue of all the trio (and quintet) recordings with Mr Crawford:
Ahmad Jamal: Trio & Quintet Recordings With Ray Crawford album review @ All About Jazz
The interview (below) with Ray Crawford is quite interesting. I'm stunned that a reed player with enough skills and talent to play with Fletcher Henderson's band, and then had to abandon his instrument due to TB, picked up guitar at that late age, and became proficient for a professional career as a guitarist.
The Coda interview with Ray Crawford | 1980 – Mark Weber
Thanks for bringing his name up.
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[QUOTE=mr. beaumont;1063274]That's really good. Never got into Elvis. Actually kind of loathe Elvis. But this is mind changing.
Speaking of guitar percussion...I did a show with an Elvis impersonater but we had the real Jordanaires the kings first backup singers. I had to learn the show in a hurry and did not know it all. On some tunes some of the Jordanaires gave me the Nashville number system with their fingers! They are some of the first to have introduced this to early Nashville is what I have heard. They gave me these signals behind their back. They were really pros and it was fun to work with them!
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The best Rockabilly I have ever heard is Danny Gattons solo on Mystery Train on Austin City Limits . Brian Stray Cats Big Band is SMOKIN
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Lately I'm into Ray Crawford's percussion guitar playing on those Ahmad Jamal recordings, as well as what Scotty Moore did on "Blue Moon" with Elvis.
I'm also into old German archtops. In German they are called Schaggittarre, which translates as "percussion guitar" and today I finally made the connection. I can be slow sometimes.
that's all.
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Originally Posted by supersoul
Grüße aus München
PS: In the beginning they would even hold the guitar like in classical
(from Erich Schäfer, “Schule für Schlag-Gitarre”)
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Schlagen means strum in this case, sometimes even pluck - Lauten (Lutes) wurden geschlagen and I‘m sure they didn’t use a pick on a regular basis. I have some early 20 century sheet music for vocal with guitar or lute accompaniment that is definitely plucked with the fingers.
Anschlag is the act of plucking the string, regardless of medium.
Now back on topic!
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