The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    I remember digging this when it came out, I think I was around 11 or so. what a storyteller he was, and we all know Cat's in the Cradle. This performance is over the top, just Jim and his superb trio of guitar, bass and cello, so beautifully arranged that it makes for a much fuller sound. And don't miss the backing vocals from the guitar player and bassist as well as his falsetto solo, just brilliant, And to top it off for the last 50 years I always thought it was a chick singing it. Mind blown!


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  3. #2

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    It's not jazz guitar but it is superb songwriting, arranging and performance. There is a great documentary about Harry streaming now on Amazon Prime. He was truly a force of nature. I hadn't realized how politically active he was and personally involved with politicians in Washington. This kind of story-song writing, a mainstay of the folk tradition, seems to really have fallen by the wayside these days.

    Here's another classic story song by the amazing Nic Jones who had (and has) a unique, rich guitar style. His career was derailed in 1981 by a terrible car accident but he has begun performing again in the last few years.

    Last edited by AndyV; 07-30-2022 at 03:53 PM.

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    He played at my college ca. 1980, put on a very personable show and used some of the better musicians at the school for backup. His political push at that time was ending hunger through ending food waste.

  5. #4

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    That beard thing tho…

    Great song, and a great performer. He played at my college too in 1979. Gone too soon…like Jim Croce and Nick Drake and so many other talented singer-songwriters of the era.

    And great arrangement—the falsetto is unbelievable. I literally don’t think I’ve heard anything like that on a folk/rock song.

    I have to say that I that Cat’s in the Cradle song. Lazy songwriting, maudlin message. I’ve heard it enough for this lifetime.

    (Imagining being told by St. Peter I was not good enough for heaven yet, so would have to spend a couple of decades in Hell. I get there, there’s a nice lounge area, good cushions, beer and drinks not that great, but they’re free! And what a sound system! The Cat’s in the Cradle song was playing. 15 minutes later, still playing. I mentioned it to another guy in the Hell lounge, wondering when the next song would come on. He said, there is no next song. Maybe now you get it.)
    Last edited by Doctor Jeff; 08-01-2022 at 08:16 AM.

  6. #5

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    He was very big on Lawnguyland when I was a kid. He gave away 1/3 of the money he made to the arts and various social causes.
    It came as a huge blow to LI the day he died from a car accident on the LI Expressway in 1981.

    I can't even count how many times I played concerts and shows at the Harry Chapin Theater in both Huntington and East Meadow.
    His father was the great jazz drummer Jim Chapin. There was a lot of support for the arts on LI back then...
    The timbre of that type of group is fantastic. No drums, cello, two guitars and bass. The harmonics the guitarist plays on the intro are evocative of the rain, and the arr. as WM said is very effective.

    Richie Havens, McKendree Spring, Nick Drake and Judee Sill used to do nice stuff without drums, and ND and JS used to use Upright Bass instead of electric bass.

  7. #6

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    I saw Harry at the local HS in Patchogue, LI. I remember feeling gutted when I heard he was in that awful accident on the LIE; VW Rabbit vs. tractor trailer

  8. #7

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    It’s a shame that Cat’s in the Cradle is his best remembered song. It’s okay, but Taxi is a masterpiece.

  9. #8
    Ironically I often have lunch with Harry’s half brother here in upstate NY. He didn’t mention it till maybe two years after we met.
    He was his manager and was waiting for him to show for a gig or some event, in LI.
    I actually was on the LIE earlier that morning that fateful day.


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  10. #9

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    [QUOTE=paul.trapanese;1212580]Ironically I often have lunch with Harry’s half brother here in upstate NY. He didn’t mention it till maybe two years after we met.
    He was his manager and was waiting for him to show for a gig or some event, in LI.
    I actually was on the LIE earlier that morning that fateful day.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QU
    He was headed for Eisenhower Park to perform a free benefit concert at the Bandshell there.
    They named it after him shortly after his death.