The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hello, dunno if this has been done before, probably has but anyway....

    Thought I'd start a thread asking the question:
    'what is your favourite piece of jazz guitar playing?'

    Could be a whole tune, an 8 bar line, a single lock or even just some top comping.
    Caveats:
    Is a personal choice, aim is not to argue and criticise people's taste but to share great music and expand our minds.

    Also, if you can express why you love it, 'e.g. the way they resolve the dissonance makes the hairs on my neck stand up' that will also be cool to share too!

    Ok so heres mine. I mean the whole tune is amazing but this from the start up to about 1:10. Love the intro and when the guitar kicks in omg, what a simple , free flowing, sexy and melodic piece of playing from Pass.

    Last edited by KingKong; 04-07-2023 at 08:45 PM.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Back in the Precambrian era when I was about age 18, I read about this guy named Django in Guitar Player Magazine. I went to the ornate, cavernous, Philadelphia public library's listening room and put my first Reinhardt LP on the turntable and this 1953 performance was the first of Django's playing I ever heard. Almost 50 years later, I still love it.


  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by AndyV
    Back in the Precambrian era when I was about age 18, I read about this guy named Django in Guitar Player Magazine. I went to the ornate, cavernous, Philadelphia public library's listening room and put my first Reinhardt LP on the turntable and this 1953 performance was the first of Django's playing I ever heard. Almost 50 years later, I still love it.

    Yep that's good, when he kicks in at about 40s, so french I can smell the garlic!

    A good choice.

  5. #4

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    Good idea, Mr. Kong... spoilt for choice... give us a moment...

  6. #5

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    Very slow isn't easy... masterclass. Same album as KingKong coincidental.


  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by ragman1
    Very slow isn't easy... masterclass. Same album as KingKong coincidental.

    So soothing that one, takes me straight off to sitting with a gin and tonic with the lights dimmed after the kids have finally gone to bed!

    That album, I think there is something about the bass playing on it that gives it a lot. I can't put my finger on it, but it's very deliberate, ploddy and slightly behind with the timing..... It gives the album a really loose and relaxed feel I think.

  8. #7

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    This should be an awesome thread. I'd have a very difficult time picking one favorite.

  9. #8

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    For me



    is certainly in the mix

  10. #9

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    Its hard for me to pick a favorite but I guess this will do


  11. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Christian Miller
    For me



    is certainly in the mix
    That guy was a machine, I'd need a rest after about 30 seconds of playing like that. I like the sound also, i.e. how the guitar is crisp, on the edge of breaking up.

    So Christian Miller, you're Aman who's opinions always warrant respect, what is it about that one that u like, what emotions does it arouse?

  12. #11

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    Ok, keeping this minimal and to one tune, for me it has to be Neil Hefti's Li'l Darlin'. Freddie Green plays perfect rhythm guitar with Count Basie's Orchestra, opening with that G13/D chord (10 10 9 10 10 12), which makes the tune so incredibly beautiful each time it comes around.

    Why do I love it? There's the guitar tone, plus the tempo, feel, cool good-humour, poise and eloquence... You can see a film of the tune, and even a close-up of Freddie Green playing that magical first chord, here:


    A transcription and analysis is also available (taken from another live version of Li'l Darlin', on the album 'Wild and Swinging'):

    Freddie Green Transcription: Li'l Darlin'

    The original recording was on the LP 'The Atomic Mr Basie'. It's perfect slow jazz.

    Great question! All the best, Mick W

  13. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Mick Wright
    Ok, keeping this minimal and to one tune, for me it has to be Neil Hefti's Li'l Darlin'. Freddie Green plays perfect rhythm guitar with Count Basie's Orchestra, opening with that G13/D chord (10 10 9 10 10 12), which makes the tune so incredibly beautiful each time it comes around.

    Why do I love it? There's the guitar tone, plus the tempo, feel, cool good-humour, poise and eloquence... You can see a film of the tune, and even a close-up of Freddie Green playing that magical first chord, here:


    A transcription and analysis is also available (taken from another live version of Li'l Darlin', on the album 'Wild and Swinging'):

    Freddie Green Transcription: Li'l Darlin'

    The original recording was on the LP 'The Atomic Mr Basie'. It's perfect slow jazz.

    Great question! All the best, Mick W
    This is a great response,nothing particularly amazing about the guitar playing, but he looks cool as f--k and plays like he's stroking a cat. Could have been a drummer what with it being so tight to the rhythm.

    It's all about what it means to you personally and the feelings it evokes within. Thanks for sharing this!

  14. #13

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    I love chord melody, and could post many that are favorites......... but this reminds me of why I love guitar and the feeling I got when I picked up my strat when I was 16.

    Last edited by ChazFromCali; 11-13-2022 at 04:20 AM.

  15. #14

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    Might be this, although on a different day it might be something else. The way Ed lays lines on chords- putting the chords below, sometimes, and above other times; the way be messes with time and yet the groove is always there, the melodic intelligence...



    A master class in jazz.

  16. #15

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  17. #16

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    Too hard to pick, but this is a good one.


  18. #17

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    Lately it's this :


    I always played fast, it felt natural, I still do but, slow is sooo much harder.....you have to be patient and each and every note counts! Probably why I also loved Jim Hall's Concierto
    and it's not just the guitar

    S

  19. #18

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    My new favorite player, Clint Strong. He just ticks every box for my taste, can't stop listening......


  20. #19

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    So cool that Clint's got something new going on. Listen to him fly! Great time and groove and confidence in his playing, it's uplifting. He had a real rough patch in his life a decade or so back, but seems to have come through it with fine chops. ISTR he toured with Merle Haggard for quite some time. Seems to me Clint has always been one of the few Les Paul players in jazz, but that Benedetto sounds great in his hands. Thanks for posting this!

  21. #20

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  22. #21

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    So many great Barney performances to choose from but this one encompasses everything I dig about his playing: open string pedal point, guitaristic, strummed chord melody, flow and momentum and terrific swing jazz feeling that evokes a sense of joy in creating in the moment.


  23. #22

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    This is the first thing I heard Lenny Breau play, way back in the '70s; it's still one of my favourite jazz guitar performances today. He took fingerstyle jazz guitar to a new level, and influenced a lot of people; even now, years after his tragic death, he still influences a lot of people. Great tune, wonderful performance by one of the true greats of jazz guitar.


  24. #23

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    Hard to pick a favorite, but right now, today, as of 1:19pm CST...this is it.


  25. #24

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    The comping on this track is my all time fave jazz guitar.

    It's the opening track on the album Glad To Be Unhappy. Paul Desmond was the leader on the date. Jim Hall comping sublimely.

  26. #25

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    Jim was amazing on all the LPs with Desmond. I especially like "Jazz Antiqua".