My 10 Ten Jazz Guitarists
In no particular order, these jazz guitarists are to me, the top 10 most influential players both past and present.
Wes Montgomery
I had direct contact with Wes when I was sixteen. He had an outstanding feel for jazz and was able to successfully integrate blues into jazz without becoming a blues guitar player.
http://guitar.about.com/od/guitaristsktoo/a/wes_montgomery_profile.htm
Johnny Smith
Johhny Smith had a flawless technique and was one of the first to use the straight arm picking technique. In the long run, his technique may have become his downfall. He was almost too clean. He didn’t have the dark, blues vibe in his playing but he was a superb jazz guitarist. It’s amazing how little today’s jazz writers recognize Smith. He won 10 consecutive Downbeat Magazine Best Jazz Guitarist awards.
Read MoreSome interesting issues about the Pursuit of Music
A young man from Scotland recently asked me some questions as part of his continued music education. Here’s his questions and my responses.
1. Do you think that someone’s technical ability on an instrument dictates how creative they will be?
Technical ability does not dictate how creative you will be. It does however allow you a potentially greater range and depth of expression. If we parallel this to language, a better vocabulary and command of language gives you an enhanced opportunity to express yourself. It does not however guarantee that you will have anything of substance to “say”.
Read MoreRadio Broadcasts from England
On Wednesday January the 4th, Jan S Johansen will present the first in a series of four radio broadcasts devoted to my career and music.
The first program can be heard on www.riviera.fm
from 5:00 pm to 7:00 PM EST on Wednesday January 4, 2012. The following programs can be heard each of the following Wednesdays at the same time – Wednesday January 11th, the 18th and 25th.
I hope you’ll tune in to these shows and share your reaction. You can reach me at ChuckAnderson202@comcast.net. I’ll pass your comments on to Jan and to Riviera.fm. The show is located in the South of England.
Read MoreA New Approach to Rhythm
Modular Phonetic Rhythm represents a significant advance in the teaching and application of rhythm. Eliminating many inefficient aspects of rhythm education, Modular Phonetic Rhythm streamlines the traditional educational approach, resulting in a reflexive reaction to rhythm.
Jazz guitarists have never had a way to organize the subject of rhythm in a way that would systematically benefit their solos and their comping. Modular Phonetic Rhythm offers a solution.
Read MoreQuartal Harmony
Quartal Chords
Chords have traditionally been built in thirds i.e. every other note in a scale. Using the C major scale as an example, every other note from the root would produce C, E, G and B. This combination of notes is a Cmaj7 chord. If we used the scale C Dorian, every other note from the root would be C, Eb, G and Bb.This combination of notes is a Cm7 chord.
Quartal harmony builds chords in fourths i.e. every fourth note in the scale. Again, using the C Dorian scale, every fourth note would produce the notes C, F, Bb and Eb. This is a quartal chord built on the first note of the C Dorian scale.
Read MoreJazz Guitar Gear
The question of gear for a jazz guitarist comes up often. Since I’ve had several questions about my own preferences, I thought I would just summarize my choices here.
My concert equipment is as follows: customized Gibson L5 guitar, Acoustic Image amp – Clarus series III, model IIR, two Raezer’s Edge Stealth 12 speakers which I elevate on speaker stands on each side of the stage.
I use virtually no effects unless the room requires some EQ or a little reverb. My picks are Fender Extra heavy and my strings are D’Addario EJ21 with some custom adaptations.
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