Johnny Smith: the quiet legend of jazz guitar

In the Fifties the name of Johnny Smith was synonymous of 'first class' jazz guitar. A staff member of NBC orchestra, Smith could play with equal proficiency guitar, trumpet and viola beside being an arranger and composer. His 1952 version of 'Moonlight in Vermont', with Stan Getz on saxophone, was on top of jazz charts for a long time and readers of Downbeat voted for him as 'best guitar player' in 1954 and 1955. Smith played the guitar with the approach of a composer and arranger, which explains his famous 'Johnny Smith voicings':"If I were to write this out for a sax section, it would be just like I would play it on the guitar. This is how I think of the guitar - in terms of orchestrating" he declared, without putting a big accent on how physically difficult it is to obtain these voicings on guitar. Here we have a much rarer 1959 version of 'Moonlight in Vermont', where the shimmering Smiths' guitar is backed only by George Roumanis on bass and Mousey Alexander on drums. Pure magic.

Who is George Barnes?

Chicagoan George Barnes (1921 - 1977), was the first professional electric soloist in jazz guitar. In the first half of the Thirties, using an amplifier and pickup handbuilt for him by his brother, he was already experimenting the possibilities of the electric instrument and, still a teenager, he joined the Musicians' Union as a professional player. In 1940 he recorded his first sides as a leader, which showed not only a mature and complete soloist but also a skilled and advanced arranger. Inspired by clarinet players, Barnes' style is totally personal and shows no influence deriving from Christian or Django. Barnes' career has been one of the busiest in the music business, mainly as arranger, producer and studio musician. Unfortunately, 'business' work put in shade his jazz side: Barnes' records are hard to find and only few of them are on Cd. In this video we see him in 1974 together with Ruby Braff on cornet, Wayne Wright on rhythm guitar and Michael Moore on bass (I decided to cut Braff's solo to concentrate on Barnes' one). Notice the 'old school' down picking, the way he holds the pick and the abundance of blues feeling. In case you've never heard of George Barnes, I hope this will make you want to know more about him.

A Merry and Swinging Christmas...

...from this blogger to you all!
(music by the wonderful Tuck Andress)

Baden Powell in Berlin 1967

The giant of Brazilian guitar documented in top form here. On this occasion, he was part of a guitar festival that took place in Berlin in 1967(French presentation is overdubbed) and was documented on the Lp you see on the right, unfortunately very hard to find now. Baden Powell is probably the greatest icon of the long and vast tradition of Brazilian guitar, which, by the way, is a world in itself. A world that in our culture is always associated with samba and bossa which are really only a part of it.

I hope you will enjoy these fantastic performances.

P.s.: can you recognize Steve Swallow on bass and Bob Moses on drums?

Who wrote 'Solar'?

If your answer is 'Miles Davis', you are in good company but you're wrong. One of the most popular standards of modern jazz was written by jazz guitar great Chuck Wayne. The whole story has been told by Wayne himself in this Cadence interview (page 11): Wayne wrote it in 1946, Miles Davis heard it in a jam session and, years later, recorded it under his own name. After you know this, jazz history won't be changed and Davis' importance won't be reduced but I thought it was right to remember this wonderful guitarist giving him his due credits for that song.

Rev. Gary Davis

Among the many stars of guitar universe, Reverend Gary Davis is one of the brightest. His pianistic approach to the instrument enabled him to improvise on blues and ragtime structures as few others could do. Even if his name is widely known among country blues/ragtime fans, his talent is, still today, too often ignored by the guitar fans family. As always with afro-american musicians, the rhythmic way to approach phrases and runs is terrific, resulting in a kind of 'dancing' over the basic 'two' feel.

The great master: Lenny Breau

If you really love guitar and if you really love music then you probably already know the name of Lenny Breau. If you don't, I hope this will introduce him to you. Lenny Breau (1941-1984) was a real genius, being a total master of the instrument and a visionary and infinitely creative musician. While most guitar players devote themselves to a single guitar idiom, Breau could play country, classical, jazz and flamenco with total adhesion to the aesthetics of every style. More than that, he created a new and personal language, exploring the guitar with a pianistic approach that led him to develop new techniques in order to play melody and chord at the same time, as we can hear and see:

Welcome to Guitar Idea

Welcome to all guitar lovers. This blog will be dedicated to the art of guitar playing and to the artists who use this instrument as a way to express their visions.