Jazz Guitar

[LethalAe86TypeR]

Any advice or recommended artists? I think I will truly be a rock guitarist, thats why I need help to develop some jazz chops. My school jazz band has a competition soon, and I need some epiphanies in my playing. I always listened to EJ but I need some new guitarists. My band director says I need a little work because I play a lot of straight line phrases instead of swinging or whatever is appropriate for the song, I already figured the rhythmic motifs but I kinda need help.

[pawel]

Listen to:

Pat Martino
Jim Hall
Pat Metheny
John Scofield
George Benson
Wes Montgomery
Mike Stern

...and many others. Also, don't limit yourself to guitarists - listen to the great horn players, pianists, drummers etc. Charlie Parker and John Coltrane should keeop you occupied for a while

[maestrocity91]

Originally Posted by pawel

Listen to:

Pat Martino
Jim Hall
Pat Metheny
John Scofield
George Benson
Wes Montgomery
Mike Stern

...and many others. Also, don't limit yourself to guitarists - listen to the great horn players, pianists, drummers etc. Charlie Parker and John Coltrane should keeop you occupied for a while

Great list!!
I agree, with a genre as powerful as jazz dont subject yourself to only guitar players.
Check out the likes of
-Charles Mingus
-John Coltrane
-(early) Miles Davis
-Bill Evans
-Dave Brubeck
you might want to try some fusion stuff too!

[Dee]

Listen to fusion., as the man above me suggested, Allan Holdsworth and Shawn Lane are two that spring to mind. You say you're a rock guitarist trying to learn jazz, well listen to the masters who combine both.

[crevis]

Your problem is your listening to guitarists who were influenced by jazz rather than true jazz players. If you want to do it right then go to the roots, and don't just listen to guitarists either.

[Nordhauser]

soul coughing.

[jim777]

Hope over to youtube and check out some of these guys. How Joe Pass hasn't been mentioned yet is beyond me
Lee Ritenour is a fine guitarist as well. Stick to Pawel's list (just add Joe Pass and Jimmy Bruno) and you'll get a gtreat idea of what it's all about onthe other side of hte fence. If you want to actually start playing lines like those guys, drop 30 bucks on Jack Zucker's Sheets of Sound book (sheetsofsound.net) and then study it

jim

[jb4674]

Here's my humble advice and personal experience...

If you're going to attempt to learn how to play jazz so you sound decent and not like you're simply trying to hit the notes, listen to a lot (and I mean a lot) of jazz in various forms, such as latin, brazilian, jazz from the 30's and 40's, and to the more modern jazz that most people know as smooth jazz just to name a few. My friends used to laugh at me because I was listening to jazz all the time but now, they wish they knew how to play different styles of music rather than playing power chords and fast licks.

What you're going to pay special attention to (and try to understand) are the various types of licks, runs, and chords used; along with the changes and the overall feel of the songs.

If you've never gotten a chance to see Wes Montgomery's old performances on video I suggest you check them out because you'll be blown away. Wes had an incredible style that most people have tried to emulate over the years. He developed his own way of picking because he wasn't comfortable using picks and, back when he was young, he couldn't afford them. He learned how to use his thumb to pick the strings and that's how he acquired his signature sound. Even though he used his thumb, he was fast and very accurate.

You mentioned in your post that you liked EJ, so I'm assuming you have seen him play on videos, etc. Eric will sometimes stop using his pick in the middle of a song and grab it with his four fingers so he can use his thumb and sort of strum the strings. That's Wes' influence.

Other players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Benson, Lee Ritenour, Jeff Golub, Larry Coryell, Chuck Loeb, Joyce Cooling, among others, have used that technique and still use it to this day on their recordings. A couple of my favorite cd's are Lee Ritenour's "Wes Bound" and George Benson's "That's Right".

Definitely listen to the music and then try to accompany the songs and try to come up with your own leads or licks for a given song. Listen to it in a quiet room, at low volumes and even to go to sleep. Your ears will pick up all the details most people don't pay attention to.


Definitely let us know of your progress, hopefully you'll enjoy the music.


Jimmy

[crevis]

If I made a list it would be something like

Mulgrew miller
thelonious munk
chick corea
chalie parker
miles davis

plus all the other listed above. I listen to alot more horn players and pianists than anything else.

[maestrocity91]

Chick is the man!!!!!!!!!...is that an oxymoron?

[LethalAe86TypeR]

I've started listening to Joe Pass for about a week now, and that guy is amazing.

[Clonetool]

I agree Soul Coughing

[pawel]

Originally Posted by jim777

Hope over to youtube and check out some of these guys. How Joe Pass hasn't been mentioned yet is beyond me

I knew I was forgetting someone important

[pawel]

Originally Posted by Clonetool

I agree Soul Coughing

They are cool, but not really something I'd recommend to someone trying to get their jazz chops in order to play in a school jazz band