Jazz GUITAR poll

I'm probably lame but I'm voting for John McLaughlin. His playing with Miles is off the friggin chain.

DJANGO. *secret door to speakeasy opens*

Pete Cosey is on Electric Mud.

I don't think jazz guitar has really hit its zenith, there are some great players but there are few of these guys which are as amazing as writers. I think partially because there was alot more money to be made by guitarists playing other music without as much hard work.

The 70s and 80s were really good for jazz guitar. During this time for the first time the guitar became a more acceptable instrument in music schools. I think this is another major reason jazz guitar has not had as many important players as other instruments. Well that and you don't get into marching band playing guitar or at least it didn't happen much in the 40s to 60s.

Ralph Towner and Terje Rypdal probably also deserve to be on a list such as this one. They both have made some good records and have a unique sound for a "jazz guitarist".

I wouldn't put Electric Mud on my resume! ;-)

I voted for Grant Green (am session completist nerd), but might have chosen Johnny Smith too if he had been listed (which he probably deserved).

I also really like Jimmy Bruno but he is just more of a tip to anyone who might care than that he should have been on the list.

Bruno's a great guitar teacher too.

I have a Jimmy Bruno CD somewhere - it's ok.

Is he the dog from The Triplets of Belleville? If not, I've never heard of him.

No Steve Carlton option?

OK I was riding the M11 bus up 10th ave in Manhattan this eve and a grey haired older black guy w/guitar got on board at 48th. I won't say he looked EXACTLY like the late Sonny Sharrock but the resemblence was strong enough to freak me out, esp. considering this thread. uncanny.

I have a Jimmy Bruno CD somewhere - it's ok.

Well, admittedly he's no Allan Holdsworth.

xpost - Do you mean Larry Carlton? I think Steve Carlton was a baseball player.

Grant Green, people! He could swing almost any tune he tried. Also, nice to see Tiny Grimes on the list. Everyone should hear "Marchin' Along" with Coleman Hawkins from the album Blues Groove (1958). Nearly 18 minutes long, Grimes solos for 8 minutes before Hawkins comes in.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/steve_carlton_autograph.jpg

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http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/images/local/vmgartists/133b6a57-0f1c-4c64-8a1b-226ceca3edce.jpg

You just like the Gr- sound.

Grant Green is pretty, but he's kinda boring on anything with more than a few chords.

Uh, pretty GOOD that is.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

"Grant Green, you got a purty mouf."

Wes all the way

This is really, really hard, but I threw in for Frisell because he's the one I enjoy the most.

Did anyone mention Vernon Reid? I hated Living Color, but he has a couple jazz records out that are pretty good. Emusic has them if you want to check it out. Can't remember the name, but I like the one with the reddish cover. Also, stop giving Vai a hard time. And those expensive Vaibanezes would be a treat to own.

yeah, Vernon Reid used to be good! He used to play with Ronald Shannon Jackson on some good records. and was he in prime time? I am too tired to look now but I feel as though i remember that. I wouldn't think he belongs in the poll though but nice one for reminding people that he didn't always suck ass.

Wes all the way until he started to make really bad records.

As a matter of fact, Reid's most recent records are go-for-broke weirdo fusion that works just fine for me.

Don't be fooled by the eyes, lovebug!

As a matter of fact, Reid's most recent records are go-for-broke weirdo fusion that works just fine for me.

I don't doubt that... thanks for the tip!

I saw Jim Hall not too long ago. The show was kind of a let down, actually.

He's kind of hit or miss as a leader - sometimes I question his taste in sidemen, arrangements etc.

i can imagine that Jim Hall can fall pretty easily into the EZ listening category -- but his stuff with Sonny Rollins, Undercurrent w/ Bill Evans and the Alone Together record w/ Ron Carter are all pretty sweet. It probably just takes someone pushing him outside of ye olde comfort zone.

Also good w/Art Farmer.

Whoa, have you guys ever heard Herbie Mann - Memphis Underground? Sonny Sharrock comes out of nowhere on "Hold On, I'm Coming," which just played on my Pandora.

never heard that one. herbie mann's record covers scare me.

I like all the Herbie Mann albums with Sonny -- don't forget Roy Ayers and Miroslav Vitous were in the band too!! ... 'Windows Open' is a good'un .. also one of the live ones gets pretty hot. Not the live one titled 'Hold On I'm Comin' (which i think was just ok), but the other one.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Nels Cline 3, Joe Pass 0

i mean, come on

Wow guys.

sorta shocked grant green pulls ahead of wes

yr all just hating on the beatles covers

hey grant did beatles covers too! i think he stole the arrangements from Wes, matter of fact.

ilm's dirty acid jazz past revealed at last. why wasn't boogaloo joe jones number two?

ILM: Soft on jazz

yr all just hating on the beatles covers

well, yeah!

The version of "Airegin" from Incredible Jazz Guitar is another one of those songs that gets stuck in my head really often. I'd say at least once a week.

Grant Green didn't get desperate and making loads of unfortunate musical mis-steps until long after Wes was dead. I doubt he was the winner of this poll for his "acid jazz" material, he was just a bloody great player is all. Was he better than Wes (or Django or Charlie Christian for that matter)? Maybe not... But there is a good reason that he is the winner.

Question: did the people who voted for him do so because of his pre-1970 material (as I did) or post?

i actually can't remember if i voted for Grant or not, but I may have -- I like both eras of his playing, though, yeah, there is some dumb 70s stuff. Some great 70s stuff too! "The Final Comedown"! Pre-fusion era, "Idle Moments" is a stone cold classic.

re Wes "mis-steps"? What, the A&M stuff? Because if you're talking about the Verve albums, you're mistaken. Those smoke just as much as the earlier records. They just have different arrangements--the playing is the same, if not better. This "early Wes" vs "late Wes" trope that has been around for years, and it's totally stale. The verve records are *great*, and how many A&M albums are there, two tops?

I love Grant, but he'll always be second banana to Wes. Wes is just twice as exciting. I've never heard Green do a chord-melody, or an octave solo. He's very one-dimensional compared to Wes.

OTM. Incredible Jazz Guitar alone trumps Grant Green's entire oeuvre, and who cares if he made "musical missteps" (i.e. paid the bills) later.

These Wes Montgomery live records are really hot. It is why I voted for Wes.

Smokin' at the Half Note
Full House
Complete Live in Paris 1965

no doubt, wes was amazing!

yeah the live Europe stuff is just insane. Wes is one of the very few guys who consistently pins the "WTF did you just hear that?" meter