Great story and example! I had a similar revelation. I remember having to learn an instrumental version of the old standard “Blue Moon” for a wedding performance. The actual melody isn’t really that expressive, so I sat for hours just seeing how much vocal-like nuance I could put into it using bending vibrato, pre-bends, volume swells and basically every trick in the book to make the melody come alive.
That single exercise was so transformative, I remember a few years later bringing my little practice amp to a jam and the other guitarist asked me “what is that effect you have on your guitar?” I was puzzled at first because I didn’t have any. After getting him to explain further what he was referring to, I realised he was talking about my finger vibrato!..
Can I just say how much I am loving this thread. Keep these stories coming folks!
Totally get what you mean Andrew, that melody played on a guitar without any attempt to impart some feeling would fall so flat. I’ve always marveled at vocalists who could make it work. Simple melodies like that leave noplace to hide.
I can relate to your story Dave. My mother was very musical and I’m sure if she lived longer I would have developed such a bond with her. Unfortunately she died in a car accident when I was 3, so I never had that experience. Although she would always sing songs with us when we were small. Before I was born she was a singer in a jazz band on one of the big passenger ships that went from Rotterdam to New York in the early 50’s. During the day she’d run the kindergarten, at night the singer in the band. How I would have loved to have seen her. I know I’ve been sad and even angry about having to miss out on this bond. My stepmother is a wonderful person, but music meant absolutely nothing to her… It was not till much later that I realized to some extent (50% to be precise) I am my mother. All I have to do is switch on my musical self and get close to who she was. I wrote a song about that, which I’m working on right now. I’ll post it when I’ve recorded the vocals.
Anyway Dave: wonderful story. Maybe our mutual love for strong female singers/ musicians has its roots in a strong bond with a musical mother ;).
Me too, brother. I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve and have cried at weddings and funerals since I was young. The trigger just keeps getting more sensitive.
Lot’s of great guitar playing here and personal stories too. Electric guitar has become famous because of single line melodic virtuosity and rightfully so. I love that style and the many players that use it but I want to share a different player that I have tried to copy without a whole lot of success. Joe Pass doesn’t use vibrato and as @ColdRoomStudio says " the dull muted tone most traditional jazz guitar players use just doesn’t inspire me." But if you like chords and you have an ear for harmony I think you’ll find his playing to be wonderfully expressive.
When I was living in Australia in the '92-94 timeframe, I went to see Leo Kottke in a small theatre in the round in Sydney. During the set, as Leo always does, he was telling stories, and he recounted one of being on tour with Joe Pass and another player whom I can’t remember now. At some point, they were swapping stories, and as musicians often do, got around to the “what was your worst gig” topic. Joe won the day with a tale of playing in a mental institution for some pretty severely mentally disabled folks. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest type setting.
While he was playing, it’s not like everyone was sitting attentively, listening-- they went about whatever they normally did. One of the patients wandered over and started cranking the tuning knobs on Joe’s guitar at random, up and down, back and forth, and Joe just rolled with it, adjusting on the fly and still (he claimed, anyway) managing to make something musical out of it. Pretty hard to top that!
Joe once told a guitar class that “On a good night I can play any song in any key.” But I’d like to see him try Purple Haze, (Or copy Frank Zappa the way Steve Vai can do.) But we’re fortunate today to be able to enjoy them all.
Actually Joe’s tone is very bright for a Jazz guitarist, and you’re right - his harmonies are gorgeous…Believe it or not, I have a couple of Tommy Emmanuel albums where he explores his Jazz side, and he plays very much in a similar style to Joe (albeit on acoustic).
…And since we’re discussing Joe, I couldn’t resist posting this: Here is a photo of me with my Joe Pass Signature guitar!
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do it justice in the way that Joe would have intended, but it sure made for some great textures on the last FytaKyte album!
Nice axe! Epiphone has some great stuff. Yeah I never thought of jazz guitarists as having ‘dull muted tone’, how about rich and warm? Depends on the recording set up of course.
Tommy Emanuel is an amazing player,. I’ve seen him play electric but I don’t remember any jazz, can you post one for us?
Tommy can pretty much play any type of guitar in any style. In fact he started his adult playing life as a drummer in a country/rock/folk/fusion band called “Goldrush” with his brother Phil on lead guitar in the late 70s and early 80s. They only made one live album I used to have on cassette called “Live at Last”. Tommy’s drumming is pretty incredible, but his brother Phil’s electric playing was pretty mind-blowing too.
These days he’s mostly known for his acoustic playing. This is a version of The Beatles “Michelle” from an album called “Up from Down Under” that I have. Not straight ahead jazz (whatever that is!), but it incorporates a lot of jazz harmony.
I was reminded of his playing on this by the Joe Pass clip you posted - there are a lot of passing similarities in style.
Wow, absolutely, I always got a kick out of Tommy’s playing. Thanks for posting that. It reminds me more of this guy than Joe Pass though. Ted Greene is a master of that style.
Tommy is such a hero to me. I never knew he started out as a drummer! Explains his amazing percussive hammering on his guitars that he does on stage… but damn does he punish the finish on his axes!!
My first acoustic guitar hero, and who will always be my number one, is Leo Kottke. Tommy is similar in that he provides the whole experience on a single guitar, and that’s what I’ve always tried to do too, from when I first started playing. (But of course he is very different in many other ways.) What an inspiration they both are.
I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Tommy live, and I hope I do someday. But I have seen Leo almost thirty times over the years, most recently last November at the Wolf Trap “Barns”, and that was a wonderful show. He’s much slower and less energetic, now in his 70s (but who isn’t?!), and I’m so glad I got to see him one more time. I have a feeling it will be the last.
I’ve seen him a few times. The first was the most memorable. It was in 1991 just after my wife & I got married. We were living in Sydney and we were out for dinner in the city. We walked past a pub advertising Tommy and his band, but it said “Sold Out”.
We were standing outside listening to the support band through the entrance door when a guy came up to us and asked us if we wanted to go in. I immediately suspected “Scalper” when he said he had bought a couple of extra tickets for friends who didn’t turn up. I said “how much?” and said he only wanted to get his money back, so we paid him the standard price for the tickets and went right on in.
Tommy mostly played electric that night - a Telecaster through a Twin with an assortment of pedals. I was completely agog. I’d never seen anyone play like that close up. But the absolute highlight of the night was a live rendering of his acoustic/percussive tour de force “Initiation”… so much sound coming out of one acoustic guitar - totally melted my brain!
I think back to then now, and I’m so glad I didn’t turn down the guy outside selling his extra tickets!
YT suggested this video, funny that we were just talking about these guys. Here’s Tommy Emanuel in a seminar talking about what he learned from Ted Greene. Nice shirt too!
