Jazz Blog » Jazz Guitarist

The Mysteries of Acoustic Jazz Guitars

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:02:31 +0000

Guitars used to play jazz have some special characteristics. They produce a certain type of sound that has been developed over the years. Due to the specialization, not just any guitar is appropriate for an acoustic jazz guitar. Learning about the characteristics of acoustic jazz guitars, and how to make them the most unique, will help you in your quest to purchase the perfect instrument to learn and perform with.

The Body Style

Certain types of instruments have become commonly accepted as essential acoustic jazz guitars. These include arch-top guitars, a physical feature that both early pioneers, modern day legends, and the stars of tomorrow are relying on for practice, performance, and recording purposes. The arch-top originally appeared in jazz because its unique shape tended to amplify the sounds of the guitar greatly, allowing it to soar over screaming horn lines and drums in larger jazz orchestras. Today, with the advent of advanced electronics, most mid to high end arch-top guitars feature built in plugs for amplifications. For these types of jazz guitars, this is an important feature because it allows you to practice or participate in a jam session easily without hauling an amp around, but you also have the option to plug in and play loud when you need to. The arch-top, despite the prevalence of electronics, still plays an important role in creating that signature jazz sound.

Another unique characteristic of typical acoustic guitars used in jazz is that they often feature unique sound holes, sometimes in the shape of the letter D or F. They often resemble classical instruments like violins, and the purpose of the sound hole design is to achieve maximum tone production.

The Sound

Every jazz guitarist wants to avoid feedback and distortion when they plug in. Acoustic guitars used for jazz are generally fortified against feedback, and other troublesome excess sounds. They are designed with clarity and distinction in mind, and this is something you will also want to listen for when you are looking for a good jazz guitar. These guitars are not intended to be played with effects pedals, and this is an instrument that will be valued for the trueness and forwardness of its tone. Jazz guitarists also try to avoid a great deal of sustain when they play, they want their instrument to produce a tone that is crisp and clear, but it does not need to ring in the back of the hall moments after it has been played. To new listeners, the sound can be “choppy” or “muted”, but to a certain extent, that is what the instrument should sound like.

The Playability

Acoustic jazz guitars should be extremely playable, all over the neck of the instrument. Melodic lines and funky solo licks need creative freedom, and a good guitar will feature a smooth, manageable, and playable neck from top to bottom. This does not mean that the instrument should have a thin neck, but it does mean that it should feature smooth frets and a reasonable action in order to maintain playability in the higher frets.

Now that you understand why and how jazz guitarists get their sound, you can experiment on your own.

By: David Smithe

Overdrive and Distortion Pedals in Jazz

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:42:37 +0000

Jazz guitar is an instrument with a tone usually thought of as clean and warm. Traditionally, most jazz guitar players go with little effects and stick to basic guitar set ups. Although there is a charm to tradition and standards, this trend is now changing, and this is probably a good thing.

Jazz as a whole is not an incredibly popular genre of music. It has moved from the underground into the music conservatories and universities but it still remains a style supported by a relatively small group of die hard supporters. For this reason, any development that can add to the popularity of jazz should be seen as a good thing. More players and listeners will mean more support for the artists and more artists. Overdrive and distortion pedals in jazz guitar are a small step in the right direction for this exiting and special line of music.

What the use of overdrive and distortion pedals do for jazz is open it up to the huge amount of rock guitar players and lovers that live all around the world. If they hear a jazz guitarist playing a solo with overdrive they will be much more inclined to listen, it will give them an obvious point of familiarity. Along with this, the use of overdrive pedals usually make the guitarist play with more energy and in more of a rock style. All of this could help influence more rock minded listeners to give jazz a chance; All of their favorite guitarists use distortion pedals to play their lead lines, and the simple addition of overdrive distortion to jazz can make the two genres sound surprisingly similar.

The use of overdrive pedals in jazz is not a new idea; Grant Green played with a lot of guitar overdrive in the early days, but it has become more pronounced and widespread in the modern age of jazz guitar. Kurt Rosenwinkel is a player who has employed small amounts of guitar distortion and overdrive in his sound to give his lead lines just a little more power and edge, but he has also played with an all out distortion sound on several records and live appearances. Not only that, but other types of guitar effects are also being used. Delay and reverb have long had a place in jazz, but now you can hear some tremolo and other effects finding their way into jazz recordings.

In general, the more jazz becomes infused with other styles, the more exposure it will get by others, and this is better for everyone who likes jazz. What has started with the use of simple guitar effects such as overdrive pedals and distortion pedals will continue to grow into an expansion of jazz that should help everyone trying to make a living off of it or just enjoy it whenever.

By: Randal Stevens

Learn to Play Jazz Guitar

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:56:01 +0000

One of the reasons that people devote their time to learning the guitar is that they love the idea of making up their own songs and music. Simply by sitting down at an inspired moment, a guitarist might come up with a great song in only one session. Some guitar styles differ greatly from another, but it is by learning the jazz guitar that many musicians have experienced the liberty it brings. The deviations in styles that somehow hold to one rhythm and work together in the name of improvisation are why jazz musicians are said to be filled with “soul”.

When training your ear or your mind to learn how the jazz guitar fits into an entire ensemble of musicians, it is important to first know how jazz music works, at the root level. Much like an athlete prepares for a race, a jazz musician also prepares for a performance. The jazz musician needs to warm up, have an introduction, and be allowed to have some time to get used to the atmosphere of a place and an audience. Some musicians, however, especially those who have played a long time together will jump right into a tune without warming up, giving listeners an awakening into what’s about to take place.

A jazz guitarist in a band may or may not lead the group through a melody. Many jazz performances may not have a singer, but instead a trumpet, or some other horn instrument will take this lead. If a horn isn’t present in the ensemble, then the guitar or piano might work to lead a session. Since jazz music is made up of a band, each person in the band has a certain role to fill before they begin their improvisational role. The jazz guitar tends to hold the players together within a certain chord so that other band members can stick to what’s being played. A jazz guitarist in this role, will not necessarily strum a rhythm such as in other forms of music, but will instead move rhythmically with the rest of the players involved.

In the game of jazz music, improvisation is key. If you know how to play another instrument, learning the jazz guitar might be a little easier. And, if you love improvising on the piano, for example, then you might love it on the guitar. “Improv” as it is sometimes referred to, is one way music can be highly addictive and liberating. When that liberation happens with a group who is playing together, the soul and reaction from the audience involved can be magical. Overall, learning to play the jazz guitar will be rewarding on many levels. Learning to play the necessary chords and knowing when and how to strum to the rhythm of others in the group takes time and practice. Give yourself plenty of time and dedicate yourself to listening to and learning how jazz music works and you’ll be on your way to playing along with a jazz group in no time.

By: Rich Matthews

Benedetto Jazz Guitars

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:41:27 +0000

Benedetto jazz guitars are internationally renowned for their
exquisite design and craftsmanship. Benedetto is considered the
world’s foremost maker of arch top guitars. Bob Benedetto will
also custom-craft one-of-a-kind instruments on request starting
at about $45,000 and going up depending on what people want in
the guitar. Benedetto’s jazz guitars range in price from $5000 to
over $100,000.

They are prized by jazz guitar players such as John (Bucky)
Pizzarelli, who donated one of the seven-string guitars custom-
made for him by Benedetto to the Smithsonian Institution.

Since the original creation of the Benedetto Guitar introduced in
1968, many people have enjoyed the harmonic sounds that have
flowed from it. Noted jazz guitarist’s who play Benedetto jazz
guitars are: Howard Alden, Jack Wilkins, Frank Vignola, Kenny
Burrell, Johnny Smith, Ron Eschete, Cal Collins and Joe Diorio.

Bob Benedetto has worked hard with the jazz world’s greatest
musicians to refine laminated, smaller-bodied Benedettos that
feel and sound like the great carved Benedetto guitars but are
better suited to the demands of the road and nightclub.

Widely considered the contemporary master of the archtop jazz
guitar. Benedetto jazz guitars are available in:

(a) special one-of-a-kind custom order guitars

(b) the Flagship series

(c) the Professional series

The Flagship series models include – La Venezia / Manhatan /
Fratello / Bambino Elite and Bravo Elite.

The Benedetto jazz guitar Professional series include – Bravo /
Bravo Deluxe and Bambino.

The Benedetto jazz guitar is by far one of the most distinguished
archtop guitars. The Bravo’s parallel spruce bracing, rather
than the X-bracing of most of today’s finest acoustic archtops,
further enhances the rigidity, punch, and (electrified) nature of
the design, although it’s nice to see the laminated spruce here
rather than the traditional maple a detail that Benedetto says
maintains a visual link with his carved-top guitars.

The Benedetto Bravo Features:16″ body with three-ply binding,
laminated maple back and sides, laminated spruce top, parallel
spruce bracing, adjustable ebony bridge, three-piece bound flame-
maple neck, ebony fret board, body-mounted volume and tone
controls with ebony knobs, Benedetto A-6 humbucking pickup,
bleached bone nut, Schaller tuners with ebony buttons, gold-
plated hardware, nitrocellulose gloss finish.

The Bravo is every bit a Benedetto, and has many high-end
features you typically find on more expensive instruments,
including a gorgeous laminated flame-maple back and matching
sides, a select clear arched laminated spruce top, three-piece
flame maple neck with a dark ebony fretboard and adjustable ebony
bridge.

At first glance the Benedetto Bravo may appear to be a little
steeply priced for a laminated-wood instrument doesn’t have the
sylvan, multi-dimensional timbre or tonal succulence of
Benedetto’s Manhattan, Fratello, or La Venezia models, but it
gets you a portion of the Benedetto pedigree, and that’s still a
pretty amazing deal.

“In my earlier years, I was able to make instruments that were
more affordable to guitarists,” says Benedetto. All of which
implies that the Bravo is an “affordable” guitar, and although
such a claim seems contradictory for a model that retails for
$5,000, Benedetto’s carved-top La Venezia goes for $26,000, so
you can see the relativity at play here.

In summary the Benedetto Bravo is a flawlessly crafted archtop
with a very live and responsive top, effortless playability, and
an unmistakable high-end vibe without the top-end price tag.

Bob Benedetto has been built some of the finest musical
instruments to appear in the last 30 years. Each guitar is built
by hand using top-shelf materials, and each is inspected by
Benedetto before being shipped. Bob still works one week per
month at the Benedetto factory with as much care and enthusiasm
as he did way back in the 1960’s.

If you ever have a chance to hear of play any of the Benedetto
jazz guitars live, you’re in for a treat, they don’t make them
any better than this.

By: Mike P Hayes

Isle of Wight Jazz Festival

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:01:41 +0000

There are a few music festivals that take place every year in the Isle of Wight, the ‘Jazz Festival’ is an event that has taken place for only a few years. I am a Jazz guitarist and I had the privilege to perform there for the first time last year in 2006, it was great, I loved the atmosphere, the people were warm and friendly and I’ve never met so many people who knew their Jazz inside out.

I got ready to go on stage with Jazz Culture to perform a well rehearsed Jazz set for 11 am, it was around 10.50 am in the morning and I didn’t expect anyone to turn up until we finished, at 11am the place was packed, I don’t know where the crowd came from but everyone sat down looking serious and ready to be entertained.

I knew that letting them down was the last thing on my mind, I came this far over the water by ferry to get up early in the morning for an unheard of 11am gig, me and the band went into a few standards like ‘blue skies’, ‘killer Joe’, ‘taking a chance on love’ and ‘fly me to the moon’ it went down a storm, we were on stage for about an hour, we even did two encores. From that moment me, the band and the audience fell in love with each other, there was a powerful aura between all of us. Well I’ve been to Isle of Wight many times since and when I perform there it feels like home to me, I got the chance to play at this years 2007 festival and it was mind blowing, there were many great international acts included, very talented and inspiring, there was a nice vibe all around and the weather was fantastic, I can’t wait to go there again, even if you aren’t performing, it’s worth booking a trip out there for three days next April to absorb this Jazz experience.

By: Clinton Paul

Learn to Play Jazz Guitar

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

By: Sam Bateman

What Are The Best Jazz Guitars?

admin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:33:24 +0000

In finding the best jazz guitars, it is important to look at some of the historical icons in the genre. The tone of any jazz instrument is of the utmost significance. Many famous jazz guitarists have developed signature sounds that have come to be viewed as standards in jazz music.

By looking at players who made a distinct mark on jazz with their signature tones and techniques, you can discover the reasons behind their choice of guitar, and this might influence your decision.

Charlie Christian

Charlie Christian was the first musician to make a name for the electric guitar in jazz. His work was so pivotal that jazz enthusiasts often talk about jazz “before Charlie Christian” and jazz “after Charlie Christian.” He played a critical role in developing the type of jazz known as bebop. Guitar legends like B.B. King and Eric Clapton followed in his footsteps and learned their craft from the efforts of Charlie Christian.

Charlie Christian was an arch-top man. He is the reason that the Gibson ES150 is such a legendary instrument. The arch-top guitar became a standard piece of equipment in jazz music. It features a hollow, resonant body, and f-holes. They are designed to produce a clear voice with little sustain that is free of distortion or feedback. If you want to focus on maintaining a traditional jazz sound, then an arch-top guitar is definitely the way to go.

Les Paul

Les Paul was not only a jazz guitarist, but he was an innovator who actually made some of the best jazz guitars. The solid body electric guitar appeared in the jazz world, much due to the efforts of Les Paul. These instruments got rid of the two things that no jazz guitarist wants – feedback and lack of sustain. Solid body electrics play an important role in jazz, and one of the most notable instruments is the Gibson Les Paul guitar. Many more affordable imitations of this instrument are also popular choices for jazz guitarists, like ESP and Heritage guitars.

Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt revolutionized the world of jazz. He was an acoustic guitar man, and he played a flat-top acoustic guitar made by Selmer, which was capable of resonating above the large bands in Europe. The instrument is commonly known as a Maccaferri, which happened to be the last name of the creator. While Selmer is not necessarily a leader in the guitar world (only about 1,000 of this particular model were manufactured), other companies have created successful models that are similar to Django Reinhardt’s instrument. Typical acoustic guitars that are commonly found in jazz music include Gallato and Dell’Arte models.

The best jazz guitars are designed with the functionality of the music in mind. Jazz should not be distorted or heavy, and the guitar does not typically play a role that requires a great deal of sustain. Arch-top, solid body electric, and flat-top acoustics can all accommodate the needs of the genre, and the best instruments are the ones that have stood the test of time, yet still come out on top!

Play Jazz Guitar

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Jazz guitar music is based on various guitarists’ attempts to experiment with the form used to express musical ideas. Jazz began with the African slaves combining the song and dance forms they found in America with the musical traditions they carried with them from their homeland. Since then jazz musicians of every nationality have developed certain methods of taking a musical idiom and turning it into jazz by interpreting the music using jazz chord substitution and improvising techniques.

The trademark of the jazz guitar player is that he is inventing new music all the time. When people learn to play musical instruments it is usually with the aim of playing the songs or instrumentals of a famous musician. In jazz the aim is to build new music using other musical genres or the works of composers from outside jazz. A jazz guitarist with a number of years’ experience will have developed his own ways of improvising over a song or instrumental piece. Quite often his improvisation will be based on the techniques of using the notes in the chord he is playing to provide the material for his solo, or to simply use the notes he finds in the melody.

Whichever approach the jazz guitar player uses he will always depart from the melodic structure of the musical work he is improvising over and use melodic figures or “licks” which he has made up or learned from other guitarists. A lick is a combination of notes which can be used in improvising over music in any key. A lick is like a very short tune or fraction of a melody. Listen carefully to a jazz guitar solo. Try imitating some of the licks that you hear. You do not need to play them exactly, just imitate them and see how they fit with other licks to carry the solo to its ending.

Other jazz guitar techniques are the substitution of chords using other chords with more interest or color, the use of walking bass to add interest or changing the rhythm of a song. You can find examples of all these jazz guitar techniques by listening to the music of jazz guitar players like Charlie Christian, one of the pioneers of jazz guitar, Charlie Byrd, an exponent of latin jazz guitar who developed a genre of his own using classical guitar techniques to play jazz, or Wes Montgomery, a guitar player who ventured into many fields of music.

Anybody wanting to learn to play jazz guitar will be wondering what guitars give you that distinctive jazz sound. Of course you can play jazz on any guitar but when musicians think of a “jazz guitar” they usually have in mind a guitar with “f” holes in the body, an arched top and a piezoelectric pickup. This gives that warm, expressive jazz feel that people associate with jazz guitar and is expressed so well in the work of Wes Montgomery. Epiphone is the brand name most jazz fans associate with this kind of guitar but they are also made by D’Angelico, Gibson and others.

To learn to play jazz guitar, even in a comparatively superficial sense entails listening to alot of jazz guitar music. As you listen you need to analyze what jazz guitarists do and what you, as a musician, WANT to do. Maybe you do not want to learn jazz as a genre but just to play in the style of a certain jazz guitar player. This will cut your work load considerably as you can find tabs for the work of many jazz guitar players on the internet.

By: Ricky Sharples

Indie Marketing on Jazz Websites

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Jazz websites have become a hot asset to new Jazz artist as well as established Jazz artist. As the manager for a new independent Jazz guitarist, Dave Percell, it has become essential to hang out and become familiar with some of the best Jazz websites on the internet. Two of my favorite Jazz sites are The Jazz Network and AllaboutJazz.com. These two sites have been incredible resources for me.

It’s true that “Who You Know” can make or break an artist, and that is why I love The Jazz Network. We have connected with not only other Jazz artist/musicians, but the variety of producers, Radio stations, podcasters, and publicist that are literally at our finger tips has been a huge blessing. We have connected with Radio stations broadcasting both in the US, Australia, and the UK in which some of them fish for fresh Indie artist from this website to assemble their playlist and broadcast on air and online. The Indie Showcase is just one radio station that has aired Dave Percell recently and of course is a contact that we met through The Jazz Network. As with other profile sites you can take advantage of meeting new friends, sending invites to upcoming events to your friends, play your tracks and music on your profile site through the use of their online MP3 player, post bulletins, join groups, and so much more. The connections on this site is amazing.

Allaboutjazz.com is one the most Jazz artist/musician friendly sites around. Where do I start with this site? Their is just so much you can do. They aren’t their just to make money, they are their to help artist promote their Jazz music, and it’s evident with the amount of free resources and exposure they give to Jazz musicians. Every day this site features a daily MP3 download that gives an awesome amount of exposure to the artist. It is featured on their home page, and picked up by other article sites, bloggers, and online news websites. It was honor to be able to have Dave Percell’s song “Eternal Traveler” featured on this site as it drove an enormous amount of traffic to our CD Baby Site as well as Dave Percell’s Myspace and official website.

Article writing is a great key to internet marketing, which is yet another reason to fall in love with this website. All About Jazz allows you to submit articles on Jazz artist, upcoming events, festival, general news etc. and feature it; which is again picked up by multiple websites thus sending traffic to your other websites. In case your wondering this is all 100% FREE EXPOSURE! Yes people FREE EXPOSURE! The industry resources include music bloggers, publicist, Production companies, and many more …. and yes again its free……AND it includes the contact information to who you need to contact within these companies.

There are many more reasons to love these two Jazz websites, but hopefully what I wrote so far will cause you to go there and start exploring these sites for yourself because they will be a great asset to your musical career.

By: Joi H.

Jazz Guitar Chords Online

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:38:50 +0000

Learning jazz chords online can be confusing and frustrating to
say the least. Just when the budding jazz guitarist thinks
they’ve stumbled onto something along comes another version of
the same song with a completely different set of chords.

For our present discussion, we’ll limit our observations and
suggestions to learning jazz chords online, however a quick
browse through any well stocked sheet music store will reveal the
same issues that any aspiring jazz guitarist must learn to
overcome.

The choice of chords the guitarists selects has a significant
effect on the soloist’s choice of notes in their solos and
presentation of the melody.

There’s an endless list of possible chords, chord inversions,
chord substitutions etc. that can totally blind side the newbie
jazz player. In fact, the task is often so overwhelming that the
avalanche of information swamps the guitarist with an enormous
amount of stuff they do not have to learn.

So,before trotting off to another jazz guitar website in search
of the lost chord, here’s a few things to think about to pin your
ear on straight!

Focus your jazz studies on specific objectives: a great idea is
to learn the chord changes to “jazz standards”.

Jazz standards are tunes that working musicians are likely to
encounter at any time. Too often, guitarists with a rock or
country background wishing to move into jazz don’t know the tunes
that are the common currency of players in all styles of jazz.

Here’s a sample list of 20 jazz standards:

1. Autumn Leaves

2. All The Things You are

3. All Of Me

4. Ain’t Misbehavin’

5. C Jam Blues

6. I Got Rhythm

7. Have You Met Miss Jones

8. Out Of Nowhere

9. I Cover The Waterfront

10.Satin Doll

11.Misty

12.Summertime

13.St.Louis Blues

14.Watch What Happens

15.Lullaby Of Birdland

16.Sweet Georgia Brown

17.Georgis

18.Take The ‘A’ Train

19.Stormy Weather

20.There Will Never Be Another You

There are many books that show how to use chord substitutions,
but if the basic chord changes are not known, substitutions and
embellishments often confuse the improviser and the listener.

When the musician is learning jazz guitar chords online, it’s
essential to learn the basic set of chords for the jazz
standards.

Chord substitutions to basic chords are usually determined by the
melody notes and the style of music being played.

The point is that guitar players can become totally absorbed in
jazz chord manuals that teach chord substitution etc., without
firstly learning the basic set of chords.

Keep in mind that while the melody of a jazz tune is usually
presented in an accurate manner in standard sheet music, the
harmonic changes are rarely suitable for a jazz performance.

Once the guitarist learns the skills of being able to uncover the
basic chord changes to jazz standards, they can then re harmonize
the harmonic background many different ways to reflect the way
they wish to present a particular piece of music.

Understanding how to strip back the chords also helps the
guitarist see many similarities in the small number of chord
templates that thousands of jazz tunes are composed over, which
helps us remember tunes.

I repeat, The essential skill to learn is to be able to ’see’
(de-code), and ‘hear’ the basic set of chords.

The purpose of learning the basic set of chords when you are
learning jazz chords online is to help the jazz player learn the
basic changes and allow the player to add embellishments and
substitutions on a solid framework.

By: Mike P Hayes