Jump to content

Jazz guitarists--nice guys?


Milestones

Recommended Posts

I've had the strong impression of many jazz guitarists being really nice guys--laid back, friendly, dignified, articulate.  I'm thinking of people like Jim Hall, Bill Frisell, Kenny Burrell, John Scofield, Wes Montgomery, and Pat Metheny.  This is in contrast to rock guitarists, many of whom have been complete shits and wackos. 

I'm sure I am over-generalizing.  I'm sure there are jazz guitarists you wouldn't want to spend two minutes with.  But do others on the forum get this same feeling/impression?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn´t get to meet the famous guitarists personally, Wes was dead when I was a kid, Kenny Burrell I think didn´t tour much, in any case I can´t remember to see him on concert or festival in Austria. 

I jammed a few times with Karl Ratzer when I was almost a kid and he was very quiet, but wonderful to make music on bandstand when we did some standards and bop standards with Allen Praskin. Really wonderful. 

I played with other guitarist on gigs or jam sessions and they were very nice and cooperative with a few exceptions when they were too loud and would cover everything and do endless solos....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gene Bertoncini was very nice the times I have heard him in person and during phone interviews. Joe Pass was very friendly during a phone interview but he could be very impatient with soundboard operators. He lambasted a guy during a solo concert I attended when feedback happened mid-song. while another who did audio for a Las Vegas gig said he was very difficult to with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Milestones said:

I've had the strong impression of many jazz guitarists being really nice guys--Pat Metheny.  

You should talk to my friend who worked for Pat's management company. :lol:

2 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Al Di Meola?

You should talk to my friend who worked for Al's management company. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did a phone interview with Herb Ellis in the late 1980s. I don't know why he was so difficult, but after I hung up, I rewound and erased the tape without bothering to listen to it. 

Of course, the worst artist I ever had to deal with was Andre Previn. He delayed scheduling the interview until well past my normal press deadline and I ended up having to make a special trip downtown on a Saturday morning to do the phone interview. This was for a cover feature, yet he only wanted to allow 10-15 minutes. There were numerous restrictions about topics (I wasn't interested in talking about any of his ex-wives, while his film work wasn't really relevant to the article, since its focus was on jazz). He was impatient and I would have told my editor to scrap the assignment if I hadn't thought he would have had extreme difficulty assigning another artist at such a late date. Previn ended up getting sick and missing his gig at the Blue Note, which the feature was promoting.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My guess is that if you talked to enough jazz guitarists you'd encounter the same spectrum of humanity -- from dickhead to saint -- that you see in any other group of people.

;)

OTOH, rock guitarists -- or anyone who's subjected to any sort of continuous adulation (any famous actors, musicians, whatever) -- I'm not as sure about.  I think fame would often have its effect of messing up a person, losing their sense of perspective, introducing needs to put up walls, etc.  That's what makes it different, not the instrument or the musical genre.

 

Edited by HutchFan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

What's the deal with being "nice", anyway? Who cares? There's many points in between being an executable felon and being Mr. Almost God.

Indeed.

2 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

My guess is that if you talked to enough jazz guitarists you'd encounter the same spectrum of humanity -- from dickhead to saint -- that you see in any other group of people.

;)

 

I would hope so ... 

Here's another question: Do huge-fingered guitarists understand just how much easier it is for them, and are they grateful for this physical gift that had nothing to do with the time spent practicing or honing their craft? Are they at all sympathetic to the not-so-physically gifted who also try to play?

Asking for a friend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not trying to prove anything...just an observation.  I have personally not met any major guitarists other than Frisell for a few seconds.

Maybe it's really more about jazz guys (in general) being nicer than rock guys.  But we all know that there are some pricks in jazz, and usually we love them anyway--or at least love their music.

 

  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

From what I've read about Tal Farlow he must have been a very easy-going and pleasant guy.

 

 

If you think Pat Metheny is a nice guy, you should read Gary Burton's autobiography "Learning To Listen". He devotes a page to why he fired PM from his band.

Tal came down to hear me at a club I was playing at in NY. We went out for breakfast afterwards, and he was the most easy-going, mellow guy you'd ever meet. Not even a hint of egotistic manner about him. Considering he was, at one time, IMHO, the greatest mainstream jazz guitarist living, I could only think that he practiced Zen Buddhism.

10 hours ago, Ken Dryden said:

I did a phone interview with Herb Ellis in the late 1980s. I don't know why he was so difficult, but after I hung up, I rewound and erased the tape without bothering to listen to it. 

Of course, the worst artist I ever had to deal with was Andre Previn. He delayed scheduling the interview until well past my normal press deadline and I ended up having to make a special trip downtown on a Saturday morning to do the phone interview. This was for a cover feature, yet he only wanted to allow 10-15 minutes. There were numerous restrictions about topics (I wasn't interested in talking about any of his ex-wives, while his film work wasn't really relevant to the article, since its focus was on jazz). He was impatient and I would have told my editor to scrap the assignment if I hadn't thought he would have had extreme difficulty assigning another artist at such a late date. Previn ended up getting sick and missing his gig at the Blue Note, which the feature was promoting.

 

Tough job assignments.

12 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

You should talk to my friend who worked for Pat's management company. :lol:

You should talk to my friend who worked for Al's management company. :lol:

I can imagine!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mary Halvorson is exceptionally nice and friendly 

same for Brandon Seabrook

then again for most/vast majority of the musicians I’ve encountered in and around the “downtown” NYC scene over the past 25 years fit this description.

how they are once one would get to know them is probably another story but it’s nice to know that when I go to a show and say hello to someone in the band it’s been a nice experience 99% of the time over the years 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...