Jim R

Joe, Rene' Thomas was a Belgian guitarist who was particularly influenced by Jimmy Raney. His sound and approach are similar, but with a bit more of an "edge". He was noticed by Sonny Rollins (with whom he recorded on MetroJazz), and eventually worked with Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Sonny Criss, Lucky Thompson and others. His "partner" in europe for many years was Bobby Jaspar. Thomas recorded for Jazzland as a leader in 1960, on an album called "Guitar Groove". This is a classic jazz guitar album, readily available through Fantasy's OJC series. The Eddy Louiss (organ) Trio recording I referred to was from the late 60's, with Kenny Clarke on drums. It was hard to find on LP, and wasn't released on CD until around 1995 by Dreyfus. This is one of THE great organ/guitar/drums recordings. Thomas recorded quite a few sessions (more as a sideman) between the mid-50's and the mid-70's, when he died from a heart attack. Louis Stewart (1944- )is an Irish guitarist, world class in every respect, a bebopper at heart although he's one of the most versatile players I've ever come across in terms of style and technique. He plays with an effortless confidence, excelling at rhythmic, harmonic and melodic variety. He plays with a rare "momentum" that is similar to Pat Martino and Wes in some ways, and he's always in control... he's a natural leader onstage, and has a knack for bringing out the very best in those he's playing with (he's generous and humble in that sense). He began playing professionally in the 60's, worked with Tubby Hayes, and was noticed by Benny Goodman, who took him on a european tour. At the 1968 Montreux festival, Stewart was named the "outstanding european soloist". He's worked with many of the biggest names in jazz, from George Shearing to Pepper Adams to Stephane Grappelli to J.J. Johnson, but for the most part has been inclined to stay close to home and his family. His most recent projects have been with the German guitarist Heiner Franz, for the Jardis label. Joshua Breakstone is from the NY/NJ area, and came on the scene around the early to mid-80's (I think he's about my age... in the 45-50 range). After making a name for himself in NY, he recorded a couple of LP's under his own leadership, with Barry Harris and Kenny Barron as sidemen. By the mid-80's, he had a contract with Contemporary, and put out a string of good records. He's also a bebopper, but the great thing about him is that he has a truly distinctive sound and approach. He concentrates on single lines (he was very much influenced by Grant Green, as well as trumpet players like Clilfford Brown and Lee Morgan), but he can also play great chords. He's put out tribute CD's to Monk, Bud Powell, and Wes (and the Ventures, and the Beatles!... haven't heard that one yet). I understand he's a pretty big star in Japan now...

I'm not quite the guitar nut I used to be, but it will always be a big part of my musical interests. I started playing around the mid-70's, beginning by copying Dicky Betts solos, and before long I was seriously into blues (mostly contemporary electric guitarists of the time- BB, Albert, Freddie, Otis Rush, Duke Robillard, Robert Cray, Hollywood Fats, Robben Ford, Junior Watson, etc). That lasted for a few years, and then I heard Kenny Burrell with Jimmy Smith (At The Organ, Vol. 1). By 1980, I was collecting jazz guitar recordings with a serious passion, learning to play jazz, wheeling and dealing with vintage guitars (which were relatively affordable at the time), networking with other enthusiasts, subscribing to various mags, etc. For a long time, my jazz collection was about 50% jazz guitar. That's changed now, but I still focus on guitar music to some degree. I pretty much enjoy and prefer all the greats from the 50's/60's era (Kessel, Raney, Farlow, Burrell, Montgomery, Green, etc), but rather than always talking about them, I like to mention personal favorites who get less attention. I'm a big fan of Rene' Thomas (has anybody mentioned the Eddy Louiss Trio recording yet on this site?), Louis Stewart, and Joshua Breakstone, to name just a few.

I'm not really a big fan of Sinatra, but while we're on the subject... I would recommend the Jobim/Sinatra collaberation to just about anyone (except for the gentleman who started this topic, that is ). I think Sinatra relaxed into those sessions very nicely, without trying to hog the entire show, if you will. Anyway, much of that material has been OOP for a very long time (the portion released on the "Sinatra And Company" album), and has been circulating on one comprehensive CD (from europe), and the whole package is really worth having, IMO. Lon, I think I first noticed the Morelenbaums when I bought the "Passarim" CD, but they really began to impress me on that "Tom Canta Vinicius" CD. After Jobim's passing, when they began working more as leaders, the impression was strongly solidified. Jobim's legacy is in good hands (to say the least) with them, and the success of "Casa" will hopefully be a springboard for more projects. It isn't clear to me yet whether Jobim's son Paulinho (and grandson Daniel) will be doing any more recordings with the Morelenbaums. I hope so... Here's a nice article/interview/discog on Jaques (slightly dated now, from 2000): http://www.brazzil.com/musjul00.htm

Soul Stream, I'm right with you. I bought a copy of the original 12" version of the LP at a garage sale many years ago, and I've been a big fan of Chet ever since. You're absolutely right to mention his trumpet playing on those sessions. Despite the title and concept of the album, with the focus on the vocals, this is some of the best of Chet's trumpet playing, not to mention Russ Freeman's piano work. I went on to collect a LOT of Chet, and although I agree to an extent with some of the above criticisms, I think there are a lot of worthwhile discs out there besides the Prestige marathon session from '65. A few I would recommend are his RCA recordings from the early 60's; the aforementioned "She Was Too Good To Me"; "Deep In A Dream" (Moon) from 1976... kind of obscure; "Once Upon A Summertime" (Artists House/Galaxy); "Little Girl Blue" (Philology); and the "Last Great Concert- Straight From The Heart/My Favorite Songs" (Enja). Just to name some of my personal favorites. Chet did record prolifically in europe during the 80's, and some of it is bad. If you love Chet, it's just a matter of weeding out the bad from the good from the great...

Okay, I'm here... I think! This is my first post on this board, and I just barely managed to get through the registration process (I'm dealing with some bugs, including tiny, almost unreadable text, and occasional dead ends... links to blank pages, etc). I hope I can get these things worked out, but I wanted to get here asap to join this thread! Thanks Lon, Al, and all those who will be taking part. We've had some great discussions about Jobim on other boards, and I have learned a great deal over just the past few years. I always enjoy sharing my enthusiasm on this topic, although I tend to struggle when it comes to helping to enlighten others about the things I love. That's one thing that's great about this for me- I'll be explaining something to somebody, or sharing details that I might not normally think about, and suddenly things will dawn on me that I should have known long ago. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this, and I just hope I can keep up! For those who may be just getting their feet wet in terms of Jobim, a great starting point is the "Clube do Tom" website: Clube do Tom Other sites to check out: Remembering Antonio Carlos Jobim Bossa Nova history Clique Music (english) I'll stop there before I get out of control... Thanks again- I hope this post works properly...