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Overlooked Guitarists


Brad

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In the mid '70's, when the "Interactions" record came out, Chuck Wayne and Joe Puma played in my town for three weeks as a duo.

I became friends with Chuck then and spent many, many nights listening to these masters bob and weave. Puma only seem to come alive when he was playing on stage, but Chuck was more interested in other matters and was the more open and personally interesting fellow. Later his had a nice group with vibest Warren Chaisson at a East Side club called "Gregory's" that was tasteful and swinging.

There is a cut on "Interactions" ( I have to learn how to use my new cd recorder, one of these days!) called "Baubles, Bangles and Beads " that shows off what they could do as a duo; High Art!

One of my favorite guitar recordings is Al Gafa's "Leblon Beach", on Pablo. Now I have to learn that dam cd recorder or hope that this one gets reissued!

Chuck Wayne & Joe Puma

Interactions

brand-new CD (Choice ABCJ-150) JAPAN.....$25

recorded in November 1973

1. My Favorite Things

2. Fly Me To The Moon

3. Let's Do It Again

4. Little Joe's Waltz

5. Body And Soul

6. Lester Leaps In

7. Here's That Rainy Day

8. Baubles, Bangles And Beads

9. Satin Doll

10. There'll Never Be Another You

11. I'll Get Along

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I have to say that it's good to see Billy Bean's name come up. He was very influential on a lot of players, in a sort of "underground" way. He never really found the spotlight, and of course is one of those who gave up playing as a career. The Riverside/OJC "The Trio" album is well worth checking out (and not just to hear Bean- that was a really a nice group, IMO).

Billy Bean and John Pisano go together.

Wish someone will reissue their Decca albums!

And that 'The Trio' album should be on the OJC purchase list for anybody who does not know the date!

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Looking in the bargain bins last night I picked up a couple of, unknown to me, guitar discs Jack Wilkins TrioArt on Arabesque and Attila Zoller (solo) Lasting Love on Acoustic Music both very nice. Any other recs on these two?

Edited by fent99
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Somebody mentioned Gregory's in NYC - I went there constantly in the 1970s when Al Haig had a trio there - with Jamil Nasser and first Chuck Wayne and than later Al Gaffa. Wayne and Haig had a major blowout one night as they disagreed on chord changes to some tune - Al was the leader but Chuck got very aggressive, and that was it, the next night Al Gaffa joined the band.

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Ray Crawford - I think he was the first to play that bongo imitation on the guitar, at least he was the most inventive at it. Very overlooked, and very under-recorded. I LOVE the stuff he recorded with Ahmad Jamal.

John Collins - of all early modern guitarists, he had the most beautiful tone, IMHO. I could cry every time I think of that lost Blue Note 10" session from 1954 with Milt Hinton and Kenny Clarke ....

Of those already mentioned, Joe Puma and Barry Galbraith I always enjoyed very, very much. Consistently inspired and inspiring playing.

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Overlooked is relative. I'm not sure how to define Laurindo Almeida. He played with Stan Getz and the MJQ but is not being mentioned that much.

Also how about mr. Ferenc Snetberger (according to the number of replies to that post he is overlooked).

Right now I'm listening to John Patton - This One's for J.A. with Ed Cherry on guitar. Don't know if he is overlooked but it's the first time I heard him and he is good.

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Al Casey, Fats Waller's gittarist...

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And dare I mention Alvino Rey, pioneer of the pedal steel / console guitar and inventor of the "Golden Throat" (singing guitar; think FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE). IN the early 40's, he also employed Neal Hefti, Billy May, Johnny Mandel, Al, Zoot and Herbie Stewart (3 of the 4 Brothers). And Rey's grandkids are even making quite a name for themselves in pop circles as The Arcade Fire...

http://pitchforkmedia.com/top/2004/index5.shtml

Edited by Joe
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It's Al "Gafa", not "Gaffa".

Ron Eschete' is a great player that rarely gets mentioned. Kind of pigeonholed due to the work he did with Gene Harris' quartet, but he's a versatile master of the instrument. Check out his trios with 6-string bassist Todd Johnson and drummer Paul Humphrey.

Eddie Duran, whom I failed to recognize on a recent BFT, is a great veteran player.

Mark Elf has done some tremendous work in recent years (I love the disc he did with Jimmy Heath and Hank Jones).

Peter Leitch, a great player from Canada (Reg Schwager and Lorne Lofsky also).

... and his son's exploits notwithstanding, Bucky Pizzarelli has always been a fantastic guitar player. His solo recordings are wonderful.

Here's a nice resource:

http://www.classicjazzguitar.com

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In some sense all guitarists who were contemporaries of Django and Charlie Christian are overlooked, so huge are these 2 swing players reputations. One who stands out for me is Tiny Grimes, especially his contributions to the fabulous Art Tatum Trio recordings of 1944.

You gotta love Lloyd. :tup

grimes,g_ph.gif

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