Discover Top Posts Tagged with #for django

Joe Pass: The Virtuoso of Jazz Guitar

Introduction: In the illustrious realm of jazz, certain figures stand out not just for their talent but for the transformative impact they’ve had on their respective instruments. Joe Pass, the virtuoso jazz guitarist, is undoubtedly one such luminary. Born ninety-five years ago today on January 13, 1929, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and leaving an indelible mark until his passing on May 23,…

View On WordPress

#12-String Guitar #Catch Me #For Django #George Shearing #Jazz Guitarists #Jazz History #Joe Pass #Les McCann #Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen #Oscar Peterson #Oscar Peterson Trio #Simplicity #The Trio #Virtuoso #Virtuoso 2

Joe Pass

Who better to follow up yesterday’s post about Django Reinhardt, than Joe Pass (Joseph Passalaqua), and his song For Django, from his 1964 album For Django. Apparently though, Pass was actually more strongly influenced by Charlie Christian than by Reinhardt. One of the things about great jazz musicians is that they want to play with other great jazz musicians, and they want to play with people they dig. So if you come across someone you don’t know much about and wonder whether you might like them, try to find out who they’ve played with. Joe was playing gigs as early as 1943 at the age of 14. Over his career he jammed and recorded with Basie, Ellington, Fitzgerald, Dizzy, and Peterson. Even though Joe started playing gigs in the 40s, his discography doesn’t seem to start until 1962. Apparently, the big gap on his CV comes from having spent most of the ’50s either in prison or in rehab, due to heroin addiction. Once he got straightened out though, he was prolific, recording right up to 1993. Joe died of liver cancer in 1994, aged 65. As I said at the start of the week, I’m not a big jazz guitar** fan but forcing myself to listen to some of the greats this week has been well worth it, and while I knew of these guys, they were (mostly) just names to me. And of the four greats, we have heard so far this week, the most likely to have earned a spot on my personal play list is Joe Pass. For Django – Joe Pass – Bozzie

** Okay, I was trying not to let my biasses show, but I’ll confess - in my experience, you can spot the guitarist because they’re the one who can’t get out of the way of the piano, and hasn’t learnt that when comping less is more - it’s not your solo - shut… up! </rant>

#joe pass #jazz guitar #for django