The very best jazz guitar albums are up there with every other jazz classics that you can imagine. However jazz guitar, for some inexplicable purpose, appears to lack the eye that it deserves. It might stem from the truth that, again in the large band period, the guitar was seen as a part of the rhythm part: an instrument that accompanied and crammed out the sound fairly than one which took center-stage as a lead. It was Charlie Christian who, as a member of Benny Goodman’s band, helped change this notion together with his electric-guitar taking part in. Christian’s “Solo Flight,” recorded with Goodman’s band in 1941, was a seminal second for jazz guitar.
Previous to Christian, it was Eddie Lang, an excellent and complex participant, who helped to make jazz guitar extra widespread. Others, like Freddie Inexperienced, who performed with Rely Basie for many years, and Lonnie Johnson, who performed with Louis Armstrong, helped to popularise the instrument. In Europe, Django Reinhardt performed single-line melodies that gave the guitar extra visibility, casting an enormous affect on many jazz guitarists that adopted.
Fender made the primary solid-body electrical guitar in 1948 and, a number of years later, Gibson launched their Les Paul. Many jazz guitarists within the 50s, in addition to later, performed hollow-body guitars; Tal Farlow was one such musician, and his fluid, single-note, bop-style guitar was a sensation. There was additionally Howard Roberts, Herb Ellis, Kenny Burrell, and Barney Kessel, all of whom mixed bop and single-note selecting, with Burrell, specifically, merging blues with jazz. Jim Corridor, who was classically skilled, took jazz guitar in one other course, whereas others, like Pat Martino, helped refine the model.
Then alongside got here Wes Montgomery, whose debut Riverside album, The Wes Montgomery Trio, launched in 1959, signaled a brand new daybreak for jazz guitar. Each jazz guitarist who adopted has been impressed and influenced by Montgomery, who died at simply 45 years previous, in 1968.
Within the 60s, the rise of rock music led some jazz guitarists to comply with extra profitable paths, recording music for a youthful, bigger viewers. Nonetheless, rock-inspired jazz guitarists like Larry Coryell, whereas John McLaughlin created a fusion model that was a sensation. Of their wake got here musicians equivalent to Mike Stern, John Scofield, and Pat Metheny. But on the similar time, the acoustic guitar remained the instrument of alternative for some, together with Joe Cross, Al Di Meola, Earl Klugh, Ralph Towner, and, a bit of later nonetheless, the British group Acoustic Alchemy.
The affect of South American rhythms on jazz within the early 60s helped to broaden the enchantment of the style. The Stan Getz and João Gilberto collaboration Getz/Gilberto, was a groundbreaking jazz guitar album, as was the sooner Jazz Samba, a Getz collaboration with Charlie Byrd. Together with Gilberto, Brazilian guitarists Antônio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá have all proved an enduring inspiration.
Whereas America has spawned the vast majority of the most effective jazz guitar albums, different nations have seen essential artists make precious contributions, amongst them the Hungarian Gabor Szabo, Englishmen equivalent to Allan Holdsworth, Phillip Catherine, and Martin Taylor, Italian guitarist Antonio Forcione, and France’s Biréli Lagrène.
We’ve put collectively an inventory of the 75 finest jazz guitar albums of all time. There could also be some musicians you’ve by no means heard of, however every of those albums is value exploring. Tell us if there are any you assume we’ve missed.
Try a few of the biggest jazz albums on CD and vinyl right here.
75: Tuck Andress: Reckless Precision (1990)
One half of the massively widespread New Age duo, Tuck & Patti, William “Tuck” Andress was the son of a jazz bandleader and performed with the R&B group The Hole Band within the late 70s. He launched this uncommon solo foray in 1990. Recorded stay within the studio, it primarily consisted of lone guitar renditions of jazz requirements but in addition contained a model of Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror” and an extended, self-penned suite known as “Grooves Of Joy,” on which the guitarist demonstrated his mixture of nice talent (usually utilizing a tapping approach) and emotional intelligence.
Killer reduce: Grooves Of Pleasure
74: Norman Brown: After The Storm (1994)
From Shreveport, Louisiana, Brown is stylistically indebted to Wes Montgomery and George Benson. He recorded three jazz guitar albums for Motown’s Mo Jazz imprint within the early 90s, and this, his second, issued in 1994, was the most effective (and most profitable) of them. Its centrepiece is a slick but soulful cowl of Janet Jackson’s midtempo ballad “That’s The Way Love Goes,” which highlights the fluid lucidity of Brown’s melodic traces and his skill to experience a groove.
Killer reduce: That’s The Method Love Goes
73: Acoustic Alchemy: Pink Mud And Spanish Lace (1987)
This was the 1987 debut album from a British {smooth} jazz group shaped in 1981 by fretboard maestros Nick Webb and Simon James, whose mix of steel- and nylon-stringed guitars turned central to the group’s id. Their tasteful, easy-on-the-ear sound is epitomised by “Mr Chow,” a well mannered, accessible fusion of oriental music and reggae that proved highly regarded and helped the group seize a big listening public.
Killer reduce: Mr Chow
72: Peter White: Caravan Of Goals (1996)
Certainly one of solely three Brits on this checklist of the most effective jazz guitar albums, Luton-born Peter White performed with Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart early in his profession (he co-wrote Stewart’s High 10 US smash “Time Passages”) earlier than branching out as a solo artist. Caravan Of Goals showcases White’s slick, smooth-jazz aesthetic, which is imbued with a palpable sun-kissed Mediterranean atmosphere that displays his love affair with the nylon-stringed Spanish guitar.
Killer reduce: Caravan Of Goals
71: Martin Taylor: Spirit Of Django (1994)
This MBE-decorated, Harlow-born guitar virtuoso spent 11 years touring with famous French violinist Stéphane Grappelli, who had performed with Taylor’s idol, Django Reinhardt. He recorded this tribute to the Belgian guitarist in 1994, and although he interprets materials related to Reinhardt, Taylor is ready to put his personal distinctive stamp on the songs.
Killer reduce: Night time And Day
70: Robben Ford: Tiger Stroll (1997)
One other graduate from the college of Miles Davis – with whom he performed within the 80s – this California-born axe-slinger developed an earthy blues-rock model that additionally assimilated the harmonic sophistication of jazz. 1997’s Grammy-nominated Tiger Stroll is a searing assortment of gutsy tunes that packed a visceral punch but in addition, particularly on a reconfiguration of Ann Peebles’ 70s R&B ballad “I Can’t Stand The Rain,” revealed a soulful tenderness
Killer reduce: In The Starting
69: Andreas Varady: Andreas Varady (2014)
A Slovakian-born Hungarian gypsy, Varady moved to Eire when he was 10. By the age of 13 he was headlining at London’s world-famous Ronnie Scott’s jazz membership. Varady was nonetheless solely 17 when he launched this 2014 major-label debut jazz guitar album helmed by Quincy Jones and that includes visitor spots from Gregory Porter, Roy Hargrove and Steve Lukather. Although its emphasis on pop covers veers near {smooth} jazz at occasions, there’s no doubting Varady’s superior technical skill, which attracts on Wes Montgomery as an affect.
Killer reduce: Come Collectively
68: James Vincent: House Traveler (1976)
From Chicago, James Vincent Dondelinger was a flexible guitarist and singer who reduce this, his third solo album, in 1976, helmed by Doorways producer Bruce Bothnick. A heady fusion of jazz, rock and searing funk, House Traveler featured a stellar supporting forged which included members of Earth, Wind And Fireplace, Chicago singer Peter Cetera, drummer Harvey Mason, ex-Rufus keyboardist Ron Stockert and arranger Jack Nitzsche.
Killer reduce: Drifting Into Love
67: Antonio Forcione: Ghetto Paradise (1998)
Although he was born in southern Italy and began taking part in guitar as a toddler, it wasn’t till Forcione moved to London, in 1983, the place he busked on the streets, that his expertise was rewarded with a report deal. This 1998 album was the Italian guitarist/composer’s tenth and showcases his distinctive model, which melds Mediterranean influences with parts assimilated from African, Brazilian and Indian music. One critic described Forcione as “the Jimi Hendrix of the acoustic guitar”.
Killer reduce: Indian Café
66: Ed Bickert And Don Thompson: At The Backyard Social gathering (1979)
Finest recognized for his sideman stint with alto saxophone nice Paul Desmond within the mid-70s, Manitoba-born Ed Bickert is arguably Canada’s main jazz guitarist (he’s nonetheless going robust, at 86). This stay album (consisting of seven duos with bassist Don Thompson, and an extra 5 songs rendered in a trio format) was recorded in Toronto in 1978 and highlights Bickert’s facility as an improviser in addition to his astuteness when it got here to taking part in chords and voicing harmonies. Mellow magic.
Killer reduce: What Is This Factor Known as Love
65: Earl Klugh & Bob James: Two Of A Form (1982)
The follow-up to their earlier and extremely profitable 1979 collaboration, One On One, Detroit finger-picker Klugh and keyboard genie Bob James reunited on this 1982 album to serve up a equally tasteful platter of proto-smooth jazz. An exponent of the nylon-stringed classical guitar, Klugh patented an easy-on-the-ear strategy whose lucid melodic model was deceptively easy and skilfully hid a really subtle aesthetic strategy.
Killer reduce: Wes
64: Larry Carlton: Final Nite (1987)
For this nice jazz guitar album, Carlton was captured stay in live performance on the legendary LA venue The Baked Potato in 1986. His set consists of two Miles Davis tunes from the trumpeter’s traditional Form Of Blue album – a turbo-charged rendition of “So What,” full with horns organized by Jerry Hey, and “All Blues” – plus 4 originals. Extra spectacular than his studio albums from the identical timeframe, Final Nite reveals the Torrance-born fretboardist in a extra exploratory temper and affirms Carlton’s pre-eminence amongst West Coast fusion guitarists.
Killer reduce: So What
63: George Benson: Absolute Benson (2000)
Although indebted to his forbears Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery Pittsburgh-born George Benson cast his personal distinctive model that appealed to a pop viewers (primarily because of his soulful vocals) in addition to a jazz one. This album framed Benson’s guitar and voice in percussion-heavy, Latin-infused preparations and included a high quality cowl of soul singer Donny Hathaway’s 1970 hit “The Ghetto.”
Killer reduce: The Ghetto
62: Julian Lage Group: Gladwell (2011)
Launched in 2011, Gladwell was Lage’s second album and featured the Californian fretboardist, then 24, on each acoustic and electrical guitars main a five-piece ensemble. A combination of well-wrought unique group materials plus a contemporary and ingenious solo guitar tackle a jazz normal (“Autumn Leaves”), the album singled Lage out as an essential new and unique voice on this planet of jazz guitar.
Killer reduce: Listening Stroll
61: Ronny Jordan: The Antidote (1992)
A product of the British acid jazz scene of the early 90s, London-born Jordan scored a stunning UK High 40 hit together with his brisk, guitar-led model of Miles Davis’ “So What,” which was pushed by a crisp city backbeat. It got here from a debut album of largely self-penned materials in a George Benson-esque vein that included the hit US single “After Hours’. The Antidote was the primary – and finest – of 9 smooth-jazz-tinged albums by Jordan, who died in 2014, aged 51.
Killer reduce: So What!
60: Charlie Hunter Trio: Bing, Bing, Bing! (1995)
From Rhode Island, Haden opened his account for the long-lasting Blue Notice label in 1995 with this spectacular debut that melded earthy funk (“Greasy Granny”) and funky post-bop (“Lazy Susan”) with a jazz tackle a grunge rock traditional (Nirvana’s “Come As You Are”). Enjoying a custom-built eight-string guitar – which allowed him to play bass traces in addition to chords and lead guitar elements – Hunter pioneered a novel strategy to jazz guitar.
Killer reduce: Fistful Of Haggis
59: Lee Ritenour: 6 String Idea (2010)
In 2010, Ritenour persuaded a bunch of fellow fretboardists to hitch him for duets – and generally trios – on his 6 String Idea album. The guitar-toting friends ranged from jazzers George Benson, Mike Stern and John Scofield to bluesmen Robert Cray, Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal, plus exhausting rockers Slash and Steve Lukather. The top end result was a cornucopia of virtuosic guitar taking part in in quite a lot of types.
Killer reduce: Freeway Jam
58: Larry Carlton: Alone/However By no means Alone (1986)
In addition to being an A-list session participant on LA’s studio scene within the 70s (he performed with everybody from Steely Dan to The Crusaders and Joni Mitchell) Larry Carlton rose to change into one in every of jazz fusion’s most potent guitarists on the finish of that decade with a string of high quality solo albums. This album topped the Billboard charts in 1986 and is a deeply reflective work wherein Carlton can largely be heard taking part in acoustic guitar on mellow grooves in low-key settings. The epitome of tastefulness.
Killer reduce: Smiles And Smiles To Go
57: Ted Greene: Solo Guitar (1977)
As soon as heard, the shimmering sound of Greene’s guitar, with its liquid arpeggios, chiming harmonics and strolling basslines, isn’t forgotten, although, sadly, this California-born fretboard grasp and printed guitar writer has light into obscurity. That’s largely as a result of he died comparatively younger – aged 58, in 2005 – and solely recorded one album, Solo Guitar, which was issued on a small instructional personal label in 1977 (it was later reissued on CD by Artwork Of Life in 2008). It stays, nonetheless, a vivid testomony to Greene’s phenomenal skills as a musician.
Killer reduce: Danny Boy (Londonderry Air)
56: Luiz Bonfá: Solo In Rio (1959)
A Rio De Janeiro-born guitarist and composer, Bonfá rose to fame through the bossa nova explosion of the early 60s. The composer of the Brazilian normal “Manhã De Carnaval,” Bonfá launched this intimate solo album (titled O Violão De Luiz Bonfá in his native Brazil) in 1959. Maybe greater than every other album he recorded, it encapsulates the aching lyricism of Bonfá’s distinctive nylon-stringed sound and elegance.
Killer reduce: Manhã De Carnaval
55: Phillip Catherine: Summer time Night time (2002)
A Belgian fretboard grasp who was born in London, Catherine was dubbed “Young Django” by Charles Mingus, with whom he recorded in 1977. As a sideman, Catherine performed with many jazz greats – amongst them Dexter Gordon and Chet Baker – but in addition cast a distinguished solo profession from 1972 onwards. Summer time Night time was launched in 2002 and highlights Catherine’s supremely melodic, lyrical model within the firm of bassist Philippe Aerts, drummer Joost Van Schaik and trumpeter Bert Joris.
Killer reduce: Janet
54: The Rosenberg Trio: Caravan (1993)
This 1993 debut album by a Dutch household threesome (brothers Stochelo and Nonnie Rosenberg, on lead and bass guitar, respectively, plus cousin Nous’che Rosenberg on rhythm guitar) mirrored their love of Django Reinhardt’s sizzling gypsy jazz of the 30s. However because the opening music, “Viajeiro,” illustrates, the trio add a late-Twentieth-century slant to the music which makes it appear concurrently conventional and trendy.
Killer reduce: Viajeiro
53: Mike Stern: Requirements (And Different Songs) (1992)
An intrepid jazz-rock explorer from Boston, Stern had the excellence of taking part in with Miles Davis within the early 80s. He reaped a lot approval for this 1992 album, which, in the primary, is dedicated to guitar-led deconstructions of traditional jazz numbers related to Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Chick Corea and John Coltrane. Stern additionally contributes three robust unique tunes which serve to focus on his unparalleled strategy to the electrical guitar.
Killer reduce: Jean Pierre
52: Lee Ritenour: Wes Sure (1993)
Like his up to date Larry Carlton, Ritenour (who was changed by the previous within the supergroup Fourplay) turned an axe doyen of the West Coast jazz-funk-fusion scene within the late 70s, earlier than morphing right into a purveyor of {smooth} jazz. This was the Los Angeles-born guitarist’s tribute to guitar nice Wes Montgomery. It included his updates of 5 of Montgomery’s traditional tunes (amongst them “Boss City,” “Road Song,” and “Four On Six”) plus unique materials rendered in a Montgomery-esque vein. Although the album honours one in every of Ritenour’s guitar idols, it’s additionally a reminder of the LA guitar maven’s personal uniqueness as an axe maestro.
Killer reduce: West Coast Blues
51: Kurt Rosenwinkel: Deep Music (2005)
This was the Philly-born guitar guru’s sixth album, and it discovered him in stellar firm with a line-up that included tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Larry Grenadier. The music was spectacular, too, with Rosenwinkel offering eight of the album’s ten songs, which ranged from tranquil meditations (“’The Cloister”) to extra pressing musical explorations (“The Cross” and “Brooklyn Sometimes”). Deep Music options top-notch ensemble taking part in in addition to invigorating solos.
Killer reduce: The Cross
50: Howard Alden Trio: Your Story: The Music Of Invoice Evans (1994)
California-born Alden – who performed actor Sean Penn’s guitar elements within the Woody Allen film Candy And Lowdown – recorded this heartfelt tribute to pianist Invoice Evans in 1994 utilizing a seven-string guitar. All the fabric is by Evans and Alden, along with bassist Michael Moore, drummer Al Harewood and particular visitor, flautist Frank Wess, providing distinctive renditions which spotlight Alden’s mix of virtuosity and sensitivity.
Killer reduce: Time Remembered’
49: The John Scofield Band: Überjam (2002)
Psychedelic Indian sitar drones are juxtaposed with searing slabs of Mellotron-drunk funk and dubby, sample-laden soundscapes on this arresting assortment of tunes by a Dayton guitarist who can seamlessly and convincingly swap types on the drop of a plectrum. The unifying aspect in all this stylistic range is Schofield’s guitar, whose acerbic tone provides the music a compelling incisiveness.
Killer reduce: Überjam
48: Joe Cross: For Django (1964)
Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua is healthier often called Joe Cross, a New Jersey guitarist whose extremely private model was outlined by melodic readability, harmonic sophistication and a fine-tuned rhythmic subtlety. This was his 1964 homage to Belgian guitar genius Django Reinhardt – which included songs impressed by him in addition to performed by him – and it finds Cross main a quartet that accommodates fellow guitarist John Pisano. There are lots of great moments right here, together with a chic studying of Cole Porter’s “Night And Day.”
Killer reduce: Nuages
47: Antônio Carlos Jobim: Wave (1967)
Certainly one of Brazil’s biggest songwriters within the boss nova period, Jobim additionally made some high quality solo albums that showcased his skills as an instrumentalist. Although he performs piano and harpsichord on this chic Creed Taylor-helmed album from 1967, it’s his softly understated nylon-stringed guitar taking part in that actually catches the ear on what’s a cool assortment of Brazilian grooves and moods orchestrated by Claus Ogerman.
Killer reduce: Wave
46: Pat Martino: El Hombre (1967)
Born Pat Azzara in Philadelphia, Martino was solely 22 when he debuted with this Grant Inexperienced-influenced soul-jazz album which instantly launched him as a guitarist with a promising future. Organ (courtesy of Trudy Pitts) options prominently, imbuing the album with an archetypal mid-60s soul-jazz aesthetic. Martino, although, isn’t one to accept clichés. Despite the fact that he was comparatively younger, he already had his personal sound and elegance.
Killer reduce: Waltz For Geri
45: Jim Corridor: Concierto (1975)
A local of Buffalo, New York, Jim Corridor patented a mellow-toned, harmonically astute guitar model that was extremely regarded and led him to work with Ron Carter (on the well-regarded Alone Collectively), Sonny Rollins, Chico Hamilton, and quite a few others. He had an extended and illustrious solo profession, and Concierto, a 1975 collaboration with Chet Baker and Paul Desmond, is considered his magnum opus. Its centerpiece is a 19-minute-long jazz reconfiguration of Rodrigo’s “Concierto De Aranjuez.”
Killer reduce: Alone
44: Howard Roberts: Velvet Groove (1966)
Initially kind Arizona, Howard Roberts (1929-1992) made his mark as a musician on the West Coast jazz scene of the 50s and, within the following decade, turned a member of The Wrecking Crew, the well-known aggregation of California-based session gamers that performed on a slew of massive US pop hits. This 1966 album showcases Roberts’ guitar in opposition to a backdrop of strings and woodwind, and was truly a compilation of fabric recorded within the late 50s. Roberts is in glowing kind, shining on an adroitly-arranged choice of requirements. Invoice Holman could be heard on sax.
Killer reduce: My Shining Hour
43: Herb Ellis And Joe Cross: Two For The Highway (1974)
You get two guitar maestros for the value of 1 on this traditional set of duos from 1974. The pair put a two-guitar spin on songs from The Nice American Songbook (“Love For Sale,” “Oh, Lady Be Good,” “Angel Eyes”) and in addition embrace a few self-penned numbers, of which the jaunty “Guitar Blues” is the standout. Although thought of two acclaimed soloists in their very own proper, Ellis and Cross are usually not in competitors right here, however fairly complement one another fantastically.
Killer reduce: Cherokee
42: Steve Khan: The Suitcase: Dwell In Köln ’94 (2008)
A doyen of jazz-rock and fusion, Steve Khan (the son of legendary songwriter Sammy Cahn) started his solo profession within the late 70s and continues to be going robust at present. Although recorded stay in Germany 25 years in the past, The Suitcase didn’t floor till 2008. It options Khan on the peak of his powers in a energy trio configuration with bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Dennis Chambers. The music is taut and kinetic, with Khan excelling on a mixture of robust originals and incendiary covers of jazz tunes by Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson and Lee Morgan.
Killer reduce: Caribbean Fireplace Dance
41: George Benson: Form Of Issues To Come (1968)
His first recording for Creed Taylor’s CTI imprint after a brief stint at Columbia discovered Benson’s guitar positioned in a extra radio-friendly, mainstream setting on this all-instrumental 1968 album which primarily featured orchestrated pop covers (together with songs related to The Monkees, Aretha Franklin and Glenn Miller). Although manifesting a commercialism that appalled some jazz purists, the presence of Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter as sidemen helped to imbue the album with a way of gravitas.
Killer reduce: Form Of Issues To Come
40: Eddie Lang: Jazz Guitar Virtuoso (1977)
Salvatore Massaro is healthier often called Eddie Lang (1902-1933), the abundantly-talented Philadelphia-born fretboard genius who performed a pivotal function in serving to the guitar come to prominence as a solo instrument. Like Charlie Christian after him, Lang died younger however, in his quick profession, proved himself an innovator. This 1977 assortment corrals disparate sides recorded within the late 20s and early 30s, all of which showcase Lang’s dexterous, flamboyant model.
Killer reduce: Pickin’ My Method
39: Tal Farlow: Tal (1956)
A consummate participant dubbed “The Octopus” due to his massive palms, fast fingers, and prolonged attain, Farlow recorded this, his seventh solo album of jazz guitar, as a part of a drum-less trio, with Eddie Costa on piano and Vinnie Burke on bass. Although a set of well-worn requirements, there’s nothing remotely stale and drained about Farlow and his cohorts’ performances, which exude verve and panache.
Killer reduce: Isn’t It Romantic
38: Charlie Haden And Pat Metheny: Past The Missouri Sky (Brief Tales) (1996)
This 1996 album introduced collectively two Midwestern US jazz musicians – the Iowa-born veteran bassist Haden and the Missouri-born rising guitar deity Metheny – for a sequence of mild, meditative soundscapes comprised of unique materials leavened with jazz, pop and movie-theme covers. The result’s a chic platform for Haden and Metheny’s distinctive skills, with the guitarist excelling through the deeply lyrical high quality of his taking part in.
Killer reduce: Cinema Paradiso (Love Theme)
37: João Gilberto: João Voz E Violão (2000)
After a ten-year interval of silence, Brazilian bossa nova legend Gilberto returned to the fray with this ten-track magnificence in 2000. It discovered the then 69-year-old singer-songwriter revisiting a few of his most iconic songs, equivalent to “Chega De Saudade” and “Desafinado,” all fantastically rendered in his melancholic voice with lone guitar accompaniment. In 2001, the album nabbed the Finest Album Grammy within the World Music class.
Killer reduce: Chega De Saudade
36: Wes Montgomery And Jimmy Smith: Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo (1966)
Because the aptly-titled Dynamic Duo illustrated, Montgomery was well-paired with Hammond organ maestro Jimmy Smith. This 1966 outing was the primary – and finest – of two collaborations they recorded collectively (the second, The Additional Adventures Of Jimmy And Wes, got here out in 1969, a yr after Montgomery’s loss of life). Producer Creed Taylor positioned them in brash big-band settings on a number of tracks organized by Oliver Nelson, however it’s the extra subdued numbers that seize the eye, such because the Jimmy Smith-penned “James And Wes,” on which the duo work together on a lightly-swinging, foot-tapping jazz groove.
Killer reduce: James And Wes
35: Larry Coryell: Areas (1970)
This Texas guitarist was all the time on the slicing fringe of jazz-rock, having performed with vibraphonist Gary Burton’s groundbreaking quartet within the late 60s. Areas was his third solo album, an envelope-pushing opus launched in 1970 which noticed Coryell joined within the studio by a crack band of rising fusioneers: guitarist John McLaughlin, who duets with Coryell on the all-acoustic “Rene’s Theme,” plus pianist Chick Corea, bassist Miroslav Vitouš and drummer Billy Cobham.
Killer reduce: Rene’s Theme
34: Pat Metheny Group: Pat Metheny Group (1978)
The Missouri guitar magus shaped his personal band in 1977 and launched this, the quartet’s debut album, a yr later. Accompanying Metheny was keyboardist Lyle Mays, bassist Mark Egan and drummer Danny Gottlieb, although the band’s line-up would continually change through the years. Their fusion-esque model was outlined by the slick interchange of acoustic and electrical instrumentation, which additionally helped to create a lush and dense harmonic platform for improv.
Killer reduce: Jaco
33: Barney Kessel: The Ballot Winners (1957)
Launched in 1957, this was the primary in a sequence of 4 albums below the Ballot Winners banner that the Oklahoma guitarist made along with fellow West Coast jazz luminaries, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, within the 50s. Primarily a set of requirements, the album highlights Kessel’s mixture of a mellow tone with fleet-fingered fretboard virtuosity, harmonic sophistication and an intuitive sense of swing.
Killer reduce: On Inexperienced Dolphin Road
32: Kenny Burrell: Asphalt Canyon Suite (1969)
Co-produced and organized by Johnny Pate, a gifted Chicago musician who would go on to attain motion pictures within the 70s, Asphalt Canyon Suite was recorded by Detroit-born Burrell in 1969. Famend as a technically-accomplished participant who rose to fame within the exhausting bop period, Burrell brings a bluesy soulfulness to this album’s ten tunes, whereas Pate’s adroitly-scored charts present cinematic ambiance. It’s mighty funky, too, reflecting the rise of funk as a viable musical forex within the late 60s.
Killer reduce: Alone In The Metropolis
31: Johnny Smith (that includes Stan Getz): Moonlight In Vermont (1956)
Largely remembered for writing “Walk, Don’t Run,” a jazz tune first delivered to the eye of the general public by Chet Atkins earlier than being famously lined by surf rockers The Ventures in 1960, Smith hailed from Alabama and made a slew of albums below his personal title between 1952 and 1968. A compilation album launched in 1956, Moonlight In Vermont turned the best-selling jazz album of that yr. The tracks had been recorded a number of years earlier and have tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, although it’s Smith’s mellow but supple guitar that shines the brightest.
Killer reduce: Moonlight In Vermont
30: Grant Inexperienced: Matador (1979)
Inexplicably shelved till 1979, this large 1964 Blue Notice session discovered Inexperienced within the firm of 1 half of the John Coltrane Quartet (pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones), plus bassist Bob Cranshaw. It features a model of the Coltrane staple “My Favorite Things” (Tyner and Jones featured on the saxophonist’s traditional 1960 recording) and Inexperienced is in prime kind on that specific quantity. On each ballads and uptempo materials, his lucid and lean melodic traces glisten all through this five-track album.
Killer reduce: Matador
29: John Scofield: A Go Go (1998)
A sideman for jazz legends Charles Mingus and Chet Baker within the 70s, and Miles Davis within the 80s, Ohio-born Scofield is a prolific and versatile guitarist with an eclectic style in music and has loved a distinguished profession as a solo artist. His twenty third album, 1998’s A Go Go is an exciting funk fest that noticed him crew up with jam-band trio Medeski, Martin & Wooden. Highlights embrace the infectious title music, the super-funkafied “Hottentot,” and the atmospheric soul-jazz groove “Jeep On 35.”
Killer reduce: Chank
28: John Abercrombie: Timeless (1975)
Turned on to rock’n’roll at a younger age, New Yorker Abercrombie took up the guitar and later fell below the spell of jazz guitarists Barney Kessel, Jim Corridor and Wes Montgomery. By 1975, when this debut album was launched, Abercrombie was totally immersed in jazz-rock, as revealed by the fusion-esque high quality of the music he makes right here within the firm of organist Jan Hammer and drummer Jack DeJohnette (who would later kind the supergroup Gateway with guitarist and bassist Dave Holland). Exploratory jazz-rock at its finest.
Killer reduce: Lungs
27: Herb Ellis: Nothing However The Blues (1957)
A Texas guitarist who rose to fame with the Oscar Peterson trio within the late 50s, Ellis additionally performed on albums by such notable horn gamers as Lester Younger, Ben Webster, Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge. The latter featured alongside Peterson on Nothing However The Blues, an all-star quintet session from 1957 that discovered Ellis within the studio with Stan Getz, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Stan Levey. Ellis’ clear, pristine tone and lucidly-articulated melodic traces are the salient function of this satisfying session.
Killer reduce: Massive Pink’s Boogie Woogie
26: Invoice Frisell: Have A Little Religion (1992)
After starting his solo profession at ECM within the early 80s, this peerless Maryland-born guitar maestro recorded for Nonesuch within the 90s. Have A Little Religion was arguably his finest providing for the label, a musical exploration of Americana which juxtaposed evocative classical Wild West-themed items by Aaron Copland with well-known blues and folks songs. Compellingly idiosyncratic and weaving totally different musical types right into a unified sonic material, the album is a triumphant platform for Frisell’s singular strategy to the guitar.
Killer reduce: Have A Little Religion In Me
25: Biréli Lagrène: Requirements (1992)
A France-born guitarist with Romany gypsy roots, Lagrène emerged within the early 80s as a disciple of Belgian swing maven Django Reinhardt, however injected a recent sensibility into his musical vocabulary. This was his third and ultimate providing for Blue Notice, presenting the guitarist in a trio setting and taking up a few of jazz’s most well-known tunes. Starting from bebop and swing to bossa nova and cutting-edge jazz, Lagrène astonishes together with his versatility as a lot as his fretboard dexterity.
Killer reduce: Softly, As In A Morning Dawn
24: Emily Remler: East To Wes (1988)
This “six-string poet” (to cite keyboardist David Benoit’s description of her) was one other supremely gifted guitarist who died too quickly. New Jersey-born Remler (who handed away in 1990, aged 32) was a flag-bearer for feminine musicians in jazz’s male-dominated atmosphere and recorded this, her sixth jazz guitar album, in 1988. Nimble-fingered and fluent within the language of bebop, Remler boasted a method that drew on the jazz custom but in addition prolonged its boundaries. This album’s title monitor, with its in depth use of octaves, pays tribute to Remler’s principal affect, Wes Montgomery.
Killer reduce: East To Wes
23: Allan Holdsworth: Steel Fatigue (1985)
Boasting a particular, sui generis guitar model that eschewed clichés in favour of an unorthodox strategy to the fretboard, Bradford-born Holdsworth was a doyen of jazz-rock who, as a sideman, performed with Tony Williams’ Lifetime in addition to prog rock teams Gentle Machine and Gong. Recorded in 1985, this, his fourth album, spotlights the guitarist’s particular person tackle jazz-rock fusion and took the style ahead in a decade when it was largely ignored by each the general public and the critics.
Killer reduce: Satan Take The Hindmost
22: John Scofield And Pat Metheny: I Can See Your Home From Right here (1994)
In 1994, these two guitar greats – born three years aside – collaborated on an 11-track jazz album taking part in in a quartet configuration with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Invoice Stewart. Scofield wrote six songs whereas Metheny contributed 5, and although their contrasting guitar types are markedly totally different – Scofield’s is funky and earthy whereas Metheny’s is sort of celestial by comparability – the general impression is one in every of unity fairly than separateness. An excellent assembly of masters on among the best jazz guitar albums that both recorded.
Killer reduce: The Pink One
21: Al Di Meola: Elegant Gypsy (1977)
Initially from New Jersey, Al Di Meola rose to fame taking part in in Chick Corea’s trailblazing jazz-rock group, Return To Perpetually, within the early 70s earlier than forging a glittering solo profession. Recorded in 1977, this was his second album and its materials ranges from pyrotechnical shows of jazz-rock fretboard prowess (“Race With Devil On Spanish Highway”) to Flamenco-inflected acoustic items (“Mediterranean Sundance”). Right here, Di Meola confirmed a musical depth and degree of sensitivity that exposed he was rather more than a lightning-fingered pace freak.
Killer reduce: Race With Satan On Spanish Freeway
20: Jimmy Raney: A (1957)
Although from Louisville, Kentucky, James Elbert Raney turned a stalwart of the West Coast “cool jazz” scene. He was a DownBeat journal ballot winner within the mid-50s and labored with Pink Morvo, Artie Shaw, Stan Getz, Lalo Schifrin, Eddie Harris and Cal Tjader. He additionally recorded 34 solo albums, of which A, a quintet session recorded in 1955, is arguably the most effective. Raney and his cohorts actually know the right way to swing, with the guitarist’s fluid solos clearly demonstrating that he’s on the absolute apex of his powers.
Killer reduce: Minor
19: Wes Montgomery: Full Home (1962)
John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery couldn’t learn a be aware of music however that didn’t cease him from being one of the vital exceptional and technically-accomplished guitar gamers within the historical past of jazz. This was his first outing for Riverside, recorded stay in Berkeley, California, in 1962, with a rhythm part comprised of ex-Miles Davis band members (pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb) plus saxophonist Johnny Griffin. It’s a flamable assortment of exhausting bop with each member of the group excelling, although none eclipse Montgomery, who reveals why he was peerless as a guitarist.
Killer reduce: Blue’n’Boogie
18: Charlie Byrd: The Guitar Artistry Of Charlie Byrd (1960)
A pioneer of the nylon-stringed Spanish guitar in a jazz setting, Virginia-born Byrd was additionally a number one mild of the bossa nova explosion and instrumental in popularising Brazilian music within the early 60s. This album, launched in 1960, spotlights him in a trio setting placing a novel spin on a choice of jazz requirements, together with a potent model of The Trendy Jazz Quartet’s “Django.”
Killer reduce: Communicate Low
17: Ralph Towner: Solo Live performance (1979)
A founder member of the long-running group Oregon, Towner performed trumpet and piano to a excessive normal earlier than including the guitar to his musical armoury. His hallmark is the acoustic guitar – extra particularly, the 12-string steel-string and six-string nylon-string varieties – which he alternates between throughout this beautiful solo recital recorded in October 1979. Because the opening reduce, “Spirit Lake,” reveals, Towner constructs dense filigrees of dancing arpeggios which give his music a pronounced pastoral atmosphere. Evocative and spellbinding.
Killer reduce: Ralph’s Piano Waltz
16: Gabor Szabo: Spellbinder (1996)
Szabo, initially from Hungary, served his apprenticeship in drummer Chico Hamilton’s pioneering West Coast band within the early 60s and was famous for mixing the jazz lexicon with the indigenous gypsy sounds and types of his homeland; up to date rock and pop; and even parts drawn from Indian music (equivalent to droning strings). Spellbinder lives as much as its title, with Szabo displaying his genius on a even handed combination of originals, jazz requirements, and pop covers.
Killer reduce: Gypsy Queen
15: Wes Montgomery: Smokin’ At The Half Notice (1965)
Although he began making industrial, pop-tinged data with producer Creed Taylor at Verve within the mid-60s, in a stay setting, Montgomery reverted to a tough bop model that he was extra comfy with. With a reprise of the Full Home personnel (minus saxophonist Johnny Griffin) Montgomery delivers one other fiery stay efficiency, this time on the Half Notice membership in New York. The Indiana guitarist is on spectacular kind on materials that ranges from uptempo swingers (“Four On Six”) to lush ballads (“If You Could See Me Now”).
Killer reduce: 4 On Six
14: John McLaughlin: Extrapolation (1969)
Two years earlier than he shaped the fusion supergroup Mahavishnu Orchestra, and some weeks previous to recording with Miles Davis, in January 1969 Doncaster-born McLaughlin – a stalwart of London’s studio scene – launched his solo profession with this searing debut that helped mild the touchpaper for the jazz-rock explosion. Taut, edgy and uncompromising, the album signposted McLaughlin’s journey to the next musical realm.
Killer reduce: It’s Humorous
13: Tal Farlow: The Swinging Guitar Of Tal Farlow (1957)
From Greensboro, North Carolina, Talmadge Holt Farlow established himself as one in every of jazz’s premier guitarists within the 50s. Launched in 1957, this was the follow-up album to the earlier yr’s Tal, and it reunited the guitarist with Eddie Costa and Vinnie Burke below the supervision of producer Norman Granz. The readability of Farlow’s fleet-fingered taking part in, particularly on the self-penned “Meteor” and a propulsive tackle bebop icon Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite,” is breathtaking.
Killer reduce: Meteor
12: Lenny Breau: 5 O’Clock Bells (1979)
Initially from Auburn, Maine, Breau was raised on nation music however turned seduced by jazz as a teen. He developed a novel finger-picking approach and infrequently used an unorthodox seven-string guitar. This album options Breau taking part in unaccompanied acoustic guitar on primarily self-penned songs, however with a few requirements and a McCoy Tyner piece thrown in. Outlined by delicate filigrees of sound, it presents a shocking portrait of Breau’s singular artistry.
Killer reduce: Days Of Wine And Roses
11: Joe Cross: Virtuoso (1973)
Recorded for producer Norman Granz’s Pablo imprint, this 1973 album of unaccompanied guitar music vividly explored the breadth of Cross’ singular expertise. Distilling the melodic athleticism of bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker along with the dazzling fretboard pyrotechnics of Django Reinhardt, Cross created his personal instantly identifiable sound and elegance right here, revealing his full and utter mastery of the guitar. The album’s title, although seemingly hyperbolic, is in truth one thing of an understatement. Simply among the best jazz guitar albums in historical past.
Killer reduce: Stella By Starlight
10: Stanley Jordan: Stolen Moments (1985)
Within the mid-80s, Chicago-born Jordan turned a world sensation together with his novel strategy to guitar taking part in, which concerned utilizing a tapping approach on the fretboard to supply an array of sounds. Whereas his 1985 album, Magic Contact, established him as a brand new star of jazz guitar, Stolen Moments, launched six years later, captured the thrill of Jordan stay on stage in Japan. His materials ranges from John Coltrane’s “Impressions” to Michael Jackson’s “The Lady In My Life,” however better of all is his deconstruction of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven,” which is just jaw-dropping.
Killer reduce: Stairway To Heaven
9: George Benson: Breezin’ (1976)
Although he started his recording profession as an R&B singer on the age of 11, Benson targeted his consideration on guitar after that and, within the late 60s and early 70s, was considered the inheritor obvious to Wes Montgomery, who had died in 1968. Benson earned some success at jazz indie label CTI, however it was when he signed to Warner Bros in 1975, and began singing on his data in addition to taking part in guitar, that his profession actually exploded. This album’s title music is a shocking reminder of Benson’s fretboard prowess, whereas the album’s career-defining hit single, “This Masquerade,” confirmed him as a soulful vocalist.
Killer reduce: So This Is Love?
8: Kenny Burrell: Midnight Blue (1963)
Although he’s remodeled 70 albums in his lengthy profession, Midnight Blue is undoubtedly Detroit guitarist Kenny Burrell’s magnum opus. Stanley Turrentine impresses on gutsy tenor saxophone, however Burrell’s mellow, blues-infused guitar is the unequivocal star of the present. From the plaintive cry of “Soul Lament” and the meaty, simmering funk of each “Wavy Gravy” and “Chitlins Con Carne” to the cool, groovy title reduce, the album by no means disappoints.
Killer reduce: Midnight Blue
7: Pat Metheny: Vivid Dimension Life (1976)
Now considered a traditional, this was Metheny’s 1976 debut for Manfred Eicher’s ECM label, which unleashed the guitarist on an unsuspecting world. A prodigious expertise who developed a uniquely eclectic sound, Metheny is accompanied by bassist extraordinaire Jaco Pastorius (simply earlier than he joined fusion supergroup Climate Report) and drummer Bob Moses, who supply simpatico assist all through. A landmark report within the evolution of the style, it greater than earns its place among the many finest jazz guitar albums.
Killer reduce: Vivid Dimension Life
6: Barney Kessel: To Swing Or Not To Swing (1956)
A member of the 60s’ West Coast session mafia The Wrecking Crew, Kessel was additionally in demand as a jazz sideman and famously accompanied singer Julie London on her immortal 1955 model of “Cry Me A River.” The next yr he launched this, his fifth album as a pacesetter, which stylistically bridged the swing and bebop eras, and whose materials was dominated by tunes from The Nice American Songbook. In addition to exhibiting off his chops as an ingenious soloist, Kessel shows his talent as an accompanist, supporting the opposite soloists with softly strummed chords.
Killer reduce: Blissful Feeling
5: Jim Corridor And Invoice Evans: Intermodulation (1966)
After their profitable 1963 collaboration, Undercurrent, Corridor and pianist Evans reconvened within the studio three years later for Intermodulation, which took their alchemical-like musical interactions to new heights of expression. Each musicians are so properly attuned to one another as if to look telepathic. Every provides an unique music however the remainder of the fabric – besides Claus Ogerman’s “Jazz Samba” – is drawn from the jazz requirements repertoire.
Killer reduce: My Man’s Gone Now
4: Grant Inexperienced: Idle Moments (1965)
From St Louis, Missouri, Grant Inexperienced turned a mainstay of New York’s Blue Notice Data within the 60s, each as a pacesetter and sideman. Recorded in late 1963 and launched 15 months later, Idle Moments framed Inexperienced’s laconic however eloquent guitar in a sextet setting that featured tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and vibes specialist Bobby Hutcherson. The opening title music, a 15-minute slice of laidback, late-night balladry, captures Inexperienced at his insouciant finest whereas “Jean De Fleur” reveals extra urgency with the guitarist’s horn-like single-note traces.
Killer reduce: Jean De Fleur
3: Charlie Christian: Genius Of The Electrical Guitar (1987)
This Texas-born fretboard genius died in 1942, when he was 25, however his affect and legacy has been deep and lasting. He rose to fame as a sideman for swing clarinettist Benny Goodman within the late 30s and early 40s, and a few of his key recordings throughout that point – “Solo Flight” and “Airmail Special” – are featured on this 1987 compilation which helped to unfold the phrase about Christian’s expertise within the late Twentieth Century. Christian’s horn-like phrasing influenced later guitarists like Grant Inexperienced and Wes Montgomery.
Killer reduce: I Discovered A New Child
2: Django Reinhardt: Quintet Du Sizzling Membership De France (1962)
When this compilation was launched in 1962, gypsy guitar doyen Reinhardt had been useless 9 years. It introduced collectively a few of the Belgian maestro’s influential late 30s sides with a quintet that featured French violin wizard Stéphane Grappelli. The music is propelled with an irresistible sense of swing and joie de vivre as the 2 central protagonists urge one another on to giddy heights of virtuosity. Although he’s largely heard on acoustic guitar, “Swing 39” finds Reinhardt taking part in electrical. An important assortment from a guitarist who established the blueprint for continental swing jazz.
Killer reduce: Swing 39
1: Wes Montgomery: The Unimaginable Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery (1960)
Although he was indebted to the horn-like phrasing of 40s jazz guitar pioneer Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery patented a particular model, selecting notes with simply his calloused right-hand thumb. As this, his third album, launched in 1960 when he was 37, illustrates, his solos tended to be three-part constructions that started with single-note melodies earlier than progressing to dam chords and concluding with unison octaves. Probably the greatest jazz guitar albums of the period, The Unimaginable Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery lives as much as its hyperbolic title.
Killer reduce: West Coast Blues
Try a few of the biggest jazz albums on CD and vinyl right here.
