Good jazz guitar albums?

I've been itching to learn more jazz on the guitar, and was wondering if anyone could point me in a good direction to start. Good jazz guitarists, good albums, good tracks? Doesn't have to be Guild.

Hoping to start with some good staples of jazz, standards, hopefully good classics that are easier to learn.

Thanks for any pointers!

Joe Pass, the "Virtuoso" series.

Plus one on the Pass Virtuoso series. Tal Farlow, "Sign of the Times" (and pretty much anything he did), Barney Kessel, "Kessel Plays Standards," Johnny Smith, "Kaleidescope," (again, almost any thing he did). "Jim Hall Live."
Not standards, but a classic, Wes Montgomery "Smokin' at the Half Note."
Probably missing someone obvious, but these are a good start, all classic jazz guitarists who stayed pretty much in the mainstream of the genre.
Brad

Thanks, guys!! (Just spent my eBay bucks on a few new albums, guess the Guild stool will have to wait...)

I'll chime in later on specific albums, but some jazz guitarists to listen to are:

Barney Kessel,
The Poll Winners (Kessel on guitar),
Jimmy Bruno,
Grant Green,
Kenny Burrell,
Wes Montgomery,
Sal Salvador,
Bucky Pizzarelli,
John Pizzarelli,
Ed Cherry,
Frank Vignola,
George Benson (early days),
George Barnes (played an X-500 with mini buckers),
Freddie Green (best rhythm player in my book),
Hank Garland,
Jermaine Landsberger,
Jim Mullen,
Jimmy Raney,
Joshua Breakstone,
Johnny Smith,
Mark Elf,
Oscar Moore,
Pat Martino,
Rene Thomas,
Jim Hall,
Joe Pass

My favorites above are Barney Kessel, Jimmy Bruno, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, Sal Salvador...he'll, they're all great! :laughing:

A few more:

Howard Alden,
George Van Eps,
Eddie Hazell,
Billy Bauer,
Bob Burford,
Mark Capon,
Charlie Christian,
Herb Ellis,
Tal Farlow,
Russell Malone,
Eddie McFadden (played a Hoboken CE-100)
Doug Munro,
Django Reinhardt,
Emily Remler,
Howard Roberts,
Duke Robillard,
Ximo Tebar,
Anthony Wilson (guitarist with Diana Krall at one time, may still be),

Rather than weeding through all of the names I gave you, I would start with:

1. Barney Kessel/The Poll Winners - perhaps the greatest jazz guitarist ever, and maybe the most recorded as well as a studio musician. Be warned, you may throw your guitars away after listening to Barney move from one chord to the next with little effort.
2. Grant Green - Master of the single note line.
3. Wes Montgomery - "The Thumb".
4. Jimmy Bruno - Plain and simple, he burns!
5. Bucky Pizzarelli - Does it all well
6. Frank Vignola - More modern style, and is one of my favorites.
7. Charlie Christian - Where electric jazz guitar started, and influenced nearly all who followed.
8. Freddie Green - Greatest pure rhythm guitarist ever. Played with Count Basie for over 40 years, and never took a solo!
9. Joe Pass - The Virtuoso!
10. John Pizzarelli - Perhaps better than his father, and vocalizes a great deal to his playing like George Benson and Eddie Hazell did so well, but maybe better.

Not necessarily in that order, but those will get you into jazz guitar in a big way!

Guildman63 was pretty comprehensive in his list, but I just want to add a couple of things. Most of Joe Pass's later recordings usually have the great John Pisano playing impeccable rhythm guitar. 'Summer Nights' and 'Live at Yoshi's' are personal favourites. Joe playing is unbelievably good on these.
I think Kenny Burrell is incapable of playing bad music. Just about any album that has his name on it will swing like mad. His classic recordings with Jimmy Smith are a jazz guitar encyclopedia.
Enjoy your search!

Albums to listen to:

1. Barney Kessel/The Poll Winners - Most albums are very good.
2. Grant Green - The Latin Bit, Grants First Stand, Ain't It Funky Now. Very few bad tunes!
3. Wes Montgomery - Far Wes, Impressions, So Much Guitar
4. Jimmy Bruno - All!
5. Bucky Pizzarelli - 5 for Freddie (Freddie Green Tribute), Live at the Vineyard (with John), Nirvana
6. Frank Vignola - With Howard Alden and Jimmy Bruno, not sure of the name. Most albums are worth hearing.
7. Charlie Christian - The Genius of the Electric Guitar
8. Freddie Green - Listen to Count Basie...any and all!
9. Joe Pass - Virtuoso, What is There to Say, The Best of Joe Pass
10. John Pizzarelli - Many good albums.

Congrats on your wanting to get more into jazz. I got the itch about 3-4 years ago, and I wish I had started 40 years sooner! Keep in mind that many great jazz guitarists improvise in manner that shows a clear saxophone influence, so don't ignore the sax. Also, one of my favorite jazzers of all time is not a guitarist, but is a pianist by the name of Oscar Peterson. His trio had Herb Ellis for several years, and Barney Kessel for one year, so please listen to Oscar P.

Enjoy the journey!

shihan said:

Guildman63 was pretty comprehensive in his list, but I just want to add a couple of things. Most of Joe Pass's later recordings usually have the great John Pisano playing impeccable rhythm guitar. 'Summer Nights' and 'Live at Yoshi's' are personal favourites. Joe playing is unbelievably good on these.
I think Kenny Burrell is incapable of playing bad music. Just about any album that has his name on it will swing like mad. His classic recordings with Jimmy Smith are a jazz guitar encyclopedia.
Enjoy your search!

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I agree with all! Also, anything with Jimmy Smith will automatically swing, particularly his recordings with Wes Montgomery.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!!

guildman63 said:

1. Barney Kessel/The Poll Winners - perhaps the greatest jazz guitarist ever, and maybe the most recorded as well as a studio musician. Be warned, you may throw your guitars away after listening to Barney move from one chord to the next with little effort.

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This is something I'm trying to avoid - which is why I'm trying to start with the simpler, more classic tunes. I guess I should've asked for good beginner's albums!

That's a tough one as jazz is generally not that straight forward. I would still recommend Grant Green as a good start since he plays mostly single note lines, and while he can still cook it is generally much easier to learn individual notes rather than chord progressions. Sal Salvador is one I just recently discovered on RDIO, and his music is not necessarily easy, but is easy to understand (ie., very melodic) as opposed to someone like Pat Martino who can really get out there in every way possible.

Something simple that I've learned, is Miles Davis' So What, just that opening riff that's so well known (well at least I think it is). Start easy and light, I say. I'll try to tackle Brubeck's Take Five, while waiting for these new CDs to arrive. I do have one of Grant Green's albums, I'll save up to pick up the ones you guys suggested.

Thanks again for taking the time to give these suggestions!!!

Check out The Real Easy Book. It has many good tunes along with diagrams of the appropriate chords, and the scales you will use to improvise with. I'm not sure if it comes with a CD, but you can easily find each tune on YouTube.

http://www.shermusic.com/new/1883217156.shtml

There is a volume 2 for intermediate improvisers

http://www.shermusic.com/new/1883217164.shtml

and a 3rd volume on the history of jazz

http://www.shermusic.com/new/1883217512.shtml

Also consider instructional books by Mickey Baker, and Complete Jazz Guitar Method by Jodie Fisher. I refer to Mickey Bakers book frequently, and the Fisher book looks very well organized.

Ok, total newbie question - there are different versions, C, Eb, Bb, etc. What's that mean?

You want the "C" version, the others are for horns.

"Midnight Blue" by Kenny Burrell is not only a beautiful record, it's a fairly accessible way to get into Jazz guitar - if you know your way around the typical ("blues") minor pentatonic scale, a lot of tunes on that record are fairly easy to follow, and Mr Burrell knows how to phrase. Even with that scale, that's been done to death on guitar, he manages to come up with fresh sounding licks and phrases.

The Eb, Bb etc are for horns, the C is the one you want for guitar. If you play alto sax (an Eb instrument) you get the Eb book so you will be in the same key as a piano or guitar using the C book.
Brad

And don't be afraid to listen to tunes way above your level. While it can be intimidating, it is the best way to learn as you will hear many very interesting musical ideas, and get a better idea of how the greats choose and phrase their notes and chords. You can then gradually work these ideas into your own playing, and at the level you are comfortable with.

Walter Broes said:

You want the "C" version, the others are for horns.

"Midnight Blue" by Kenny Burrell is not only a beautiful record, it's a fairly accessible way to get into Jazz guitar - if you know your way around the typical ("blues") minor pentatonic scale, a lot of tunes on that record are fairly easy to follow, and Mr Burrell knows how to phrase. Even with that scale, that's been done to death on guitar, he manages to come up with fresh sounding licks and phrases.

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Second that, first one that popped into my mind!
Surprised nobody mentioned Larry Coryell yet, especially "Spaces" with John McLaughlin. It is a much more modern type of jazz, though, and "FYI" JC, it's entirely acoustic duets and is widely considered a landmark album.
Also note John Abercrombie in that more modern "expressionistic" school,and plays Guild F50...
Gabor Szabo "the Sorcerer".
Along the lines of what Guildman63 said, just listening to the genre as a whole is educational.
I listen to our local jazz station KCSM (91.1) almost exclusively now, because just exposing yourself to it will rub off on ya subliminallyand influence your thinking.
Even the stuff you don't neccessarily "like" is usually interesting enough to be worth studying, as opposed to the 297 thousandth repeat of "Hotel California" or "I Know It's Only Rock'n'Roll" on the classic rock stations....
You'll start hearing horn lines that you recognize have been lifted by successive generations of players even down to some of our favorite '70's rock tunes, for example, and realize where they came from.
I can now recognize how closely Carlos Santana clove to the salsa and Afro-Cuban rhythm school on the first 2 Santana albums ("Oye Como Va" in particular), having heard the originals now on KCSM. One starts to suspect that Carlos was actually looking for acceptance from THOSE guys at the time, by keeping his playing very clean and tight, and much more of an "element" as opposed to overpowering the band. I almost wonder if in his mind he was hoping to be asked to audition for the heroes of his youth? Who were largely horn and piano/percussion players...
Another giant who cited jazz's influence on him was Duane Allman, said he spent a couple of years listening to almost nothing but Miles Davis' landmark "Kind of Blue" and the influence it had on him later manifested itsele in the gorgeous "Memory of 'Lisbeth Reed".
In fact, if you gotta buy another album as a kind of primer after "Midnight Blue", get "Kind of Blue". Even if there's not a guitar on it.
Study the bassist.
:wink:

Another book to consider, which I just came across is Jazz for the Skeptical Guitarist, by Bruce Emory. It is not a book of tunes, but is an instructional book for learning jazz chord progressions and modes. It is very well organized, very casual in its presentation, and is spiral bound, which makes it easy to leave open on a desk or music stand. I think it is fairly inexpensive as well.

guildman63 said:

It is not a book of tunes, but is an instructional book for learning jazz chord progressions and modes. It is very well organized, very casual in its presentation, and is spiral bound, which makes it easy to leave open on a desk or music stand. I think it is fairly inexpensive as well.

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This is more along the lines of what I was looking for - learning the foundations, instead of learning tunes. Kind of like learning the 12 bar blues progression - it's not a tune, but an idea that can be applied across many tunes.

Thanks!!