Ed Bickert

Nicolai Foss

Here is a tribute site to the great Ed Bickert. There is lots of Ed on YouTube. Ed Bickert is proof that you don’t need an archtop to play fantastic jazz guitar.

Louis Stewart

Nicolai Foss

One of the, if not the, greatest living European jazz guitarist is Louis Stewart. My particular favorite is his work with George Shearing and NHØP, which is now available in a nice four-fer. Here is Stewart’s site (which opens with an endorsement by Pat Martino; says something of the latter’s standing in the jazz guitar community!). There are a number of nice clips with Stewart on YouTube. My favorite is this version of “Honeysuckle Rose on Speed” aka “Scrapple from the Apple.”

Mundell Lowe’s Site

Nicolai Foss

One of the most stylish players of the first generation of bebop guitarists, Mundell Lowe, has his own site. Definitely worth a visit.

Grant Green Article

Nicolai Foss

Here is a learned and informative online article by Andrew Scott on Grant Green’s approach to the blues. The article includes three transcriptions. A key point is that Grant’s improvisatory approach was consistent throughtout his career, and didn’t change during his later “commercial” period. Here is a summary of the article:

My intentions in this article are twofold. First, I provide a musical and style analysis that aids understanding of Green’s improvisations. Second, I use my analysis of the three solos to counter writers Michel Cuscuna and Ben Sidran who assert that Green’s “commercial” output was inferior to his jazz recordings. [6] My transcription and analysis dispute these aforementioned critics, demonstrating that Green’s improvisatory style remained consistent throughout his career. Lastly, I suggest that rather than his playing, it was Green’s changing aggregations and repertoire that critics found problematic.

New Oscar Aleman CDs

Nicolai Foss

Until recently only a relatively small portion of Oscar Aleman’s recorded output appears to have been available in the CD format. However, a series of new CDs have recently appeared with “los cincos caballeros,” “ritmos de brazil”, etc. featuring tracks that, as far as I can ascertain (I am not an Aleman specialist), have not previously appeared on CD. Djangobooks.com has them all.

Lloyd Loar Site

Nicolai Foss

To anyone interested in archtops, Lloyd Loar is a towering figure because of his design of the Gibson L5, the introduction of f-holes on guitars and mandolins (and other instruments in the mandolin family), changing the position of the guitar’s bridge, neck and fingerboard relative to earlier designs, etc. Here is an elaborate tribute that, however, mainly focuses on the mandolin side of his innovations.

Les Paul and the Log

Nicolai Foss

“The Log” is the famous prototype constructed by Les Paul from a 4” by 4” fence post and an Epi archtop. Effectively the first solid body guitar, and the main reason why Les was inducted into The National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio. Here is Les playing, but I cannot see whether he is actually playing The Log or whether it is an un-amputated Epi.

Snoozer Quinn

Nicolai Foss

Here are some takes with the mysterious Snoozer Quinn (1906-1952), recorded when Snoozer was fatally ill and hospitalized. His style is rough (even accounting for the bad recording), and sort of pre-Langean.

Eddie Lang Bleg

Nicolai Foss

Here is an Eddie Lang tribute page, apparently unfinished. And here is the redhotjazz.com page on Eddie. Here is the Wiki on Eddie. And here he is with Bing. Apparently, there has just been an Eddie Lang, sorry, Salvatore Massaro, Festival (”XVII Edizione”) in Italy.

Where is (are) Eddie’s L5(s — he had at least two when he died)?

Who today (apart from Marty Grosz and, to a smaller extent Bucky Pizzarelli) play in the Lang (Kress, McDonough) style?

How much of Eddie did Django Reinhardt know? Are there any indications in Django’s recorded output that he learned from Lang?

Oscar Aleman

Nicolai Foss

Here is a nice and new biography of Oscar by fellow Dane, Jørgen Larsen.

UPDATE: Here are some (partly overlapping) Youtube clips with Oscar (HT to the Oscar Aleman blog).