Miscellaneous

Nicolai Foss

There is now a Marty Grosz site.

Here is the weirdest archtop (“Jazzgitarren-banjo”)I saw today (in fact, for a very long time).

A pretty Levin. Didn’t make the reserve price.

A(n Almost Genuine) D’Angelico For Less Than 5 Grand

Nicolai Foss

Yup; that’s right; here it is. This is one of John D’Angelico wartime upgrading jobs. Not a 100 % authentic D’Angelico, to be sure, but a very pretty player. And buying it will bring you a little extra, because in the guitar case “There’s a box containing a somewhat dried out fake nose, complete with box, copyright 1961, titled “The Snoz” – “Most natural looking of all” – with the instructions: “When smoking the smoke can be blown thru nose holes to make it look real.” How about that?

Jazz Guitar Primer

Nicolai Foss

Is it just me, or are jazz guitarists routinely treated in a cursory and inaccurate manner in jazz encyclopedias? Leonard Feather, for a very long time the reigning king of jazz journalists, began this tradition by dissing Django Reinhardt in a rather silly manner. Remarks like “jazz guitar basically didn’t progress beyond Charlie Christian for more than 25 years after his death” are unfortunately rather standard in many books on jazz history. So, what do you give the rookie who wants an accurate primer on jazz guitar?

I think this internet piece by Dr. Matt Warnock may be it. It is fair, accurate and balanced. Of course, one can always disagree with his specific choices (e.g., I would have picked Tal Farlow or Jimmy Raney instead of Johnny Smith), but overall this is a good introduction.

Gerry Beaudoin Interview

Nicolai Foss

Gerry Beaudoin is one the three guitarists in the fabulous New Guitar Summit (I will blog them later). Here is a great interview with Gerry. A brief extract:

What are the three biggest stumbling blocks for developing guitarists?

GB: Ah, the kids don’t really know what jazz is and they haven’t listened to a lot of real good music. And their chord knowledge is nil. Because you can play rock with three or five chords. And to watch them get into it and develop is like a real thrill. Chord structures are very important; harmony is very important. Theory, and that’s something musicians use to always learn thirty and forty years ago. But they don’t learn that way today.

The 100k USD Archtop

Nicolai Foss

The Zeidler Project archtop. What a fantastic creation. And a noble cause.

Miscellaneous

Nicolai Foss

Finally — a worthy use of myspace.com. Posting pics of Epis, of course. Here (HTto Frank Frank).

“Just in” at archtop.com. The leading internet archtop, archtop.com offers a new batch of mouthwatering beauties, including no less than two very pretty Epi Devons and a blonde Spartan.

Europe’s Best Archtop Vendor

Nicolai Foss

… may well be “Vintage Instruments,” 19, rue de Douai, Paris. Check out their amazing stock here. Unfortunately, prices are not listed.

25,000 Guitar Players Say Gibson Should Reissue Classic Epiphone Archtops

Nicolai Foss

Now, here is truly a cause worth joining!! You must have a Facebook account to join. Here is the group description:

The Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway, Trumph, Zephyr Deluxe, and Zephyr Emperor Regent. These classic Epiphones of the period 1935 through to 1965 have long been out of production. Join if you think Gibson or Epiphone should reissue them once more!

Check out the fantastic photo gallery with mouth-watering Epis.

Jimmy Wyble Passed Away Yesterday

Nicolai Foss

… according to this forum post. I haven’t been able to verify the info yet. Wyble was born in 1922, began in western swing, and is perhaps best known in jazz for his association with Red Norvo. There is a small handful of Wyble videos on YouTube, for example, this one, or this clip from some silly movie, featuring Wyble with Norvo.

Billy Mackel

Nicolai Foss

Billy Mackel’s claim to fame is essentially that he was “Lionel Hampton’s guitarist,” for about 30 years after joining Hamp in 1944. Mackel’s simple, robust and hard-swinging style fitted the bandleader’s approach very well. Here is a site dedicated to Mackel, put together by Mackel’s son, Avon Mackel, and Hans Bebop (!). And here is a representative YouTube clip.