Jazz Festivals » Jazz Guitarist

The Mysteries of Acoustic Jazz Guitars

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 06:43:43 +0000

Guitars used to play jazz have some special characteristics. They produce a certain type of sound that has been developed over the years. Due to the specialization, not just any guitar is appropriate for an acoustic jazz guitar. Learning about the characteristics of acoustic jazz guitars, and how to make them the most unique, will help you in your quest to purchase the perfect instrument to learn and perform with.

The Body Style

Certain types of instruments have become commonly accepted as essential acoustic jazz guitars. These include arch-top guitars, a physical feature that both early pioneers, modern day legends, and the stars of tomorrow are relying on for practice, performance, and recording purposes. The arch-top originally appeared in jazz because its unique shape tended to amplify the sounds of the guitar greatly, allowing it to soar over screaming horn lines and drums in larger jazz orchestras. Today, with the advent of advanced electronics, most mid to high end arch-top guitars feature built in plugs for amplifications. For these types of jazz guitars, this is an important feature because it allows you to practice or participate in a jam session easily without hauling an amp around, but you also have the option to plug in and play loud when you need to. The arch-top, despite the prevalence of electronics, still plays an important role in creating that signature jazz sound.

Another unique characteristic of typical acoustic guitars used in jazz is that they often feature unique sound holes, sometimes in the shape of the letter D or F. They often resemble classical instruments like violins, and the purpose of the sound hole design is to achieve maximum tone production.

The Sound

Every jazz guitarist wants to avoid feedback and distortion when they plug in. Acoustic guitars used for jazz are generally fortified against feedback, and other troublesome excess sounds. They are designed with clarity and distinction in mind, and this is something you will also want to listen for when you are looking for a good jazz guitar. These guitars are not intended to be played with effects pedals, and this is an instrument that will be valued for the trueness and forwardness of its tone. Jazz guitarists also try to avoid a great deal of sustain when they play, they want their instrument to produce a tone that is crisp and clear, but it does not need to ring in the back of the hall moments after it has been played. To new listeners, the sound can be “choppy” or “muted”, but to a certain extent, that is what the instrument should sound like.

The Playability

Acoustic jazz guitars should be extremely playable, all over the neck of the instrument. Melodic lines and funky solo licks need creative freedom, and a good guitar will feature a smooth, manageable, and playable neck from top to bottom. This does not mean that the instrument should have a thin neck, but it does mean that it should feature smooth frets and a reasonable action in order to maintain playability in the higher frets.

Now that you understand why and how jazz guitarists get their sound, you can experiment on your own.

By: David Smithe

Learn to Play Jazz Guitar

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:35:09 +0000

One of the reasons that people devote their time to learning the guitar is that they love the idea of making up their own songs and music. Simply by sitting down at an inspired moment, a guitarist might come up with a great song in only one session. Some guitar styles differ greatly from another, but it is by learning the jazz guitar that many musicians have experienced the liberty it brings. The deviations in styles that somehow hold to one rhythm and work together in the name of improvisation are why jazz musicians are said to be filled with “soul”.

When training your ear or your mind to learn how the jazz guitar fits into an entire ensemble of musicians, it is important to first know how jazz music works, at the root level. Much like an athlete prepares for a race, a jazz musician also prepares for a performance. The jazz musician needs to warm up, have an introduction, and be allowed to have some time to get used to the atmosphere of a place and an audience. Some musicians, however, especially those who have played a long time together will jump right into a tune without warming up, giving listeners an awakening into what’s about to take place.

A jazz guitarist in a band may or may not lead the group through a melody. Many jazz performances may not have a singer, but instead a trumpet, or some other horn instrument will take this lead. If a horn isn’t present in the ensemble, then the guitar or piano might work to lead a session. Since jazz music is made up of a band, each person in the band has a certain role to fill before they begin their improvisational role. The jazz guitar tends to hold the players together within a certain chord so that other band members can stick to what’s being played. A jazz guitarist in this role, will not necessarily strum a rhythm such as in other forms of music, but will instead move rhythmically with the rest of the players involved.

In the game of jazz music, improvisation is key. If you know how to play another instrument, learning the jazz guitar might be a little easier. And, if you love improvising on the piano, for example, then you might love it on the guitar. “Improv” as it is sometimes referred to, is one way music can be highly addictive and liberating. When that liberation happens with a group who is playing together, the soul and reaction from the audience involved can be magical. Overall, learning to play the jazz guitar will be rewarding on many levels. Learning to play the necessary chords and knowing when and how to strum to the rhythm of others in the group takes time and practice. Give yourself plenty of time and dedicate yourself to listening to and learning how jazz music works and you’ll be on your way to playing along with a jazz group in no time.

By: Rich Matthews

Overdrive and Distortion Pedals in Jazz

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:05:06 +0000

Jazz guitar is an instrument with a tone usually thought of as clean and warm. Traditionally, most jazz guitar players go with little effects and stick to basic guitar set ups. Although there is a charm to tradition and standards, this trend is now changing, and this is probably a good thing.

Jazz as a whole is not an incredibly popular genre of music. It has moved from the underground into the music conservatories and universities but it still remains a style supported by a relatively small group of die hard supporters. For this reason, any development that can add to the popularity of jazz should be seen as a good thing. More players and listeners will mean more support for the artists and more artists. Overdrive and distortion pedals in jazz guitar are a small step in the right direction for this exiting and special line of music.

What the use of overdrive and distortion pedals do for jazz is open it up to the huge amount of rock guitar players and lovers that live all around the world. If they hear a jazz guitarist playing a solo with overdrive they will be much more inclined to listen, it will give them an obvious point of familiarity. Along with this, the use of overdrive pedals usually make the guitarist play with more energy and in more of a rock style. All of this could help influence more rock minded listeners to give jazz a chance; All of their favorite guitarists use distortion pedals to play their lead lines, and the simple addition of overdrive distortion to jazz can make the two genres sound surprisingly similar.

The use of overdrive pedals in jazz is not a new idea; Grant Green played with a lot of guitar overdrive in the early days, but it has become more pronounced and widespread in the modern age of jazz guitar. Kurt Rosenwinkel is a player who has employed small amounts of guitar distortion and overdrive in his sound to give his lead lines just a little more power and edge, but he has also played with an all out distortion sound on several records and live appearances. Not only that, but other types of guitar effects are also being used. Delay and reverb have long had a place in jazz, but now you can hear some tremolo and other effects finding their way into jazz recordings.

In general, the more jazz becomes infused with other styles, the more exposure it will get by others, and this is better for everyone who likes jazz. What has started with the use of simple guitar effects such as overdrive pedals and distortion pedals will continue to grow into an expansion of jazz that should help everyone trying to make a living off of it or just enjoy it whenever.

By: Randal Stevens

Benedetto Jazz Guitars

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:12:45 +0000

Benedetto jazz guitars are internationally renowned for their
exquisite design and craftsmanship. Benedetto is considered the
world’s foremost maker of arch top guitars. Bob Benedetto will
also custom-craft one-of-a-kind instruments on request starting
at about $45,000 and going up depending on what people want in
the guitar. Benedetto’s jazz guitars range in price from $5000 to
over $100,000.

They are prized by jazz guitar players such as John (Bucky)
Pizzarelli, who donated one of the seven-string guitars custom-
made for him by Benedetto to the Smithsonian Institution.

Since the original creation of the Benedetto Guitar introduced in
1968, many people have enjoyed the harmonic sounds that have
flowed from it. Noted jazz guitarist’s who play Benedetto jazz
guitars are: Howard Alden, Jack Wilkins, Frank Vignola, Kenny
Burrell, Johnny Smith, Ron Eschete, Cal Collins and Joe Diorio.

Bob Benedetto has worked hard with the jazz world’s greatest
musicians to refine laminated, smaller-bodied Benedettos that
feel and sound like the great carved Benedetto guitars but are
better suited to the demands of the road and nightclub.

Widely considered the contemporary master of the archtop jazz
guitar. Benedetto jazz guitars are available in:

(a) special one-of-a-kind custom order guitars

(b) the Flagship series

(c) the Professional series

The Flagship series models include – La Venezia / Manhatan /
Fratello / Bambino Elite and Bravo Elite.

The Benedetto jazz guitar Professional series include – Bravo /
Bravo Deluxe and Bambino.

The Benedetto jazz guitar is by far one of the most distinguished
archtop guitars. The Bravo’s parallel spruce bracing, rather
than the X-bracing of most of today’s finest acoustic archtops,
further enhances the rigidity, punch, and (electrified) nature of
the design, although it’s nice to see the laminated spruce here
rather than the traditional maple a detail that Benedetto says
maintains a visual link with his carved-top guitars.

The Benedetto Bravo Features:16″ body with three-ply binding,
laminated maple back and sides, laminated spruce top, parallel
spruce bracing, adjustable ebony bridge, three-piece bound flame-
maple neck, ebony fret board, body-mounted volume and tone
controls with ebony knobs, Benedetto A-6 humbucking pickup,
bleached bone nut, Schaller tuners with ebony buttons, gold-
plated hardware, nitrocellulose gloss finish.

The Bravo is every bit a Benedetto, and has many high-end
features you typically find on more expensive instruments,
including a gorgeous laminated flame-maple back and matching
sides, a select clear arched laminated spruce top, three-piece
flame maple neck with a dark ebony fretboard and adjustable ebony
bridge.

At first glance the Benedetto Bravo may appear to be a little
steeply priced for a laminated-wood instrument doesn’t have the
sylvan, multi-dimensional timbre or tonal succulence of
Benedetto’s Manhattan, Fratello, or La Venezia models, but it
gets you a portion of the Benedetto pedigree, and that’s still a
pretty amazing deal.

“In my earlier years, I was able to make instruments that were
more affordable to guitarists,” says Benedetto. All of which
implies that the Bravo is an “affordable” guitar, and although
such a claim seems contradictory for a model that retails for
$5,000, Benedetto’s carved-top La Venezia goes for $26,000, so
you can see the relativity at play here.

In summary the Benedetto Bravo is a flawlessly crafted archtop
with a very live and responsive top, effortless playability, and
an unmistakable high-end vibe without the top-end price tag.

Bob Benedetto has been built some of the finest musical
instruments to appear in the last 30 years. Each guitar is built
by hand using top-shelf materials, and each is inspected by
Benedetto before being shipped. Bob still works one week per
month at the Benedetto factory with as much care and enthusiasm
as he did way back in the 1960’s.

If you ever have a chance to hear of play any of the Benedetto
jazz guitars live, you’re in for a treat, they don’t make them
any better than this.

By: Mike P Hayes

Learn to Play Jazz Guitar

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:35:39 +0000

By: Sam Bateman

Indie Marketing on Jazz Websites

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:28:53 +0000

Jazz websites have become a hot asset to new Jazz artist as well as established Jazz artist. As the manager for a new independent Jazz guitarist, Dave Percell, it has become essential to hang out and become familiar with some of the best Jazz websites on the internet. Two of my favorite Jazz sites are The Jazz Network and AllaboutJazz.com. These two sites have been incredible resources for me.

It’s true that “Who You Know” can make or break an artist, and that is why I love The Jazz Network. We have connected with not only other Jazz artist/musicians, but the variety of producers, Radio stations, podcasters, and publicist that are literally at our finger tips has been a huge blessing. We have connected with Radio stations broadcasting both in the US, Australia, and the UK in which some of them fish for fresh Indie artist from this website to assemble their playlist and broadcast on air and online. The Indie Showcase is just one radio station that has aired Dave Percell recently and of course is a contact that we met through The Jazz Network. As with other profile sites you can take advantage of meeting new friends, sending invites to upcoming events to your friends, play your tracks and music on your profile site through the use of their online MP3 player, post bulletins, join groups, and so much more. The connections on this site is amazing.

Allaboutjazz.com is one the most Jazz artist/musician friendly sites around. Where do I start with this site? Their is just so much you can do. They aren’t their just to make money, they are their to help artist promote their Jazz music, and it’s evident with the amount of free resources and exposure they give to Jazz musicians. Every day this site features a daily MP3 download that gives an awesome amount of exposure to the artist. It is featured on their home page, and picked up by other article sites, bloggers, and online news websites. It was honor to be able to have Dave Percell’s song “Eternal Traveler” featured on this site as it drove an enormous amount of traffic to our CD Baby Site as well as Dave Percell’s Myspace and official website.

Article writing is a great key to internet marketing, which is yet another reason to fall in love with this website. All About Jazz allows you to submit articles on Jazz artist, upcoming events, festival, general news etc. and feature it; which is again picked up by multiple websites thus sending traffic to your other websites. In case your wondering this is all 100% FREE EXPOSURE! Yes people FREE EXPOSURE! The industry resources include music bloggers, publicist, Production companies, and many more …. and yes again its free……AND it includes the contact information to who you need to contact within these companies.

There are many more reasons to love these two Jazz websites, but hopefully what I wrote so far will cause you to go there and start exploring these sites for yourself because they will be a great asset to your musical career.

By: Joi H.

Play Jazz Guitar

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:40:31 +0000

Jazz guitar music is based on various guitarists’ attempts to experiment with the form used to express musical ideas. Jazz began with the African slaves combining the song and dance forms they found in America with the musical traditions they carried with them from their homeland. Since then jazz musicians of every nationality have developed certain methods of taking a musical idiom and turning it into jazz by interpreting the music using jazz chord substitution and improvising techniques.

The trademark of the jazz guitar player is that he is inventing new music all the time. When people learn to play musical instruments it is usually with the aim of playing the songs or instrumentals of a famous musician. In jazz the aim is to build new music using other musical genres or the works of composers from outside jazz. A jazz guitarist with a number of years’ experience will have developed his own ways of improvising over a song or instrumental piece. Quite often his improvisation will be based on the techniques of using the notes in the chord he is playing to provide the material for his solo, or to simply use the notes he finds in the melody.

Whichever approach the jazz guitar player uses he will always depart from the melodic structure of the musical work he is improvising over and use melodic figures or “licks” which he has made up or learned from other guitarists. A lick is a combination of notes which can be used in improvising over music in any key. A lick is like a very short tune or fraction of a melody. Listen carefully to a jazz guitar solo. Try imitating some of the licks that you hear. You do not need to play them exactly, just imitate them and see how they fit with other licks to carry the solo to its ending.

Other jazz guitar techniques are the substitution of chords using other chords with more interest or color, the use of walking bass to add interest or changing the rhythm of a song. You can find examples of all these jazz guitar techniques by listening to the music of jazz guitar players like Charlie Christian, one of the pioneers of jazz guitar, Charlie Byrd, an exponent of latin jazz guitar who developed a genre of his own using classical guitar techniques to play jazz, or Wes Montgomery, a guitar player who ventured into many fields of music.

Anybody wanting to learn to play jazz guitar will be wondering what guitars give you that distinctive jazz sound. Of course you can play jazz on any guitar but when musicians think of a “jazz guitar” they usually have in mind a guitar with “f” holes in the body, an arched top and a piezoelectric pickup. This gives that warm, expressive jazz feel that people associate with jazz guitar and is expressed so well in the work of Wes Montgomery. Epiphone is the brand name most jazz fans associate with this kind of guitar but they are also made by D’Angelico, Gibson and others.

To learn to play jazz guitar, even in a comparatively superficial sense entails listening to alot of jazz guitar music. As you listen you need to analyze what jazz guitarists do and what you, as a musician, WANT to do. Maybe you do not want to learn jazz as a genre but just to play in the style of a certain jazz guitar player. This will cut your work load considerably as you can find tabs for the work of many jazz guitar players on the internet.

By: Ricky Sharples

Jazz Guitar Chords Online

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:20:38 +0000

Learning jazz chords online can be confusing and frustrating to
say the least. Just when the budding jazz guitarist thinks
they’ve stumbled onto something along comes another version of
the same song with a completely different set of chords.

For our present discussion, we’ll limit our observations and
suggestions to learning jazz chords online, however a quick
browse through any well stocked sheet music store will reveal the
same issues that any aspiring jazz guitarist must learn to
overcome.

The choice of chords the guitarists selects has a significant
effect on the soloist’s choice of notes in their solos and
presentation of the melody.

There’s an endless list of possible chords, chord inversions,
chord substitutions etc. that can totally blind side the newbie
jazz player. In fact, the task is often so overwhelming that the
avalanche of information swamps the guitarist with an enormous
amount of stuff they do not have to learn.

So,before trotting off to another jazz guitar website in search
of the lost chord, here’s a few things to think about to pin your
ear on straight!

Focus your jazz studies on specific objectives: a great idea is
to learn the chord changes to “jazz standards”.

Jazz standards are tunes that working musicians are likely to
encounter at any time. Too often, guitarists with a rock or
country background wishing to move into jazz don’t know the tunes
that are the common currency of players in all styles of jazz.

Here’s a sample list of 20 jazz standards:

1. Autumn Leaves

2. All The Things You are

3. All Of Me

4. Ain’t Misbehavin’

5. C Jam Blues

6. I Got Rhythm

7. Have You Met Miss Jones

8. Out Of Nowhere

9. I Cover The Waterfront

10.Satin Doll

11.Misty

12.Summertime

13.St.Louis Blues

14.Watch What Happens

15.Lullaby Of Birdland

16.Sweet Georgia Brown

17.Georgis

18.Take The ‘A’ Train

19.Stormy Weather

20.There Will Never Be Another You

There are many books that show how to use chord substitutions,
but if the basic chord changes are not known, substitutions and
embellishments often confuse the improviser and the listener.

When the musician is learning jazz guitar chords online, it’s
essential to learn the basic set of chords for the jazz
standards.

Chord substitutions to basic chords are usually determined by the
melody notes and the style of music being played.

The point is that guitar players can become totally absorbed in
jazz chord manuals that teach chord substitution etc., without
firstly learning the basic set of chords.

Keep in mind that while the melody of a jazz tune is usually
presented in an accurate manner in standard sheet music, the
harmonic changes are rarely suitable for a jazz performance.

Once the guitarist learns the skills of being able to uncover the
basic chord changes to jazz standards, they can then re harmonize
the harmonic background many different ways to reflect the way
they wish to present a particular piece of music.

Understanding how to strip back the chords also helps the
guitarist see many similarities in the small number of chord
templates that thousands of jazz tunes are composed over, which
helps us remember tunes.

I repeat, The essential skill to learn is to be able to ’see’
(de-code), and ‘hear’ the basic set of chords.

The purpose of learning the basic set of chords when you are
learning jazz chords online is to help the jazz player learn the
basic changes and allow the player to add embellishments and
substitutions on a solid framework.

By: Mike P Hayes

Online Jazz Guitar Lessons

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:52:11 +0000

There are many websites offering online jazz guitar lessons, but before choosing it is important that you are ready to play jazz guitar. Many budding jazz guitarists specialize too early and find themselves lacking in technique when they come to the more complex aspects of playing jazz.

If you have not had proper formal training in guitar before, it is important that you register for a course that first takes you through the basics, even if you believe yourself to be a good guitarist. You must be well versed in the basic chords, keys, scales and perhaps even be able to play harmonics – both natural an artificial. What you need to know will be determined by the scope of the jazz guitar course.

It is probably better for you if your online jazz guitar lessons were part of a fundamentally more extensive course in playing guitar, that takes you from the basics of your instrument right through the progression of strumming, chords, scales, fingerstyle and so on in way that trains you in a holistic manner to be able to play any genre you choose, and so that jazz is simply an extension of your course.

By learning guitar that way each technique will be mastered before you progress, and no assumptions are made. The problem with a one-off jazz guitar course is that it will not be suitable for all skill levels. Some will lack basic techniques needed to follow the course, while others will already have inbuilt bad habits. Yet others might find a particular course too elementary, so it is important that you are able to adjust the course to suit your personal needs.

As a very minimum a jazz guitarist should understand chords, keys and their relationship with each other. A knowledge of tempo and time signatures is essential, as is knowing how to play harmonics that are widely used in playing jazz. Once you are accomplished in these techniques you will be ready to learn jazz, with its many voicings and jazz rhythms. You will learn about the circle of fifths which geometrically represents the relationship between the twelve pitch classes of the chromatic scale in pitch class space: if this is gobbledygook to you then you need a good jazz guitar course that takes you from the basics through the intermediate stages to real jazz guitar theory and practice.

There’s no good learning how to play if you don’t understand the theory, since only then will you be able to be innovative. Even players that learned by ear eventually had to learn some theory, and scales and pitch are extremely important components of practically all music, let along jazz guitar. So what is the best way to learn jazz guitar, and where do you find the best courses?

Online is best, and you have a choice between one-off courses supplied on DVD or a membership site where you pay monthly for ongoing lessons. What are the benefits of each? Without a doubt, the DVD is the cheaper option because you only have one payment to make. In the same way, a single football ticket is cheaper than a season ticket, but which is best value? A DVD gives you one course of lessons and that is it, whereas a good membership provides you with a series of lessons, not only in your chosen genre, but any style of play you want to try.

A good membership site will offer you a choice of guitar teachers, and will update their course from time to time. They can also offer pages of chord diagrams, scales, songs to play to and backing tracks to play along with. You don’t usually get this with a DVD. Not only that, but if you feel like trying some of the classical techniques while learning jazz, you are not just restricted to online jazz guitar lessons, but can try out some of the other lessons as well.

You can try some of the classical guitar techniques, have a look at what heavy metal are teaching and might want to introduce some blues into your jazz. You can do all that with a good membership site, but not with a DVD. It’s a no-brainer really, and you can start at the very beginning, get rid of your bad habits, and progress through the stages until you are an accomplished jazz guitarist. Many people choose to do that – to start all over again with the right techniques.

So if you are looking for online jazz guitar lessons be honest with yourself regarding your current ability, and if you need a few beginner or intermediate guitar lessons first, then an online membership site will likely be your best option.

By: Andre Sanchez

How to get a Jazz Guitar Sound

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:55:19 +0000

The word Jazz often evokes a darkly light Smokey club with musicians expertly improvising against seemingly complex chord progressions. Featuring passionate tone – getting that jazz sound can be a complex process – in this article we’ll address what you’ll need to get a great jazz guitar sound.

A Jazz Guitar

Getting the right guitar for a jazz sound used to be expensive. Jazz masters such as Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass may have played expensive Gibson Semi’s but these days there are a variety of entry level guitars that are suitable for getting a jazz tone.

For an authentic jazz tone, you should have a semi-acoustic hollowbody electric guitar. Models such as the Gibson ES-175 or the Gretch Tennessean can run into thousands of dollars but there are also excellent entry models such as Ibanez Artcore line of guitars. Guitar manufacturers such as Yamaha or Guild also make entry level semi-acoustics similar to the more expensive Gibson 335. There are also numerous Epiphone hollowbody guitars that will also be suitable and come from the Gibson stable. Explore your local music store and try out what they look for something that is comfortable to play and can produce a tight clean tone with plenty of sustain.

Hollow body guitars will provide a suitable mellow tone and most will be fitted with two humbucker pickups allowing you to vary your sound accordingly. Most guitars will be fitted with tone controls. Practice rolling the treble off your tone and experimenting – Jazz guitarists often play with a less trebly sound as it produces a rich mellow resonance that is suitable for the style.

A Jazz Guitar Amplifier

Whilst it could be said that there is “no jazz amp” there are a number of considerations for the jazz guitarist when selecting an amplifier.
Firstly it is important to determine the playing style and sound that you wish to attain. Traditional jazz guitarists often choose amps that can produce a clean sound which compliment acoustic archtop guitars. For this sound solid state amps produce a nice clean tone. For a more distorted sound a tube amp may be more applicable. There are many popular amps that are used by Jazz guitarists for example – try experimenting with a Fender Pro or a Polytone
Another requirement may be on board effects this may range from simple reverb to an overdrive channel – again this will depend on the style your trying to achieve.

Effects

Traditional Jazz may only require a hint of reverb but many modern jazz guitarists apply a range of effects from Chorus, Overdrive through to delay. There are many effects units available from single stomp boxes to complex digital “modeling” devices such as the Line 6 Pod. When choosing effects ensure they compliment your playing style and that you retain that “clarity” in your tone. Too many effects often muddy the sound and do not produce a quality sound.

Conclusion

In summary there are primarily 3 things that you should investigate when trying to get a jazz tone. Ultimately you should also listen to a wide range of jazz greats – listen closely to their sounds and try to emulate them. Ultimately when you have done this a few times they will begin to merge and you will begin to develop your own tone that will sound equally brilliant!

By: Adrian Martin