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Benedetto Jazz Guitars

Posted by admin on March 5th, 2010 No Comments



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

Posted in Jazz Festivals

Mysteries Uncovered About Guitars Used for Gypsy Jazz

Posted by admin on March 5th, 2010 No Comments



The word “gypsy” in itself is a bit mysterious. Dictionaries define the word in a myriad of ways, and it is hard to imagine how the term became attached to a genre of jazz. French guitar master Django Reinhardt made the genre famous. It is a combination of the popular American style of jazz and the musical techniques of a nomadic group of tough-to-classify gypsies of European descent. The instruments used to play gypsy jazz are very specific in a number of ways, and possess a rich history unlike any other.

History

In order to begin learning about guitars used for gypsy jazz, it is important to understand a bit about the history of the genre. Gypsy jazz is a genre derived from the work of French musicians during the 1930’s. It is a combination of improvisational jazz techniques and historical traditions passed down from generation to generation from one musician to another. In general, gypsy musicians do not read standard music notation and beginners will spend hours learning by ear, studying recordings and learning from their elders. Guitar and violin play important roles in gypsy jazz; they are the two most commonly featured instruments. As a result, the guitars used for gypsy jazz generally have a few specific features that are a combination of tradition and practicality for the style of music.

Features

Guitars used for gypsy jazz are characterized by a sound that is quite dry, but also offers intensity in the tone at the same time. The instruments are generally hollow bodied with arched tops. Some of the technical traits of the guitars are floating bridges, easily accessible fingerboards, and simple bracing. Gypsy jazz guitars need to be able to play supportive, rhythmic accompaniment roles, as well as shine in the spotlight with punching solo capabilities as well.

Popular Brands

Probably the most notable guitar used for gypsy jazz is made by Selmer. Django Reinhardt made the unusual Selmer guitar famous with his unique styling and musical interpretation. The guitar is often incorrectly referred to as the Selmer-Maccaferri or just simply the Maccaferri, which was the name of the man who invented it. The design of this legendary guitar has been copied by many other manufacturers including Dell’Arte Guitars, Busato, and Patenotte. These companies tend to produce high-end copies closely resembling the Selmer design. Other manufacturers have tapped into the student and amateur markets by offering more affordable models, like Cigano, which makes student gypsy guitars.

Gypsy guitars are a very specific type of instrument, and stem from a long tradition of music that was developed over the course of time. You needn’t own one in order to experiment with playing this style of jazz; it can be performed on different varieties of guitars with a similar effect. The difference will be in the generated tone. Django Reinhardt’s classic Selmer guitar gave gypsy jazz its trademark, and it is a distinctive sound that will remain forever engrained in the ears of music enthusiasts.

By: David Smithe

Posted in Jazz Festivals

Tips to Learn Jazz Music

Posted by admin on December 11th, 2009 No Comments

There would barely be any human being on earth who doesn’t like music. God has been veritably benevolent for his creations like this. One form of musical art originated in African American cultures is jazz, a lively music with ultimate rhythms. It was formed when some African slaves experimented to contrast folk music with American music. Unlike other music, jazz requires immense interpretation by those who want to learn to play jazz music. The tremendous variety comes in jazz music because of the fact that its rhythm has a forward momentum, commonly referred as “swing”. The musical assembly affiliated with jazz music is big band jazz music.

Jazz has gained so much of importance that people want to learn this music, specifically practice jazz piano, guitars and jazz bass lines. To learn jazz music one needs to follow certain things which will be beneficial for becoming a true music lover. Those who want to learn jazz music must adopt the habit of listening. Do the researches for the type of music you like i.e. old musicians such as Art Tatum, Count Basic etc or some new musicians and try to listen what you like as much as you can. Listening to the solo musicians will give the clear idea of the notes, for beginners this is the good option. For those who want learn to play jazz piano, they must get themselves familiar with all the 12 scales and when you get comfortable with them, learn pentatonic scale for the key you like the most. This will help them like wonders if they are dedicated. Have a start with playing very small notes and basic stuff.

The more you will practice; more you will sound like the things written in front of you while practicing, without knowing them. At last, improvisation is the key for learning the music, after learning one instrument it will be easy a lot to learn another. You should know what you want. Finding out how to play necessary chords at what time and how to sound the strings of the rhythm will make you master of the art.



By: Akhila Choudhary

Posted in Jazz Festivals
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