Sunday Music Muse Day Howard Alden, George Van Eps, Hittin' on All Six

This Sunday Music Muse Day has all of us asking ..."What day is it?" The social distancing directive to stay home, because of the Coronavirus outbreak,  has the days blending into each other.  I tend to listen to music more than binge watch TV, so here my first pick, Howard Alden and George Van Eps Seven and Seven, jazz guitar duo session.  The title refers to the use of seven string guitars (extra bass string) by both players. This was recorded in 1992 around the time of Van Eps' 80th birthday (he passed away in 1998 at 85 yrs old) and was a follow up an early 1991 release,  13 String, where Alden play a 6-string guitar and Van Eps his 7-string. George Van Eps is credited with inventing 7-string guitar back in the 1930. He inspired jazz guitarists like John, and Bucky Pizzarelli, and Howard Alden  to pick up the 7-string.  The tradition continues with young players Charlie Hunter.  This CD is nice collection of jazz standards.  Well worth giving a listen.

Listen to George Van Eps reminded me of a collection he's that I featured before, Hittin' on All Six - A History of the Jazz Guitar, covering the early pioneers from the 1920 to 1950.  These are all great players recording before I was born. Hearing them gives a deeper appreciation of jazz guitarist like Bob Sneider who carry on the jazz guitar tradition.

The social distancing gives us all a chance to step back and maybe take stock of our hectic modern life and maybe re-order a priorities.  Lets hope we all come out the other side of this in a better place, socially, spiritually, and culturally.  Find some good music to accompany your journey.  Stay safe, stay clam, stay healthy.

Hittin' on All Six, a History of the Jazz Guitar, Jazz-Culb Guitar witth Various artists

This solemn Memorial Day weekend finds me absorbing a collection of jazz guitar music.  First up is Hittin' on All Six: a History of the Jazz Guitar.  Here's how the All Music website describes it, "Hittin' on All Six follows the evolution of the six-string instrument from early jazz (Eddie Lang, Lonnie Johnson) up through the bebop era (Herb Ellis,and Barney Kessel). In between, of course, there's plenty of treats from French legend Django Reinhardtand such swing giants as Charlie Christian and Eddie Durham. A superb package for half the price of most comparable sets."  Plus, " Including extensive sessionographies, notes, and pictures -- all part of the set's handsome 52-page booklet."  It's fascinatin to follow the roots of jazz guitar through all the players on this.  A lot of them, of course, are new, or little known, to me, since I picked up interest in Jazz guitar with the likes of John McLaughlin, Pat Martino, and Larry Coryell in the 1970's.  I know I'll be re-visiting this set over, and over again.

I immediately thought it would be cool to have another set like Hittin' on All Six for the years picking up from BeBop to the present, until than I'll make do with this collection, Jazz-Club Guitar, which features guitars from 1945. Les Paul with Willie Smith (BeBop era) to 1979, Larry Coryell and Philip Catherine (Jazz Fusion).  This bearly scratches the surface.

 

I do have other collections of jazz guitar, one of the oldest is this Guitar Player Magazine Album, from the late 1970s.

Actually, music anthology CDs are a great way to sample new music, especially if you new to Jazz.  Anyway you start, you're in for an enjoyable journey.  Enjoy.