One of the all-time great jazz guitarists was a guy who had a powerful influence on me early on in my career. Joe Pass seemingly never played a bad note. He swung crazy-hard, he plays lead and chords simultaneously, and he snaps strings like a blues guy, getting a lot of texture. He plays with joy and taste, making beautiful music, but he's also got wild chops when they're what's required. I saw him live one time, in the fall of 1975, after I'd been playing guitar for a year. He blew my mind.
He was influenced by Django Reinhardt and Charlie Parker--which is to say, one of his formative influences on guitar wasn't a guitarist. That could be a good lesson for blues harmonica players: look beyond your own instrument for new ideas and players to inspire you.
Here are a couple of videos. My favorite album was VIRTUOSO, which is all-acoustic.
VIRTUOSO:
http://www.amazon.com/Virtuoso-Bit-Mastering-Joe-Pass/dp/B000000XIR
Last Edited by on Apr 25, 2012 10:50 AM
I also got to see Joe Pass live in the '70s at a jazz club called Dontes that used to be in North Hollywood, Calif. We had seats about ten feet away from him and he absolutley blew our minds. It was one of those musical evenings that you didn't want to ever end.
