When I first became interested in solo jazz guitar in the early ’80s there was one name that stood out above the rest: Joe Pass. Joe had recorded more solo jazz guitar albums than anyone and with his special talent he kept the music inventive and engaging. With Norman Granz promoting him and issuing his Virtuoso series on Pablo records beginning in 1973, Pass raised the bar for all jazz guitarists that followed.
Johnny Smith - "The Man With The Blue Guitar"
There were earlier albums of solo jazz guitar, namely the beautiful Soliloquy by George Van Eps recorded in 1968. An album of similar beauty is the compilation from 1962, The Man with the Blue Guitar, by Johnny Smith. It took some time before jazz guitarists and record producers felt a whole program of solo guitar could be released. Joe Pass seemed almost entirely responsible for the wave of solo recordings released by his peers following his Virtuoso album and three subsequent Virtuoso albums issued over more than a decade.
In 1977 Ted Greene released what may be the most beautiful and complex solo jazz guitar record to date, entitled simply Solo Guitar. Influenced by diverse musicians such as George Van Eps, J.S. Bach, and Chet Atkins, Ted arranged an album of solo guitar pieces of standard tunes and early Americana such as “Ol’ Man River.” Later in Ted’s career, he improvised most of his solo pieces which were just as complex and moving.
Lenny Breau recorded four solo guitar albums beginning in 1978 with Five O’Clock Bells. All of Breau’s solo guitar albums are innovative including the posthumous releases Last Sessions. and Cabin Fever. These are all fingerstyle gems and largely entirely improvised.
In 1981 Barney Kessel finally released an all-solo guitar record entitled Solo. Played primarily pickstyle with a little hybrid picking at times Barney played some swinging and at times lush chordal work.
The same year Bucky Pizzarelli released the solo album, Love Songs, that featured his mellow approach to standards on the 7-string guitar. He recorded a couple of other subsequent solo recordings of note.
Wes Montgomery's "Full House" CD
For other examples of classic solo jazz guitar chord solos (mixed with full band tracks) I recommend checking out Wes Montgomery’s versions of “Mi Cosa,” I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face,” and “While We’re Young.” Wes recorded too few of these simple yet moving chord solos. George Van Eps recorded some brilliant solo pieces early in his career such as “I Wrote It For Jo” and “Kay’s Fantasy.” Kenny Burrell put a few solo cuts on his recordings notably “Just a Sittin’ and a Rockin’” off one of his Duke Ellington tribute albums. Let’s not forget the earliest master of the chordal jazz guitar, Eddie Lang, who recorded some stunning solo pieces.
Other early masters like Carl Kress, Lonnie Johnson and a bit later Tony Mottola, had some wonderful solo features on their albums that are well worth tracking down. It is hard to leave out the names Tal Farlow, Chuck Wayne and Barry Galbraith when speaking of solo guitar as they often played incredible solos while performing live, but sadly for us, there are too few recorded examples.
In later years many jazz guitarists have recorded CD’s of entirely solo guitar pieces such as Martin Taylor, John Stowell, Tuck Andress, Howard Alden, Jimmy Bruno, and Gene Bertoncini where the influence of the early masters is clearly evident. I hope you’ve found some “new” music to listen to and enjoy. These are only a few of the many examples of solo guitar albums, the ones I feel that are historically key, starting the guitar on its way to becoming a more “complete” instrument in jazz.
Links
Ted Greene Solo Guitar on Amazon
Virtuoso (20 Bit Mastering) on Amazon
The Man With the Blue Guitar on Amazon
