jazzbox-cafe

Mini guitar amp heaven?

2009-04-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

I remember when the first Marshall Micro stacks came out - great portable tone but they did sound a bit like an angry bumble bee trapped in a jam jar - these days though these little unit's can create some great sounds - I tried out the VOX amplug and it sounds really great - shanzuguitars has got a great list up and running showing the mini guitar amp range available - which is growing all the time so if your looking for great guitar tone in your pocket check it out.

Jazz Icons: John Coltrane Live in '60, '61 & '65

2008-09-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

Coltrane was one of the most creative of Jazz musicians ever - If you ask people on the street to name a famous Jazz sax player chances are they'll pick Coltrane.

So if your just starting out and are looking to start your Coltrane collection why not start here on this great DVD set featuring Coltrane, at the height of his powers, live in the early '60's

John Coltrane provides an epic 95-minute overview of a true giant of 20th-century music. Three separate shows reveal Coltrane's ascending creative arc from hard bop innovator as a member of the Miles Davis Quartet in 1960 to consummate bandleader in 1961 to unrivalled jazz visionary in 1965. This DVD not only features Trane's classic quartet with Elvin Jones (drums), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and McCoy Tyner (piano), but also spotlights him onstage with other jazz legends including Stan Getz, Eric Dolphy and Oscar Peterson. Includes mind-blowing versions of his signature tunes "My Favorite Things" and "Impressions".

For me I'll always prefer Jazz guitar to sax but as an innovator and a true man of jazz Coltrane can't be beat.

Who's in need of a jazz blog fix?

2008-09-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

For those who just need that little extra for thier daily jazz fix be sure to check out http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/ which is a lively little blog devoted to the world of jazz - with some great music reviews coupled with warmth and affection for the best musical genre - theres allways some great content to perk up your day.

There's a ton of CD reviews on thier and with such an eclectic mix you'll be hard pressed to not find one record that would interest you.

Go check it out!

Jazz in the Himalayas

2008-09-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so we all know that music festivals are all the rage - it seems as though you cant go by without another music festival cropping up - (hey we don't mind - anyway of listening to great music is fine by us) but perhaps this one is the most unique.

Now nepal isn't renowned for it's Jazz but Jazzmandu The Kathmandu Jazz Festival is an idea put together by some young people in Nepal with an ambition to bring the joys of Jazz to the Himalayas.

Running from the 22nd to the 28th October the festival has live events, workshops and jams running throughout the week - given that Nepal has some of the most stunning vista's combining Jazz with this stunning country has to be a great idea - sure it might be a bit of a trip - but surely one that you wouldn't forget!

For more info check out the official site http://www.kathmandujazzfestival.com/

Hot Club of Detroit - Night Town

2008-08-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Any lovers of Django Reinhardt should check out the new CD by Hot Club of Detroit - titled "Night Town".

Featuring whiz guitarist Evan Perri - fans of Quintette de Hot Club de France - will spot the influences from the off. Best known as a 5 piece including accordion and clarinet - the band effortlessly weave through the 15 tracks on show here.

For me I love the sound of Gypsy jazz - it all sounds so effortless - effortlessly fast that is and if you want to learn swing and great rhythm - it's all here. There really is great groove here and this should bring a smile to jazz lovers everywhere.

Click the link for their myspace page

Great Jazz on myspace and Youtube

2008-08-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

OK so youtube and myspace have been around for absolutely ages and features some great Jazz guitarists that we've never heard of - so we thought we'd start an irregular feature of "Great Jazz guitarists - we've never heard of and found on Youtube or Myspace!" - first up is the Robin Nolan Street Project - OK so this is a bit of a quirky one because we actually found out about them from this video featuring the absolutely killer guitarist carlos vamos fitting a Floyd Rose to his Gypsy guitar - yep we think it's a crazy idea to......anyhow the music featured on the vid is Robin Nolan Project - great band lovely sound - check out the Robin Nolan myspace site here

Frentic Japanese jazz anyone?

2008-08-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

So if you like your jazz loud and fast and energetic you cant go far wrong in checking out "soil and pimp sessions" - a japanese collective which mix a brash cutting jazz sound with some funked up (dare I say punked up) rhythms - there new record Planet Pimp is released on 1 September and is available on import.

The band features 6 members and conjures up a latin sound mixed with enough melody and tongue in cheek style to keep you enthralled.

The band are a bit of a cult at the moment but based on the positive reviews that this record has bought about could be about to get a bit more well known -

Why they may not be to everyones taste - they bring some really refreshing positive energy to thier tracks and as a live act are said to be awesome (but loud!)

If you want to know more check out thier myspace page here

Putumayo Presents: Latin Jazz

2008-08-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hot on the heels of yesterdays post on Stan Getz bossa nova record is a look see at 2007's Putumayo Presents: Latin Jazz.

Featuring Afro-Cuban jazz the record features some great cuts from some really cool artists such as Machito, Tito Puente and Hilton Ruiz.

One of the things with Jazz is that there are so many different styles but if your looking to explore your latin side this is a great start. Compilation records like this are a great taster to a musical genre and you cant go wrong with records like this featuring some killer tracks.

The albums strong point is in its selection of its artists - and while the focus here is on trumpets and sax - for those looking for a few latin licks its certainly worth investigating - especially if you havent got into latin jazz yet.

For more check out amazon at Putumayo Presents: Latin Jazz

Stan Getz - The Bossa Nova Albums

2008-08-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

For lovers of Bossa Nova and that latin vibe - check out this great collection of classic sax star Stan Getz material.

Featuring a 5 disk remastered set including live and studio tracks - this is really a quintessential collectors item. With such a span of material on offer here there is really lots to delve into and gems include recordings of Getz with guitar players Luiz Bonfa and Laurindo Almeida who feature.

If you call yourself a music lover you owe yourself this record!

New Martin Taylor record

2008-06-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

A quick reminder that the excellent jazzer Martin Taylor has a new record out entitled 1am.

Highly regarded and one of the best acoustic jazzers out there - this album has some great jazz cuts and features Alison Burns on vocals.

Perhaps a little too "smooth" in places Taylor's melodic guitar playing is nonetheless a joy - and for acoustic fans there's some nice moments.

Apparently the record was inspired by previous combos such as Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass - whatever the inspiration there's plenty to like.

For those looking to see Martin live - the duo are touring to promote the records release check out Taylors myspace site for more details. http://www.myspace.com/martintaylormusic

Jazz Guitar Comping

2008-06-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

Comping is an essential part of any Jazz guitarists trickbag - getting the right chord structures and rhythms can really drive any jazz ensemble. But comping can be tricky to master - luckily there's some great books on the subject.

Check out Jazz Guitar Comping by Andrew Green

"Comping" is an abbreviation of the word "accompanying". Within a Jazz group, it is the art of improvising a chordal accompaniment for a soloist or singer. When you are the only chordal instrument in the group, you will likely spend 75% of the time comping--which means that it is the most important thing you do.
Jazz Guitar Comping gives the guitarist the tools needed to be an effective comper, and an asset to any small jazz group. There is a wealth of information about building chords, voice leading and the rhythm. The CD contains mny examples from the book and includes recorings of a jazz quartet with analysis of the soloist and the comping.

Acoustic Gypsy Jazz Guitar

2008-06-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

For me some of the best guitar playing is done on acoustics - while I'd never turn my back on electric guitar playing - mastering acoustic guitar is an art - acoustics are a lot less forgiving require spot on accurate phrasing and are completely unforgiving of sloppy playing.

While Django will be forever remembered as the Jazz acoustic king - there are loads of acoustic players out there today who can wow.

But what about the guitar? Well of course we're talking Nylon strung with a particular "look" - you know what we're talking about there.

When your looking at jazz acoustics - Saga's Gitane range seem to be having quite a good run at the moment - check out the Gitane DG-320 John Jorgenson Signature Selmer Style Jazz Guitar - in the Gitane, Saga have quite an extensive range of jazz acoustics all produced with top notch materials and great looks.

The DG-320 has John Jorgenson name against it (http://www.johnjorgenson.com/) and looks the business - gotta love the groovy tailpiece.

Here's the blurb from Saga:

Saga is proud to collaborate with John to make some of the finest Gypsy Jazz guitars available on the market today. With the popularity of his first signature Gitane guitar-the DG-300 Modele Jorgenson-Saga has decided to add a brand new and unique guitar as part of a matched set. Introducing the new Gitane DG-320 "Modele Jorgenson" 14th-fret D-hole Gypsy Jazz guitar! Completing the set of Jorgenson signature model instruments, this unique and custom design guitar combines all the playability of a traditional long scale "petite bouche" instrument, with the power of the original Maccaferri large mouth D-hole design.

Click the link above to check it out at Musicians Friend:
Gitane DG-320 John Jorgenson Signature Selmer Style Jazz Guitar Natural

Comping and Jazz Rhythm guitar

2008-05-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

I've gotta say that lead playing got me into guitar and in the 20 years since I picked up my first guitar thats been my main focus - and as a result my rhythm playing just aint as good as it should be - now I've practiced over the years and it's picked up but there's nothing like a great educational DVD to help it along.

Don Mock, master guitarist and educator, reveals his favorite chord voicing and comping concepts and demonstrates them in the context of soulful jazz and blues chord progressions that are easily applied to any situation.

The DVD Includes: the "best" and most useful chord voicings, chord extensions and alterations, chord substitution and secondary dominants, powerful "half-step connections," and several complete 12-bar blues progressions. Special Features Include: ~Tuning Segment ~Artist Video Previews ~Bonus Video Tips ~Getting To Know Your Amplifier ~Beyond Basics Catalog ~Internet Connectivity ?

So if your looking to improve your chord knowledge and rhythm playing - why not give it a try?

Straight no chaser

2008-04-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

A quick link out to the excellent http://www.straightnochaserjazz.blogspot.com/ a great Jazz blog with loads of cool posts on our favourite music. There's loads to read but of particular interest is the piece on http://straightnochaserjazz.blogspot.com/2008/04/ten-days-of-brazilia-yamand-costa.html - go check it out.

BBC special on Wes Montgomery

2008-04-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

If your in the UK or happy to tune in online be sure to check out the BBC Radio 3 special on Wes Montgomery.

John Etheridge helps Alyn Shipton select highlights from the catalogue of fellow jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, explaining how he achieved his unique sound. Montgomery is considered to have been one of the most innovative players on his instrument and developed a technique that combined the rapidity of bebop with a mellow romanticism.

The hour long program promises special insight into Montgomery's talent and enthusaism for Jazz and for anyone who has yet to get into Wes - well - this would be a great place to start.

BBC Loves Jazz

2008-04-09T12:48:00.001-07:00

OK its probably been there for ages but if you love jazz be sure to check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/jazz/ which is the bbc homepage for jazz on the bbc - there's links to record reviews, upcoming gigs and links to audio and video content as well.

Which guitar strings for Jazz

2008-04-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

OK so you've got your Gibson ES-175 Reissue Electric Guitar, Antique Natural but to get the "best" jazz sound you'll want the best Jazz strings - so what should you string your guitar with? Well lucky for us jazzsters a variety of string manufacturers are now making strings specific for jazz players.

While strings are a personal taste, heavier flatwound strings are often favoured by purists as they produce a thicker sound.

Gibson produce there Gibson SEG-900M Medium L5 Pure Nickel Wound Jazz Electric Guitar , Strings (great if you've got that 175!), some other notable inclusions are D'addario's ECG23 Jazz/Light ,for those looking for a name how about Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Guitar Strings: George Benson 6 String Set - Pure Nickel Flat Wounds E, B, G, D, A, E Set

Guitar shaped Ice cubes !!!!!

2008-04-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

Everynow and again you come across something so truly awe inspiring that it just stops you in your tracks. And today's find - well let me introduce to you the Fred Cool Jazz ice cube tray.

Accompanied by 4 guitar necks the ice cube tray featuers cavaties in the shape of guitars - simply add your water - add the guitar neck and freeze and hey presto guitar shaped ice!

Whilst you wont be running any frentic free style jazz licks up these babies (lets face it with some hot guitar licks - well theyd just melt!) theyd liven up any drink -

Now we just need the manufacturer to ditch the rock'n'roll les paul design and go for something a bit more mellow - were thinking es175 ......

Hot Licks Joe Pass: The Blue Side of Jazz DVD

2008-04-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Joe Pass is one of the most endearing of all the Jazz greats - with a unique style and ageless quality and even after his untimely death he remains hugely popular with Epiphone continue to sell the "Joe Pass" signature guitar by the truckload.

If your looking to get into the music of the great man Hot Licks DVD on Joe Pass is a great place to start.

The Blue Side of Jazz is the follow-up to Joe Pass's best-selling "Solo Jazz Guitar" that explores the blues elements of jazz guitar. Joe covers bebop blues, new chord substitutions, pedal tones, jazz/blues improvisation, and much more. As usual, Joe's instruction is full of wit and style. His invaluable guitar lessons take you straight to the heart of the "blue" side of jazz guitar.

Hot Licks Joe Pass: The Blue Side of Jazz DVD

Step by step Charlie Christian

2008-04-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

Whilst there are plenty of great new Jazz guitarists (simply check out youtube to see that Jazz guitar is thriving) you cant help loving the greats.

Arguably the greatest of them all Charlie Christian, features in this great book, by Wolf Marshall which takes apart his fantastic technique and then piece it together again lick by lick.

Christians influence as the forefather of electric guitar playing should not be overlooked by anyone and if your passionate about Jazz guitar then you'll all know that Christian is right up there in the Jazz hall of fame.

Featuring a CD accompanying the Book and covering 15 Charlie Christian tracks this is a great introduction for any guitarist looking to get into the great man (However you'll have to get our own Gibson ES150 to complete the look!)

Check it out at Amazon here: The Best of Charlie Christian: A Step-by-Step Breakdown of the Styles and Techniques of the Father of Modern Jazz Guitar (Guitar Signature Licks)

New Orleans Jazz Festival 2008

2008-03-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

A reminder to all that the excellent New Orleans Jazz Festival 2008 is on from April 25-27.

This year has a huge (and great line up) and while purists could argue it's not all Jazz (yep there's Sheryl Crowe on the lineup) Thats a minor quibble and jazzers should find plenty to like.

More at the official site http://www.nojazzfest.com/

Godin Multiac Jazz Guitar with Spruce Top Natural High Gloss

2008-03-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

At first glance the Godin Multiac Jazz Guitar has a familiar look, with its single cutaway, chambered body adorned with traditional F-holes and the Godin GJN1 humbucker at the top of the fingerboard. The slotted headstock and preamp controls on the upper bout offer clues that this guitar is much more than traditional. Each saddle in the bridge is an independent transducer, supported by an onboard preamp and graphic equalizer. This system can be used on its own or in combination with the neck pickup, opening up a world of new sonic possibilities. Also includes a hexaphonic output from a 13-pin connector that provides direct access to Roland GR Series synthesizers and other Roland V-Guitar products that use the same interface!

Check it out at Musicians Friend! :

Godin Multiac Jazz Guitar with Spruce Top Natural High Gloss

Great starter books for learning Jazz guitar

2008-03-16T11:59:00.001-07:00

Over the next few posts we'll take a look at a few books that can help you if your learning Jazz guitar.

First up is Beginning Jazz Guitar by Jody Fisher , when your first learning jazz, one of the biggest challenges is getting to grips with the scales and chords and in Fisher's excellent book he takes the novice jazzer through all that's required to get up and running with some cool solo's and licks along the way. The book includes all tabs and notation for the lessons which are based practically around tunes along the way rather than concepts taken in isolation.

The book gets it's own DVD so not only can you read the lesson but you can watch it too - i don't know about you but I think this always makes for an excellent way of learning something new - so if your looking to get into Jazz but dont know where to start - check out Beginning Jazz Guitar (Book & DVD)by Jody Fisher

Washburn J3 Hollowbody Jazz guitar

2008-01-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

It's all too easy to heap praise on Epiphone and Gibson for their hollowbody guitars - they've been doing them for years and lets face it they do it pretty well - sometimes you know we forget that there is a ton of other guitar makers out there catering for the Jazz market - Hollowbodies and archtops have never been so popular so there's a huge range to choose from.

For example the Washburn J3 Hollowbody jazz guitar, single cutaway - dual humbuckers - hollowbody - looks great - reasonable price. Washburn have been producing some pretty solid hollowbody guitars (excuse the pun) and there is a lot of guitar here for the money - go check it out and remember - it doesnt always have to have Epiphone or Gibson's name on the headstock for it to be a great Jazz guitar.

Epiphone Jazz Guitars

2008-01-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

Epiphone have been producing great Jazzers for decades - lets face it they are one of the most respected guitar manufacturers today with a lot more to them than just being Gibsons little sibling.

Unsurprisingly there are a fair few Epiphone models too choose from so if your thinking about getting an Epiphone for Jazz head on over to www.needtojam.com they have a growing list of Epiphone Jazz guitars (some of which are now available through amazon).

Our favourite? Well we like the Regent but we've also had our eyes turned by the Epiphone Wildkat too - yep we know it's not strictly a Jazz guitar but we just love the look.

Epiphone Elitist Byrdland Guitar

2007-12-24T12:12:00.001-08:00

We're suckers for AAA maple tops and this Epiphone Elitist really floats our boat. With sumptious quality (24k Gold plated hardware!) , great attention to detail the Byrdland delivers. Because of its thinline design the sound isnt as full as say an Emporer but with the american pickups it really produces some quality tones.

Want more check out http://www.needtojam.com/guitars/epiphone-elitist-byrdland-guitar/ for more details

Gretsch White Falcon G6136T-LTV

2007-05-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

For those jazzers out there who love a 'bit of Gretsch - there's a new white falcon out there to drool over - fresh from thier professional collection - and equipped with TV Jones pickups, maple body and neck and the oh so familiar (and gorgeous) Bigbsy trem. It's based on a classic model so there are plenty of looks to the past (laquer, knobs and some faux aging)

Prices won't be cheap - but if you love your Gretsches - you'll know that allready but hey - take a look at the picture - aint she pretty?

Head on over to www.gretschguitars.com for more info.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival

2007-05-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

Over in the UK from 1 to 7 May the Cheltenham Jazz festival will take place for more info (and of course tickets!) check out www.cheltenhamfestivals.com.

Shine New Orleans Archtop

2007-02-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

For those of you still looking for your cheap jazzbox fix - head on over to http://www.saein.co.kr/2007/archtops/wno640.php and check out thier new Archtop - now I've been lucky enough to play quite a few Shine guitars and they really are beauties.

Head on over and take a look!

Framus AZ 10

2007-02-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

Framus may not be that well known to some of you out there, the German guitar company produce a number of guitars (and amps) including a variety of "hot strats" - luckily for us Jazzers they also produce a fine range of Jazz boxes - one we really like the look of is the AZ 10 - Blonde.

The AZ range are named after 60's Jazzer Attila Zoller, Framus have a fairly good heritage for producing Jazz boxes. and the AZ looks to be a stunning example.

Framus seem to have put a fair bit of thought into putting together a "pure" jazz guitar - with a solitary floating humbucker at the bridge, spruce top (maple back and sides) it certainly looks the business.

Nice to see a guitar that has one purpose - many of the guitars we've looked at over the past few weeks have tried to appeal to a variety of markets from Jazz to alternative rock to punk etc - there's no question of what the Framus was built for.

Gibson ES 137 Review

2007-02-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

The 137 is a great jazz guitar with some beautiful finishing touches (Review of the gibson custom es-137 here) - Gibson really do produce some quality jazzers and whilst they seem to be competing with thier Epiphone stablemates this is great for the customers.

While the ES137 might not be a pure Jazz guitar (these day's what is?) we kinda like it's versatility and like the ability to cut from trad to modern at the twiddle of a few knobs - Head on over to http://www.needtojam.com to check it out!

Beginning Jazz Guitar

2007-02-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

If your starting to play Jazz Guitar - then I guess that your also looking for a suitable instruction book - this is where Jody Fisher's Beginning Jazz Guitar Book and DVD come in - as an introduction to Jazz Guitar anyone with a knowledge of basic chords and guitar scale fingerings can dig right in and start learning to play jazz right away. Spanning from the major scale and basic triad theory all the way up to extended chords and the modes, this book features a full-length etude or song to go with every new concept introduced. Beginning Jazz Guitar breaks the age-old tradition of dry, intimidating and confusing jazz books, and provides an actual step-by-step and enjoyable method for learning to play in this style. Clearly organized into easily mastered segments, each chapter is divided into separate lessons on harmony or improvisation. All music is shown in standard notation and TAB, and the CD demonstrates the examples in the book.

Gypsy Guitar Strings

2007-02-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

2007Belgian-born Django Reinhardt was a true wandering gypsy who developed a system of guitar execution that would endear him to a generation of Parisian night club goers, as well as major artists including Stephane Grappelli and Duke Ellington, with whom Django later toured.
A recent resurgence and interest in Djangos playing style has launched a renaissance in gypsy jazz guitar manufacturing. Addressing the need for quality strings to outfit these guitars, DAddario is proud to introduce our Gypsy Jazz Guitar Strings. The subject of a lengthy period of research, followed by thorough beta testing, the strings produce the authentic Django sound with all of its lilting nuances. The guitar strings are available in light (EJ83L) and medium (EJ83M) gauges. The wound strings are silver plated steel over a hex core and packaged in DAddarios E-Series corrosion intercept bag for ultimate protection.

"Our offering into the Gypsy Jazz market is the result of extensive R & D," says Brian Vance, Senior Product Manager, DAddario Strings. We were intent on developing the ideal tension and gauge specifications, so that the strings would resonate with that signature, Django-like vibrancy. EJ83L: 1st string 0.010, 2nd string 0.014, 3rd string 0.023, 4th string 0.026, 5th string 0.034, 6th string 0.044. Retail: $17.99 EJ83M: 1st string 0.011, 2nd string 0.015, 3rd string - 0.024, 4th string 0.029, 5th string 0.035, 6th string 0.045. Retail: $17.99 Both the EJ83L and EJ83M sets will be available February 2007.

Ibanez AFS75T

2007-02-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

More budget Jazzboxes courtesy of a review of the Ibanez Artcore AFS75T review at www.Shanzuguitars.com .

Ibanez produce a range of semi's - the Artcore series are true hollowbodies that feature special bracing under the top to avoid the use of soundblocks -

Ibanez are well known for producing buget semi's with high standards and quality tones - go check out the review!

Daisy Rock Stardust Retro-H

2007-02-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

In our sporadic look at reasonably priced Jazz Guitars - we came accross the Daisy Rock Stardust Retro-H Hollowbody -

At $299 the Retro-H is a another in a long line of 335 clones but the Retro-H has enough up it's sleave to make a difference. Firstly there is only one "f" hole - secondly there's only one volume and one tone control (despite thier being two mini humbuckers).

While there are some cutbacks (the body is Basswood) it's still good value - and whilst it sits at the lower edge of our inexpensive hollowbodies it's got enough going for it to take a look.

Age a Barrier to great Jazz?

2007-02-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

Interesting piece over at our sister blog http://musicbox-cafe.blogspot.com where we discuss if age is a barrier to producing great music following George Benson and Al Jarreau's recent duets record.

Jim Hall and Pat Metheny

2007-02-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

Released back in 1999 the Jim Hall and Pat Metheny album is still great listening - featuring 17 tracks the record has some really contrasting pieces.
From the beautiful restrained Ballad z through to the mind boggeling improvisation pieces (there are 5 on the record) there is great stuff.
Hall represents great contrast to Metheny's multi instrument virtuosity - and they've invested enough emotion in the tracks to ensure that it doesnt come accross as a friendly get together.
Listening to two talents at the top of thier game, whilst clearly enjoying each other's company is heartwarming - Duet albums don't allways come off - this one does though - the good news is that it's still stocked so get on over to Amazon and check it out! (they also have samples of teh 17 tracks to whet your appetite.)

only 85 days to go until 2007 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

2007-01-31T04:27:00.000-08:00

Over at http://www.satchmo.com/nolavl/jazzfest.html there getting ready (85 days to go) for the Jazz fest 07.

This looks to have a fairly stella line up including the likes of Norah Jones, Harry Connick Jr, T-Bone Burnett, Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band

Look here for the full line up http://www.satchmo.com/nolavl/jf2007prelim.html

The event runs April 27 - 29th and look one that's not one to miss.

Miles Davis - Warners compilation released

2007-01-29T07:39:00.000-08:00

Warner Bros Jazz label releases the "Very Best of Miles Davis - The Warner Bros Sessions, 1985 - 1991.

Recorded towards the end of his illustrious career the record features 15 tracks including two collaborations with Quincy Jones.

Out now at all good record stores.

Jaco Pastorius Live and Outrageous DVD

2007-01-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Released on Feb 13th (just in time for Valentines Day!) this Live Jaco DVD should please fans - amazon claim that the DVD will be "his only full concert performance on DVD". If anyone doesnt know who Jaco is then the fact that UK's Bass Player magazine recently voted him the all time best bass player should suffice.

Not just for the Jazz fusionists amoungst you but for anyone who loves true musicianship - be sure to check it out.

In need of a Wes Montgomery fix?

2007-01-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

For those in need of a little wes montgomery point your interweb at http://www.myspace.com/wesmontgomeryjazzguitar there's some really great photographs to accompany the site and some nice wes in the background - what more can you want for?

Norah Jones - Not too late - but is it Jazz

2007-01-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

Over at amazon.com browsing the Jazz section we see that the no1 Jazz seller at the moment is the new Norah Jones record - Not Too Late - now don't get me wrong - I really like Norah Jones - I think she's managed to do that folky/jazz/country cross over thing to aplomb and all while appealing to a contemporary audience but Jazz we're not sure.

Take a listen to the arrangement of the opening single "thinking about you" - nice mellow vibe though it has it owes a fair debt to mowtown and soul in it's sound (listen to that horn section), other tracks like sinkin soon sound very new orleans-y - I think her other work has more of a country influence than jazz - but hey that's probably just me!

Judging by Amazon's Hottest Jazz sellers - they are a bit liberal with what they term jazz at the best of times!

Peavey JF-1 Hollowbody guitar

2007-01-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

Continuing in our line up of cut-price jazzers comes the Peavey JF-1. Retailing at only $299 (Musicians friend.com) comes this 335 inspired double cutaway.

Featuring the 335 style design - two humbuckers, two tone two volume controls set neck.
Other features include:

* Slightly accentuated neck angle allows easier access to the upper fingerboard
* Thin, hollow, maple ply archtop body
2 humbucking pickups
* Rosewood fingerboard
* Classic binding
* MOP inlays
* 2 volume and 2 tone knobs

Now we havent manage to get our hands on one of these yet (although we've played other yamaha's and been pleased with those). Buyer's pay close attention to the quality of the pickups and hardware - other than that we can't imagine you could go too wrong for this price.

Yamaha SA500 Jazz guitar

2007-01-22T01:51:00.000-08:00

Yamaha are well renowned for producing good value electric guitars - The SA500 is a new model that should appeal to the budget concious jazzers out there.

Looking somewhat simular to a 335 the SA500 has a few design quirks of it's own with some nifty looking "f-holes" (not sure if we can call them f-holes though!) T-O-M Bridge - elongated headstock.

The SA500 features a centerblock - which makes for a slightly heavier guitar than others but also adds a depth to it's tone - which has enough character to distinguish it from other 335 clones.

Featuring Yamaha's own Alnico Pickups, Maple body, Mahogany neck - Rosewood Fingerboard - and available for less than $400 it's great value.

Epiphone ES-175 Reissue

2007-01-22T01:30:00.000-08:00

We've been saying for a while now that a good Jazz hollowbody needn't cost the earth - so over the coming few days we'll have more examples for you cost concious jazzers out there. To start with lets take a look at the Epiphone ES-175 Reissue.

Retailing for less than $900 (indeed if you shop around some stores online are offering this and other Epiphone 175's, staggeringly, for less than $500 Musicians Friend for example offers the
Epiphone ES-175 Electric Guitar Vintage Sunburst
)

With this reissue Epiphone have remained true to the original specification, with a deep body (lacking a center block) for extra resonance. The classic design with the florentine cutaway has remained unchanged and the guitar features 2 classic alnico humbuckers to produce the sound.

Honestly if you love jazz guitar you'll know all about the ES-175 so we won't over pontificate - however the guitar sounds great - mellow in the right places with a buttery neck humbucker which oozez that fantastic tone that we all love. For the price right now this guitar is a steal - anyone who's looking for a budget ES175 copy would be mad not to take a closer look.

Parker Jazz Series Guitars

2007-01-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

Parker Guitars have just released thier Jazz Series. With some funky designs, solid carved spruce tops and deluxe fittings such as abolone and mother of pearl. The guitars certainly look unique but there not cheap - Parker expect to debut these at NAMM.

There are two guitars in the series -

The J-Man PJ12 is available in sunburst with two Egnata Humbucking pickups two tone, two volume controls the retail for this is $4000

The J-Cat PJ14 - is available in a Natural Finish with a single floating Egnata Humbucking pickup. - The list price is $4500

Check out www.parkerguitars.com

Django Reinhardt Gypsy guitar

2007-01-21T05:09:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post we said we'd look at what makes a great Gypsy guitar. For this post when you think of Gypsy Jazz you thinkof Django Reinhardt - so to begin with we thought we'd take a look at the great man's guitars.

Although Django played alot of guitars (lots of them loaned) Django is most closely assoicated with playing a Selmer guitar

Selmer & Cie in Paris have an interesting back story - through the assistance of Italian Luthier and player Mario Maccaferri in the early 1930's they developed a series of modelsthat would be the mainstay of Django for the remainder of his career.

Maccaferri before linking up with Selmer had introduced some innovations of his own such asan internal resonator and reinforced necks. So linking up with Selmer enabled the manufacturer to make some truly great designs

The Maccaferri designed Selmer guitars were built to his specification and featured a D shaped sound hole and 12 frets - Maccaferri's involvement only lasted a relatively short time and after only a few years, after the production was initiated Maccaferri moved on - Selmer modified the design and when Selmer introduced an oval-hole model with alonger 670mm scale this became Django's guitar of choice.

Selmer guitars tended to be made of Indian Rosewood, walnut necks, and ebony fingerboards - the tops were French Spruce. Production stopped on Selmer guitars during the 1950's and overall less than 1000 guitars were made, making them highlysought after by collectors (and expensive too!)

For more information check out
http://www.lutherie.net/bckgrnd.html
http://www.jazzguitar.be/django_reinhardt.html

Catch 22 and the Fender Jazzmaster ultralight head

2007-01-20T01:42:00.000-08:00

Over at http://www.fender.com/news/index.php?display_article=158 they've got a great little article for fans of contemporary jazz ensemble Catch 22.

The article is plugging the new Fender Jazzmaster ultralight amp (we'll be taking a look at this over the coming weeks).

Pop over and take a look!

Ibanez semi Acoustic Bass

2007-01-18T07:38:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the week we were enthusing about the quality and price of Ibanez semi acoustics - we think there great for Jazzers - a well priced alternative to Gibsons and epiphones - we'll over at Bass-soup.com we were reminded that Ibanez produce some great basses too. Among those is the Ibanez ASB140BS Artcore Bass. Whilst we all love the sound of an upright bass - a good semi is a great equivalent - nice woody and expressive - now all we need to do is to figure out how play like Jaco Pastorius and we're set!

Gibson goes digital with the HD 6X

2007-01-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

Interesting article over at http://supplychain-city.blogspot.com on the new Gibson HD 6X and what that means to Gibson- seems that Gibson have taken a leaf out of the Line 6 book and have gone digital - so what will this mean to us jazzers? You can imagine the likes of Pat Metheny being particularly interested in the sonic possibilities that this technology offers - we cant help but reminiss over the classic Gibson's of the 50's/60's - whilst we conceed that Gibson need to evolve - thier true greats have remain unchanged for such a long time we think if it aint broke don't fix it!

Best guitar for Gypsy Jazz

2007-01-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

Gypsy Jazz or Gypsy swing is perhaps best known as the sound of Jazz guitarists like Django Reinhardt and Patrick Saussois. The style is often incredibly complex with a mix of jazz, and chromatic scales combined with fast swing style rhythm.

The guitars used for this style of jazz often differ from the traditional jazz guitar - this week we'll be picking a couple of suitable guitars for gypsy swing - so stay tuned!

Ibanez AG75 BS Jazz Guitar

2007-01-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

As we said in an earlier post - Ibanez make some great guitars and we promised over the coming month we'd take a look at a couple.

First off is the Ibanez AG75 BS. Looking somewhat akin to a Gibson ES175 the Ibanez (retailing for under $500) features a bound maple body, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard. The guitar has a sustain block running through it to reduce feedback.

The guitar has two Ibanez humbuckers (a ACH 1 and a ACH 2).

The plus points for the AG75 is that for the price - the sound and build are excellent - for trad jazz it'll produce the right sounds and tone - these things arn't built to suffer too much overdrive but if it's a clean tone you want then your going to be fine.

A Gibson ES175 will cost you around $3,000 and sure enough it will have some benefits - stronger pickups and that heritage but for the beginner guitarist looking at thier first foray into Jazz the Ibanez artcore series especially the AG75 represent an ideal start.

Jazz Guitar with Mickey Baker

2007-01-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

For the unitiated - Mickey Bakers (born in 1925) has been a well know name for a legion of Jazz guitarists - his famous book "Complete Course in Jazz Guitar" continues to be sold today (first published in 1955).

Famous for the Mickey & Sylvia hit "Love Is Strange" it's arguable that Mickey has had as much influence as some of the more well known "names" despite being better known as a session player for rock and roll and R&B in the 50's.

For Jazz lovers it's his book that makes him a name to remember - "Complete course in Jazz guitar" has influenced more players than you can shake a stick at and covers jazz chords and Jazz chord progressions and a variety of practical lessons and examples.

The good news is that it's still available (check out amazon here so if your keen make sure you check it out!).

John Williams & John Etheridge - Places Between Live in Dublin

2007-01-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

For fans of John Etheridge you'll be pleased to hear about the new CD - Live in Dublin - Places Between recorded with John Williams - this is an interesting mix between the Classical and Jazz greats - there's some great swing tracks on the album and fans of Django will find lots to like whilst there's also a world music influence in others - both players are on form and that makes this a real collectors item.

Varitone guitar control

2007-01-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

From our sister blog - http://bluesbox-cafe.blogspot.com/ there's an interesting article on the varitone control - whilst not specific to Jazz - the varitone offers some really interesting sounds and versatility for guitarists - if you play guitar check it out!

Click here to go directly to to check out bluesbox's article on BB King's Varitone switch

Jazz Guitar Structure

2007-01-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

When beginning Jazz guitar one of the most complex things to get your head around can be the structure of the Jazz compositions - and how to improvise or solo over them. It may surprise many how structured Jazz is but understanding this concept can really help when improvising or soloing.

Simple Jazz Strutures and chord Progressions

For jazz beginners one of the things to understand first about Jazz structure is that of Chord Progressions - typically most guitarists will be familiar with standard Blues structures which traditionally take a I - IV - V route (where I is the root note of key) - Jazz progressions tend to follow the tonal movement between chords - to explain further - take a look at the following example

Cmaj7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7

In this example we have a I - VI - II - V - however if we look at the tonal movement we see how notes are retained between each chord the E between Cmaj7 and Am7. the best way to pick this up is too listen to a few jazz standards and listen to how the tonal movement drives the chord progressions used.

Structure of Jazz Chords

What often drives teh chord progression (and tonal movement) is the chord selection - where in rock guitar we tend to use triad chords (chords with three notes) Jazz tends to use more and chords are extended to add interest - for example a Major 7th. Listen carefully to what chords are used particularly the interval or chord extension eg. 9th, Major7th to see how these give way to the next chord. Understanding the construction of Jazz chords and the tonal movement that can be made will help understand the song structures that could be acheived.

In Part two of this we'll take a look at what role rhythm patterns and improvisation has in Jazz structure.

Ibanez guitars for Jazz

2007-01-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

When you think about Jazz guitar your mind often wanders to the likes of the Gibson L5 or the Gibson ES175 – if you’re an Epiphone man – you’ll probably think about the Emperor. It may actually surprise a few that there’s a world of other Jazz guitars out there away from the Gibson and Epiphone Families. During 2007 we really want to explore the guitar options for Jazz and what better we thought than to start that of with a look at which Ibanez guitars could be used for Jazz.

For starters Ibanez have a really good pedigree, they’ve been around for donkey’s years manufacture a broad range of guitars and have some great artist associations in other musical genres. Made in Asia they offer good value for money and above average quality – but do they make jazzers?

Well for the uninitiated Ibanez produce great Jazz guitars – their current Artcore series of semi-acoustics not only look gorgeous but sound the business as well. Great clear tones and decent components but at a price you can afford – take the Ibanez AF105NT – gorgeous flamed maple top, set neck, twin hubuckers – classic bridge all for under $1000 – something really to give Gibson a run for it’s money.

Coupled with manufacturing some great semi’s, Ibanez also have two solid Jazz Signature guitars in the George Benson Signature and John Scofield Signature guitars.

Check back next week as we’ll take a look at a couple of Ibanez’s Jazz guitars in more detail.

Jazz Guitar Amps

2006-12-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

These days the market is absolutely flooded with guitar amps of all sorts – from combo’s to stacks to modeler effect units - Picking the right jazz guitar amp can be really tricky given that there is so much to choose from – what is a great amp for Jazz?

Guitar amps are one of the key elements in forming your sound – so you need to ensure that you take time to review your options. Traditionally guitar amps come in two flavors, tube or solid state. There is often recommendations to go for solid state amps for a “true” jazz sound but we think it’s important to find an amp that you like rather than how it’s put together.

One thing to be wary about is how much “color” the amp adds to your sound – for many this won’t be a problem – you may want the amp to add texture but for others the only reason for the amp being there is to make the guitar louder – the guitar is of course the instrument and the amplifier should bring out the natural tones of the guitar in a more audible form.

To give you a bit of background on what amps other Jazzers have chosen we thought we’d pick out 5 all time great players and take a quick look at what amps they used.

Wes Montgomery

Montgomery is best known for his use of 1965 Standel Super Custom XV, the amp had 2 channels, a normal one and a reverb/vibrato one. The amplifier has 70 watts RMS and a JBL speaker. Earlier in his career he’d been known to use Fender amplifiers notably a Fender Super Reverb.

Joe Pass

Pass used a variety of amplifiers during his career (and also on occasion when recording went without and just mic’ed up his guitar!) – he was known to have used Solid State Polytone amps and also Ampeg and Fender amps for that clean fat Joe Pass tone.

George Benson

Benson is well known for Polytone solidstate amps, whilst he’s also been known to use old Fender amps also

Pat Metheny

Metheny used a Acoustic-134 solid state amp for nearly 20 years of the amp he said in an interview “That amp had the sound for me. flat, kind of midrangy-bright but mellow and LOUD without any distortion. a hard combination of things to find in one place." Trouble was the amp was unreliable and after nearly 20 years Metheny switched it to a Digitech 2101 DSP guitar preamp

Charlie Christian

During the 1940’s Christian used the Gibson EH-150. Christian’s take on amps is interesting back then the only reason that Christian used his amp was so that in a live setting he could be heard over the horn section!

Jazz Podcasts

2006-12-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

For those of us that may want to enjoy some jazz sounds over the holidays (a cool way to be stress free if you've got the little ones charging round the house) why not dust off the ipod and check out some of these:

http://www.origin-records.com/podcast.php
http://www.portlandjazzjams.com/pjjpodshow.htm
http://www.lejazzaffair.com/

Have a great Christmas everyone.

Joe Pass - Epiphone Emperor II

2006-12-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

After posting our article on Joe Pass – we’d thought we’d take a look at Epiphone’s signature Joe Pass Emperor II.

First introduced just prior to Joe’s death, the Joe Pass Emperor has remained one of Epiphone’s best Jazzers.

With Joe’s signature on the pickguard and the wonderful spruce top – the Emporer looks great – the gold hardware adds to this and you really feel special if you strap on this baby.

The pickups are Epiphone stock humbuckers and whilst these aren’t the best in the world you can still get that jazz tone the low profile neck is great for those fast runs also.

These days there are loads of jazzers on the market – but if you want one with a bit of heritage be sure to check out this Epiphone.

For a full review check out www.shanzuguitars.com/guitar-gear/epiphone-guitars/

Joe Pass - Jazz Great

2006-12-14T22:50:00.000-08:00

One of the best jazz guitarists of the 20th century was undoubtedly Joe Pass.

Pass will be remembered as a great soloist – his style was one full of fast single note lines, harmony, bass acompliment and improvisation.

Picking up the guitar when he was 9 and gigging from the age of 14 – Pass was undoubtedly influenced by those he played with – (he’s also credited as being influenced by sax great Charlie Parker). At 18, Pass toured with the Tony Pastor band and playing live from such an early age and being put under the pressures of live performance honed his skills and technique.

Pass would play with both pick (breaking a traditional pick in half) and fingerstyle. He recorded his most famous album the 1974 album “Virtuoso” which displayed a complete mastery of fingerstyle guitar.

In the later stages of his career before his death in 1994, Pass was known as an ensemble player – touring and recording with the likes of Oscar Peterson, Chet Baker and Duke Ellington.

Shortly after his death Epiphone introduced the Joe Pass Emporer signature guitar in his honor. Pass will always be known for his eloquent and visceral solo playing but there was much more to Pass than that – a varied career in Jazz guitar from a tender age produced an all time great – and one that continues to influence long after his death.

Jazz Comping - supporting guitar.

2006-12-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

Jazz comping is a term often used within the world of Jazz – so what is it?

Comping is the term used to describe accompanying other instruments by playing chord progression as they solo or improvise.

Comping is an important part of Jazz and when comping the jazz guitarist is able to create harmonic interest by the chords used together with the rhythm pattern.

Comping can be challenging as there is a need to remain in a supporting role, while adding interest and importantly not loosing the overall groove. Jazz solo’s are known for their broad range of melodic and harmonic structure (improvisation can take you anywhere) and it can be difficult to apply the right range of subtlety – so comping isn’t necessarily easy. But when done correctly - holds the rhythm section together.
When practicing comping – try a range of chords and shapes to add interest – vary your pick movement and where you strike the strings (near the neck or bridge) – also try playing with the rhythm pattern and up/down strokes you choose – Have fun!

Gibson ES-175 Pickups

2006-12-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

We love the ES-175 – as far as Jazz guitars go it’s one of Gibson’s true greats.

For a guitar with the tradition of the es-175 you might be a little surprised to hear that the pickup arrangement for the ES-175 has changed over the years.

The original ES-175 first appeared in 1949 and was fitted with a single soap bar pickup. The Soap Bar Pickup was a single coil pickup and whilst producing a unique tone (that can often be heard on the great Jazz guitar tracks of the 50’s) it was prone to suffer from noise and feedback.

In 1957, Gibson changed the 175 by fitting the guitar with Humbuckers. Humbuckers gave the guitar a little more versatility and the ES-175 was able to produce sounds which were able to compete with Gibson’s more expensive archtops such as the L5.

Since then the 175 has varied between single and twin humbucker’s fitted to the guitar – Jazzer’s may differ in their opinion of how many pickups is best (arguments vary two humbuckers deaden the sound for some – for others it adds versatility) – all we can say is that the 175 always sounds great!

Today’s ES175 comes equipped with Gibson’s Classic Humbuckers – featuring Alnico II magnets – and historically accurate vintage components that mimic the 57 humbucker introduced all those years ago – Gibson have gone to great lengths including enamel coated wire, nickel plated pole pieces, nickel slugs, to mimic the sound originally produced – well what you waiting for? - Go try an ES-175 today!!

Simple Jazz Chords explained

2006-11-28T06:19:00.000-08:00

Over at www.shanzuguitars.com they have a short but usefull peice on Jazz chords and chord progressions for beginner Jazz guitarists - they delve into a little of the theory and cover some need to know topics for those starting out. They've also have a few guitar reviews as well...Enjoy!

Click the links to below for the piece

Jazz guitar lessons - chord progressions

London Jazz Festival

2006-11-18T04:45:00.000-08:00

Over at : http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/londonjazzfest/on_air.shtml you can check out all the details for the upcoming London Jazz Festival over in the UK - they also have some great listen again features for thsoe that can't get down to the event. There's a great line up so be sure to check it out!

Jazz Chords Explained!!!!

2006-11-14T08:13:00.000-08:00

When your first picking up Jazz guitar - one of the more complex, and frustrating things, to learn is that of chord shapes - in rock it's fairly easy with the standard major and minor and barr chord combinations but in Jazz there's a whole lot more. That's why having a great resource to understand Jazz chords is such a bonus - one of these is Dix Bruce's 5 page article on Fundementals of Jazz chords (you can find the article here http://www.acousticguitar.com/lessons/jazz_chords/1.shtml) it's really great - everything is explained nice and easy and there's some audio samples too.....well what are you waiting for!

Charlie Christian Pickups

2006-11-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

For those looking for that authentic Charlie Christian tone - be sure to check out http://www.ccpickups.co.uk/index.html - CCPickups pride themselves in making replica's of the hero's pickups

The UK firm have painstakingly analysed past Charlie Christian pickups and sourced authentic materials to help put together a great pickup - now you'll need a Gibson ES150 to with 'em.

Gibson ES175

2006-11-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

When it comes to Jazz - semi acoustic hollow body guitars rule – one of the most popular types of this guitar is the Gibson ES-175.

The ES 175 features a single cutaway design. The cutaway on the ES175 is a little more decorative than those found on other Gibsons (the 335 for example) and is commonly known as a Florentine cutaway.

First introduced in 1949 the guitar has undergone a few updates over its life. Originally fitted with P90 pickups these were altered and the guitar was fitted with two humbucker pickups. Over the years Gibson have tinkered with this setup changing pickups and components – enhancing the guitar here and there.

Sound wise the ES 175 offers that distinctive Jazz sound – mellow buttery and resonant – this is partly due to the guitar’s design – it’s 3 ½” deep body and acoustic F holes which allow the guitar to produce a punchy tone whilst still retaining an ability to articulate the tone. The sound can be tuned via the 3 way pickup switch and Gibson’s stock controls (two tone, two volume) allowing the guitar to range from mellow to lively. As is traditional the neck pickup offers a brighter sound whilst the bridge offers more warmth and rounded tone.

Today’s ES175 are available in a variety of finishes and the guitar features a laminate maple body and mahogany neck and feature Gibson’s ’57 Classic Humbucker pickups. The core design of this guitar has been pretty much unchanged in over 50 years – in that the ES175 is a true classic – without doubt it’s been a huge hit with jazz guitarsists over the years from Joe Pass to Pat Metheny and will be continued to be much sort after by jazzers in the years to come

Pat Metheny album at no 7

2006-11-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

Over at Billboard.com - Pat Metheny's latest albumMethany Mehldau after 7 weeks on the chart is now at number 7 - we'll be looking at Pat's style in later articles - stay tuned!

Welcome to the Jazz Box Cafe

2006-11-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

Hi welcome to our new blog - at Jazz Box Cafe we'll be looking at all things Jazz Guitar - whether the guitars the artists - the records the setups well be taking a look - we hope you enjoy the ride!

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