As hard as it is to imagine, in the early part of the twentieth century, jazz guitar players made more use of the banjo than the guitar. Normally used for playing folk, bluegrass and country, musicians found the louder tones of the banjo could stand up to the brass and drums in an orchestra. It may not have been cool, but it did have a bite. The guitar was at that time, largely homemade with poorer sound quality.
Gibson came out with the first acoustic guitar in 1923 that replaced the banjo. This hollow-bodied instrument allowed the musician to play more complex chords and its tone was able to stand up to the brass, so to speak. By the 1930s, the banjo was relegated back to the country and the guitarist found a proper niche within the band.
In the late 1930s, the electric guitar was invented and successfully marketed and from that time, amplification ruled. Here was a stringed instrument capable of being heard in the cacophony that characterizes the jazz band. With swing, bebop, hard-bop or fusion, the guitarist now had a presence.
Guitarist Charlie Christian was the first to use this new amplification in his recordings with The Benny Goodman Orchestra. He was a rarity however. The big-band orchestras placed the guitarist in the rhythm section, rarely as a solo instrument. Unless you were Django Reinhardt who played a style so inventive it had to be front and center.
By the 1940s, things were shaken up with the advent of small combos, replacing orchestras. Quartets, trios, sextets and quintets began to dominate. With the development of the bebop style, guitarists were now soloists with name recognition. Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery were just a few of the players to make their own recordings. By the 1960s, they were famous.
In the 1970s, jazz merged itself with rock and fusion was born. Taking from the playbooks or rock guitarists Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Carlos Santana, musicians tinged their playing with distortion and intense amplification. John McLaughlin took heavy metal rock and gave it a jazzy spin. The guitarist was no longer the background of a jazz band. It developed into a powerhouse sound that had no difficulty being heard amongst the horns and drums.
Jazz guitar players today have a smoother style, often combined with other musical genres. Gone are the wah-wah pedals and the octave splitters. Instead, a mellow sound has made it more commercial, less confrontational. This elegant style goes right back to Charlie Christian. The Latin-infused bop of Django Reinhardt is still being played especially in dance clubs. Stringed instruments in the jazz context have come full-circle with a neo-traditional school attempting to keep the clean, lush sound of the early guitarists. Even the banjo is making a comeback with many online sites dedicated to it.
jazz guitar players
Gibson came out with the first acoustic guitar in 1923 that replaced the banjo. This hollow-bodied instrument allowed the musician to play more complex chords and its tone was able to stand up to the brass, so to speak. By the 1930s, the banjo was relegated back to the country and the guitarist found a proper niche within the band.
In the late 1930s, the electric guitar was invented and successfully marketed and from that time, amplification ruled. Here was a stringed instrument capable of being heard in the cacophony that characterizes the jazz band. With swing, bebop, hard-bop or fusion, the guitarist now had a presence.
Guitarist Charlie Christian was the first to use this new amplification in his recordings with The Benny Goodman Orchestra. He was a rarity however. The big-band orchestras placed the guitarist in the rhythm section, rarely as a solo instrument. Unless you were Django Reinhardt who played a style so inventive it had to be front and center.
By the 1940s, things were shaken up with the advent of small combos, replacing orchestras. Quartets, trios, sextets and quintets began to dominate. With the development of the bebop style, guitarists were now soloists with name recognition. Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery were just a few of the players to make their own recordings. By the 1960s, they were famous.
In the 1970s, jazz merged itself with rock and fusion was born. Taking from the playbooks or rock guitarists Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Carlos Santana, musicians tinged their playing with distortion and intense amplification. John McLaughlin took heavy metal rock and gave it a jazzy spin. The guitarist was no longer the background of a jazz band. It developed into a powerhouse sound that had no difficulty being heard amongst the horns and drums.
Jazz guitar players today have a smoother style, often combined with other musical genres. Gone are the wah-wah pedals and the octave splitters. Instead, a mellow sound has made it more commercial, less confrontational. This elegant style goes right back to Charlie Christian. The Latin-infused bop of Django Reinhardt is still being played especially in dance clubs. Stringed instruments in the jazz context have come full-circle with a neo-traditional school attempting to keep the clean, lush sound of the early guitarists. Even the banjo is making a comeback with many online sites dedicated to it.
jazz guitar players
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