The ultimate,,,,
 

To me this never has been or never will be a talent like Wes Montgomery. Took up the guitar when he was in his 20s. Worked a full time job making radios, played an evening gig, then a late night gig until 4am, sleeping between sets, somewhere in there he fathered 7 children. Honest, warm and wonderful person who changed jazz and the guitar, developed his own style playing with his thumb and using octaves. He doesnt play as may notes as many of the jazz greats but his playing is amazingly lyrical full of complex ideas.
Look at this clip. Most guys are buried in their instrument. Wes smiles throughout his playing, he really loves this stuff and the music just flows.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOrj7QAc8M

listen to how the band responds to his playing. Thats why I love jazz, tbe other musicians are listening and resonding to the soloist. Its constant creation.

Great player has influenced many. Lee Ritenour is a fav of mine and uses a lot of his techniques, maybe even better:hidin:

How about Grant Green for nice jazz style? Not trying to one up you,would be hard to one up W.M., just a similar era and talent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DLNG...eature=related

Spoken like a "jazz" musician. I think that most casual music listeners do not like improvisational jazz because it usually lacks a "hook" and they don't comprehend the interplay between musicians. My wife calls it crazy music!

Ritenour Better! Wes' techniques are one thing but his phrasing and ideas are incredible. no one has matched his tone imho.

I like Grant, his playing annoys me some times when he repeats things over and over. He did a spirtual record with herbie hancock that is awesome.

Improvisation is what floats my boat. Get bored with predictable music after a while, but I still like it. just need my jazz fix to straighten me out. My wife hates most of that too. I tell her she just doesn't understand and go listen to your Beatles.

Remember it is just my opinion which ain't worth much.:spin: Not saying he is a better talent. I just like his music better, but then again I like bus fumes.

I think I can convince someone to like jazz in 15 minutes or at least help them understand it. Thats why I like modern/traditional jazz and not avant garde, fusion etc. Nothing Wes is playing is outside "normal" listening. Same goes for Pass, Parker, and countless others. I think people try and may have heard of Miles or Coletrane and then hear some of their later "outside" music and get turned off. You need to understand the structure of a song, if you can listen to Sinatra, Ella etc, I think you can appreciate jazz. It is a "thinking mans" music and I dont mean its better than other music, its just that to play it requires constant listening and concentration. I could never fathom how guys like Parker and many, many others can play through lightening chord changes while doped up in heroin. Its not like Hendrix playing over simple changes. Dont get me started on jazz, Im way more opinionated then politics !:lasso:

Impossible. The Lawrence Bigfish of Music:musc:

Don't forget about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QATIH...eature=related

Jazz 'standards' Davis, Coltrane and such are often my background when I need to read/study technical stuff... keeps nicely in the background

"Dont get me started on jazz, Im way more opinionated then politics !"

I "got your back" on this forum Jim....on the other....it might be me holding the knife! ;-)

To me,traditional jazz, although not just a 12 bar I,IV,V thing, seems to have a lot of it's roots in the blues. Think songs like "Ain't Nobody's Business".(did this one at last nights jam) IMO fusion as the name implies is more of a blend between the free form playing of Coltrane or Miles and rock; however many of the fusion players such as DiMeola and a host of "Berklee" type guys have the ability to crossover from one style to the other. I also prefer a "melodic" player to someone who rips through a bunch of scales at the speed of light but appreciate the technique involved in playing all styles.

And..ProfM...are we married to the same woman!!!

agreed, the best jazz players are deeply rooted in the blues.

django is out of this world

Uhhh...I think that makes 3 of us...:doh:

Al Dimeola - damn, used to listen to him a lot many moons ago - here we go, another archaelogical dig thru my vinyl...

heres how you get your wives into jazz, start with the vocals - Ella, Billy or someone I used to go see all the time Lavay Smith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ4SLvfB748

I try to embrace all kinds of music and I too think speed is way over rated in most things in life. I can get as much satisfaction from sitting down and listening to someone like Tony Rice or Doc Watson compared to Larry Carlton or Joe Satriani or a piano player or a triangle player. I am a big believer that you can take something from the past and make it better too. Improve on something or someones style. Not everything is better but there are times. Pretty hard to single out anyone person over another. But it is fun listening to everyones opinions. I'm not an expert on any type of music but I do know what I like. I could never like just one type of music or just one type of musician. I like em all, well 99% of em. I gave up on my wife a longtime ago. She likes her crappy stuff and I like my far superior stuff:hee: and now I am dealing with an 8 year old daughter that loves music and has a nice voice and takes piano lessons for 3 years. The god awful stuff she listens to makes me cringe but I am working on her constantly.The first song I made her learn at 4 years old was summertime so there may be hope. Wish Hanna Montana would fade away though.