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Huddersfield Jazz Guitar Society

Newsletter No. 36 August 2014

Contents Page

1. Meeting Summary ………………………………………….….. 2

2. Member’s  News ……….……….………………………………… 5

3. Swap an Idea ……………………………….………..………………  6

4. Membership ……………………………………………….…......... 16

5. Gig List …………………………………………………….………….… 18

6. Reviews ……………………………………………..………………..… 20

7. Of Interest ……………………………………………………………. 22

8. Tuition ………………………………………….………………………… 23

9. Sales/Wants/Trades ………………………….…………… 25

10. Charts ………………………………………………………….………… 31

11. The lighter side of music………………….………….32

Celebrating the art and craft of jazz guitar

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1. Meeting Summary

Hi Jazz Guitar Fans,

This month was our Gershwin theme night and, overall, one of our most successful theme nights, with a good turnout and some new and most welcome faces. George Gershwin was a prolific composer and songwriter and left us a wide and diverse repertoire to draw on. The evening began with a trio of the 'mini guits' featuring Robert, Tim and Darren playing an arrangement of a very early Gershwin composition called Rialto Ripples. Originally a novelty piano rag, this written in 1917 when Gershwin was 18 years old! Next up were Darren and Robin. The duo began with what was expectedly one of the most performed songs of the evening Summertime. Led by Robin, this had a slightly rocky feel and was supported by Darren on a seven-string guitar. This was followed by Nice Work If You Can Get It with some skilful and

well-judged soloing from Robin. Robin is, unfortunately for us, leaving the area so it was really nice that one of his last performances at the society was his best.

Third of the bill was Darren (again!) and Charles. Together they performed the song Slap That Bass from the film Shall We Dance staring Fred Astaire. This was played as a chord melody by Darren and featured some tasteful fretless bass work from Charles. We had a welcome return from Larry who hasn't made it down to the society for a while and it was great to see and hear him play and sing. Ian joined him and together they performed a beautifully moving and understated version of Embraceable You. This was followed by But Not For Me that also showed Larry's skill as a soloist. Ian provided some really nice accompaniment and is becoming a very accomplished seven-string guitarist adding subtle and appropriate bass figures, not an easy thing to do believe me!

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To finish the first half Chris and Dave gave us some skilful duo work, as polished as ever. This month featuring Chris on a Les Paul rather than his usual 335-style guitar. They began with the beautiful piece I Loves You Porgy and concluded with a swinging version of Our Love is Here To Stay. This contained some lovely comping from Chris over the head and, as always, the solos from both these players was assured and accomplished. After the usual interval shenanigans of raffle, chat and drink buying the second half began with the "maxi guits". This was a rather more expanded ensemble of Colin, Malcolm, Pete, Jan, Robert, Tim, Richard and Darren all playing acoustic guitars. They began with a very

difficult arrangement of Ain't Necessarily So, this involved playing crotchet triplets over crotchet and quaver figures and some very high notes in the 'dusty area' of the fingerboard. This was followed by a swinging version of Nice Work If You Can Get It with solos from Colin and Robert. Next up was Cleo, the second vocalist of the evening. Accompanied by Darren she sang A Foggy Day. This featured some lovely singing from Cleo who has a confident and powerful voice. The duo became a trio when they were joined by Adam for another, but not the last version of Summertime. Adam played a nice, almost Jimmy Smith like groove over the Am vamp, with a descending figure moving down to the 6th. Cleo was in her element on

this song and skilfully weaved around the melody with a powerful, almost gospel like interpretation. Adam proved his worth as a soloist with some tasteful bluesy licks and phrases.

Martin and Jez were next. This duo goes from strength to strength and always delivers interesting, funky interpretations that are captivating. They began with Summertime, skilfully played with some masterful soloing from both parties and followed with Our Love is Here To Stay managing to add soul and blues elements and the ever present groove. The final performance of the evening was Dave and Chris who brought the evening to a close with a swinging version do the song Soon.

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Overall we think it was one of the most successful theme nights. The theme nights are a great way to explore new material and to help build the repertoire. Two suggestions we've had are a Cole Porter evening and a Stevie Wonder evening, what do you think?

Late breaking news.

At our last committee meeting we discussed the request for a Stevie Wonder evening. It was decided, unanimously, that exploring the composers of the Great American Songbook would initially provide greater benefit to the working jazz guitarist. Stevie Wonder is undoubtedly  a  great  songwriter,  but  his  tunes  aren’t  called  all  that  often  on  the  bandstand.    We  would  love  to  hear  interpretations  of  his  songs  on  players’  nights  and  we  have  added  his  name to the list of feature nights for the future.

Roy Sainsbury guest night.

Unfortunately  due  to  circumstances  beyond  his  control  Roy  won’t  be  able  to  make  our  September guest night. He sends his apologies and has promised to join us early in the New Year; February is favourite and the moment.

All is not lost however, we have managed to persuade Matt Chandler to join us for our September guest night. See the Reviews section for a review of his album.

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2. Member’s  News

Call for Membership Participation

We have had a few successful, I believe, examinations/investigations of member’s  favourite  tunes.    If  you  feel  you  could  do  a  similar  job  please  let  me  know.    Send an email to huddjazzguitsoc@gmail.com or chat to any of the committee at the next meeting.

Remember the HJGS exists for the benefit(s) of its members, so we need to hear from YOU: good, bad, indifferent, news, views, gossip, ideas, viewpoints, gigs, sales  wants,  swaps…  etc,  etc!

Please keep us informed of any jazz guitar related gigs, events, sales or other item of interest, so that we can pass information on to other members. HJGS needs to develop its wider network as an important forum for jazz guitar related information and information exchange, so that we may all benefit from the collective wisdom and uncoordinated information that undoubtedly exists amongst fans and connoisseurs.

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3. Swap an Idea

This column appears to be popular so we will keep it for the time being. But, and this is an important but we do NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS for this to be successful. Contributions please to huddjazzguitsoc@gmail.com.

This month we feature Barney Kessel and have contributions from Adrian and Darren.

Barney Kessel Darren Dutson Bromley

This is the second instalment in our series looking at different jazz guitarists and discussing the gear, playing techniques, key recordings etc. It would be impossible for me not to include Barney Kessel. As a fledgling guitarist I discovered Barney Kessel early on and he will always be special to me. I began my interest

in the guitar at school at a lunchtime folk club and found had an aptitude and an interest. I then had lessons at Kitchens music shop in Bradford, this was in a group and we worked through tune a day for plectrum guitar. Not the most inspiring of lessons but it taught me to read. I then embarked on private lessons that involved two bus journeys on a Saturday morning and an hour lesson that cost £4. At that time my musical tastes had progressed to Hank Marvin and I really just wanted to learn as many shadows tunes as I could. The lessons were great as we would talk about different guitarists and Barney was mentioned. One afternoon I went to Leeds with my parents and bought ‘Countdown To Ecstasy’ by Steely Dan, another recommendation and ‘Blue Soul’ by Barney Kessel. I

was blown away. I was 13 and it was a life changing experience, from that moment on I wanted to be a jazz guitarist. It also fuelled a love of chords and harmony that I still have to this day. I needed to learn how to play a chord on every note and that became my quest, whenever I was told you can't my answer was always "but Barney can". Barney Kessel was born on October 17, 1923, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. By age 16, as a high school student, he was emulating Charlie Christian, playing his electric guitar with local blues bands and with the University of Oklahoma Dance Band. In 1942 Barney Kessel made his way to Los Angeles and quickly established himself as a guitarist to be reckoned with. His first important job was with Chico Marx. He spent a year on the road with the Marx band and when he returned to Los Angeles he began pursuing a career in which he combined studio, radio and club work. During this time he was heard on recordings that featured Charlie Ventura, Roy Eldridge and Artie Shaw along with a string of radio appearances. It was also during this period that he appeared in the movie ' Jammin' The Blues'. In 1952 Barney joined the Norman Granz Philharmonic tour for one year before returning to Los Angeles again in 1953. Here he became part of the

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'wrecking crew' a band of elite session musicians and ready to launch a recording career that would continue for almost 40 years. Barney is known for his innovative work in the guitar trio setting. In the 1950s, he made a series of albums called The Poll Winners with Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on

drums. He was also the guitarist on the album 'Julie Is Her Name' (1955) by Julie London, which includes the classic recording of "Cry Me a River". Barney was a member of the Oscar Peterson Trio with Ray Brown for a year, leaving in 1953. After he left Herb Ellis took over. Barney also played with Sonny Rollins in the late 1950s and can be heard on the album 'Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders'.

During the 1970s, Barney presented his seminar 'The Effective Guitarist' in various locations around the world, and performed extensively with Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd as "The Great Guitars. Barney died of a brain tumour in San Diego in 2004; he'd been in poor health after suffering a stroke in 1992. I met him in the late 80's, I was married then and my wife's name was Karen and he thought it was hilarious that we were Darren and Karen and should consider getting a sun strip for the car with our names on.

Barney's Guitars.

The guitar Barney seemed to favour was a heavily modified 1947 Gibson ES350 fitted with a Charlie Christian pickup. This guitar has a tobacco brown body and a Venetian cutaway. The ES350 was Gibson’s first electric guitar to feature a cutaway. It was essentially an electrified version of the Gibson L7 but with a plywood top as opposed to a solid top. The standard version ES350 came with twin P90 pickups and a 25 1/2' scale neck with trapezoidal position markers and 19 frets. Between 1947 and 1948 however Gibson produced single pick-up 350’s and this is what Barney played. Barney's guitar also had 2 Bakelite chicken head knobs that he took off of an old phonograph. He states these helped him determine their positions when on a dark stage. The ES 350's neck was also modified. Gone was the 19-fret fingerboard and it was replaced with a 20-fret model fretboard with dot position markers. The bridge was sculpted from rosewood. He also replaced the original Kluson tuners with open back Grover tuners.

Kay produced a number of Kessel models at their Chicago based manufacturing plant. The bodies of several of these instruments resembled Barney's Gibson ES-350, with its large hollow body, f-holes and Venetian cutaway. They also produced an Artist model with 3

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pickups and double Florentine cutaway. All guitars came with what is known as the Kelvinator headstock, named after a refrigerator built during the 1950's. Barney's name was emblazoned on the guitar's scratch plate and it featured two single coil DeArmond pickups. In later years when Barney was asked about the Kay guitar he commented, "I'd never play that guitar. It is awful." In 1961 Gibson produced two similar Barney Kessel models. This large hollow body electric instrument featured two nickel plated (although later chrome) humbucking pickups each with their own volume and tone controls, double Florentine cutaway. It was bound all around the body and neck. A rosewood base held a tune-o-matic bridge in place, so the bridge was not mounted directly to the body.

The strings were anchored by an ES125/350 type low budget trapeze tailpiece. Between the struts of the tailpiece was an unfinished rosewood block with a nameplate that bore Barney name. The bound neck had a rosewood fretboard with either parallel position markers. The

bound three tuners per side headstock was Gibson’s standard shape and on the regular model finished in high gloss black with a crown inlay. The guitars laminated maple and spruce body was finished in cherry sunburst. The pickup selector switch was on the lower cutaway bout. The Barney Kessel C (custom) was similar however all the hardware, including pickup covers, was gold plated and the position markers were bow tie shaped and the headstock inlay was a large quarter note. Both guitars were 25 1/2" scale and the fretboard had 20 frets. Even though these guitars didn’t sell particularly they remained in production till 1973.

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A Selective Barney Kessel Discography. Barney recorded extensively. As part of the 'Wrecking Crew' he played on many albums including The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Phil Spector albums and many film sound tracks. He even played Mr Spock's theme bass for an episode of Star Trek. This is a selective list of Barney's recordings as a jazz guitarist. It is far from complete so apologies for omissions. Vol. 1: Easy Like (Contemporary 1953/1955) Vol. 2: Kessel Plays Standards (Contemporary 1954/1955) Vol. 3: To Swing or Not to Swing (Contemporary 1955) with Sweets Edison, Georgie Auld, and Jimmy Rowles Music to Listen to Barney Kessel by (Contemporary 1956) The Poll Winners (Contemporary 1957) with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown Let's Cook! (Contemporary 1957) The Poll Winners Ride Again (Contemporary 1958) with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown Kessel plays Carmen (Contemporary 1958) The Poll Winners Three! (Contemporary 1959) with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown Some Like It Hot (Contemporary 1959) with Art Pepper The Poll Winners – Exploring the Scene! (Contemporary 1960) with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown Barney Kessel's Swingin' Party at Contemporary (Contemporary 1960) Bossa Nova (1962) Workin' Out with the Barney Kessel Quartet (Contemporary 1961) Hair Is Beautiful (Atlantic 1968) Feeling Free (Contemporary 1969) with Bobby Hutcherson, Elvin Jones Autumn Leaves (Black Lion 1969) The Poll Winners – Straight Ahead (Contemporary 1975) with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown Soaring (Concord Jazz 1976) Solo (Concord Jazz 1981) Spontaneous Combustion (Contemporary 1987) with the Monty Alexander Trio Red Hot and Blues (Contemporary 1988) with Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny Barron, Rufus Reid, Ben Riley Yesterday (Concord 1973) Blue Soul (Black Lion 1975) Jelly Beans (Concord1981) With the Great Guitars (Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd) Great Guitars (Concord Jazz 1976) Great Guitars at the Winery (Concord Jazz 1980) Great Guitars at Charlie's Georgetown (Concord Jazz 1982) Great Guitars: Straight Tracks (Concord Jazz 1991) As sideman With Georgie Auld In the Land of Hi-Fi with Georgie Auld and His Orchestra (EmArcy, 1955) With Chet Baker

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Albert's House (Beverley Hills, 1969) With Julie London Julie is Her Name (Liberty Records 1955) With Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (Verve, 1956) With Hampton Hawes Four! (Contemporary, 1958) With Milt Jackson Ballads & Blues (Atlantic, 1956) With Oliver Nelson Soulful Brass with Steve Allen (Impulse, 1968) With Anita O'Day This Is Anita (Verve, 1956) Pick Yourself Up with Anita O'Day (Verve, 1957) Anita Sings the Winners (Verve, 1958) Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May (Verve, 1959) Trav'lin' Light (Verve, 1961) With Sonny Rollins Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders (Contemporary, 1958) With Oscar Peterson The Oscar Peterson Quartet with Barney Kessel, Ray Brown and Alvin Stoller. (Mercury MGC 1952) Romance - The Vocal Styling Of Oscar Peterson with Ray Brown, Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis (Clef 1954) The  five  ‘Poll  Winners’  trio  recordings  are  particularly  recommended. Stefan Grossman has released three Vestopol DVD’s all including footage of Barney. They are: Legends of Jazz Guitar vol 1 #13009 Legends of Jazz Guitar vol 2 #13033 Legends of Jazz Guitar vol 3 #13043 Jammin’ The Blues has been reissued for times on DVD: Jammin’ The Blues. IDEM IDVD 1057 Jammin’ The Blues. EVOR B002 TI EEK The Greatest Jazz Films Ever IDEM IDVD 2869058 Norman Granz presents ‘Improvisation’ Eagle Rock EE39060-9 It would also be worth mentioning Maurice Summerfield’s excellent biography Barney Kessel a Jazz Legend. Ashley Mark Publishing

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Barney’s Playing Style. For me Barney strength is in his skill in playing in a trio setting with bass and drums. He is able to play fluid chord runs and interesting figures that outline the harmony. That is not to say he is a slouch when it comes to single line playing. Initially influenced by Charlie Christian he has evolved a unique playing style born out of necessity to enable him to create the music he hears in his head. One technique he used was playing with the left hand thumb. Here is what Barney said about it. “Well, I certainly do not advocate it for the Classical guitar, because I think it destroys the form of the hand. But for other than Classical guitar, if you are blessed with a large thumb, or are the kind of person that seeks a particular end result without bothering about the means to achieve it, you'll use it. Frankly, if I had to, I'd use my nose. Because I'm interested in the chords. Playing with the thumb has never hung me up; it's never been a problem. It's been a great help; it's given me many times the use of four fingers. I think it can be a negative factor for developing with the Classical guitar. Some chords are more difficult for me when I do not use the thumb; some are equal. The main thing is the result. Is the thing I'm using my thumb with worth playing? I don't want to sound weird or anything, but, a number of years ago, I stopped thinking of myself as a guitar player. I don't think from a standpoint of what is guitaristic, what is good guitar or bad guitar, what the guitar is for, what are good guitar voicings. I don't even think of what I do as jazz. I just play and let other people call it what they will”. Here is a transcription of the opening few bars of the song ‘Our Love Is Here To Stay’ by George Gershwin played by Barney on album ‘Kessel Plays Standards volume 2’. Here you can see how he uses the thumb of the left hand to comfortably voice some of the chords.

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The following extract from Adrian  Ingram’s book; JAZZ GUITAR GREATS (Mel Bay MB98117BCD) is reproduced with the kind permission of Mel Bay Publications Inc.

The book and CD package, which features the analysis of seven famous  jazz  guitarists,  is  a  “must  have”  for  any  serious  jazz guitar enthusiast.

( I did a quick check, whilst preparing this article, and found copies available, as hard copy (book to you and me) and download, from many on-line retailers. Ian )

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4. Membership

Some memberships are now falling due for renewal, remember membership lasts for a full 12 months from the paid up month and the following benefits are only available to current paid up members.

The following deals have been negotiated for members on production of a current membership card: -

Bulldog Pickups (Huddersfield) www.bulldogpickups.com 15% off all pickups and repairs/rewinds.

ElectroMusic (Doncaster) www.electromusic.co.uk Variable discount depending on the item(s) purchased.

GTR (Huddersfield) www.gtrguitars.co.uk 10% discount on strings and accessories.

The Music Room (Cleckheaton) www.the-music-room.com Variable discount depending on the item(s) purchased.

Matt Ryan www.guitarrepairer.com 10% off guitar repairs/setups

AmplifierCoversOnline.com www.amplifiercoversonline.com Customised Equipment Covers On Demand

Frailers www.frailers.com Variable discount depending on the item(s) purchased. Foulds Guitars - Derby www.fouldsmusic.co.uk Variable discount depending on the item(s) purchased. The Amp Shack – Contact Andrew Lazdins Valve/Solid-State amp and Effect pedal repairs. Discount available.

Phone: +44 (0) 7716 460 163 Email: theampshack@gmail.com

MicroVox www.westf.demon.co.uk Acoustic instrument mics. 10% discount

Phone: +44 (0) 1924 361550 Email: andrew@westf.demon.co.uk

Mac Amplification www.mac-amps.com Amplifier + Pedal repairs Phone: 07716 860676 Email: repairs@mac-amps.com Mundo Music Gear www.mundomusicgear.co.uk An ergonometric revolution for guitarists

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We are actively pursuing other supplier/retailers and will let you know as soon as we confirm them. Remember also that we welcome your suggestions re the future direction of HJGS. Please get in touch.

Committee

Martin Chung Publicity, joint treasurer, website/facebook and development

Darren Dutson Bromley

Ensembles, education, website/facebook and development

Adrian Ingram Newsletter, education, international liaison and development Ian Wroe Host, joint treasurer, artiste relations, events and development

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Meetings

The first Tuesday of the month at The Rat & Ratchet, Huddersfield (see http://www.ossett-brewery.co.uk/Pubs/HuddersfieldDistrict/tabid/1612/Default.aspx)

Remember the society needs YOUR views and input so, if you want to provide a short introduction/discourse for a tune yourself or make any suggestions for a tune, please speak to a committee member. We have already had some other interesting ideas put forward which we are looking into. YOUR ideas are both vital and welcome. It is YOUR society and the committee is there entirely on YOUR behalf. Please, please get involved if you can!

2014 meetings

Aug 5th - Players night Sep 2nd - Guest night (Matt Chandler) 8:00pm prompt. Oct 7th - Cole Porter Night Nov 4th - Players night Dec 2nd - Showcase

Workshop/seminars

Please note that in order to ensure an effective combination of complete workshop and some time for playing, these sessions will commence at 8:30 on the dot.

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5. Gig List – August Sun 3rd Adrian Ingram’s  “Groove  Dogs”  blues-based with Ian Rose (organ) and Terry Kenyon, The Grove, Huddersfield, 4:00 – 7:00pm Tues 5th “Shades  of  Shearing”.  Trefor  Owen,  Andy  Hulme  (gtrs),  Paul  Sawtel   (vibes), Dave Turner (bass). Wilmslow Conservative Club, Grove Rd, Wilmslow, SK9 5EG. http://www.jazznorthwest.co.uk/wilmslow.htm Mon 11th Groove Indigo with Adrian Ingram, Lee Hallam (trombone), Laurie Briggs (voc), Jim Corey(saxes), Rothwell Jazz Fest, The Hare & Hounds, Rothwell, 7:00pm Tues 12th Groove Indigo with Adrian Ingram, Tim Macari (trumpet), Kate Peters (voc), Joel Purnell(saxes), Rothwell Jazz Fest, The Hare & Hounds, Rothwell, 7:00pm The Jazz Dawgs - ‘On The Cut’  Tour Fri 15th The Vine, Kinver. 8:30pm Sat 16th The Delph, Stourbridge, TBC Sun 17th The Craven Arms, Birmingham, Gas St/Mailbox area, Afternoon Tues 19th The Bridge, Brewood, 8:30pm Thurs 21st The Lord Cumbermere, Audlum, Cheshire, 8:30pm Sun 24th Adrian Ingram, Darren Dutson Bromley – Cumbria Guitar Show and LA’AL  Beer  Fest,  The  Rheged  Centre,  Penrith Sept 1st Groove Indigo with Adrian Ingram and Stuart Macdonald, The Hare & Hounds, Rothwell, 8:30pm

New Jazz Gig

The Jazz Dawgs will be hosting a regular monthly gig every 1st Sunday (4:00pm – 7:00pm) at the Grove, Huddersfield.

The Dawgs will feature different guest(s) each month interspersed with the occasional jam session in which anyone can play, (please bear in mind, however, that it is a jam session and not an open mic!).

The Grove is considered by many to be the best pub in the area, it certainly has the greatest variety of real ales! The roster so far is: -

Sun 3rd Aug Terry Kenyon + Ian Rose Sun 7th Sept Robin Sunflower Sun 5th Oct Pete’s  Birthday  Bash Live Jazz every Sunday and Tuesday at The Railway, Stockport

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74-76 Wellington Road North, Stockport SK4 1HF Tel 0161 477 3680 9-11pm – free admission

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6. Reviews

Barney Kessel Trio, Live in Los Angeles at PJ’s  Club – Gambit Records 69226 Throughout the late forties and fifties Barney Kessel became recognised as a trailblazer within the developing sound of  electrified  jazz  guitar.  By  the  1960’s  he  was  a  highly sought after session guitarist, playing on numerous pop  recordings  as  part  of  the  “Wrecking  Crew”  alongside  a  string of solo releases primarily in trio and quartet format. This album includes all the  material  from  Kessel’s  previous  1965  live  album  “On  Fire”  recorded  at  P.J.’s,  Los  Angeles  alongside a selection of five tracks recorded in Europe

between 1969 and 1973. We  kick  off  in  swinging  mood  with  “Slow  Burn”,  a  mid-tempo Bop blues setting the tone for the album. Kessel opens up with some great improvisations and displays some formidable technique ranging from tasteful double stops to breakneck single-note bop passages. “Shadow  of  Your  Smile”,  the  first  ballad  (the  lush,  unaccompanied  alternate  take being a personal favourite of mine) takes a break from fretboard pyrotechnics, instead demonstrating Kessel’s  ability  to  carry  both  chords  and  melody,  weaving  a  wonderfully  atmospheric  take  on  this  standard.  We  continue  the  latin  flavour  with  “Recado  Bossa  Nova”.  The  track  feels  well  placed at this stage of the album, building on the ambience of the previous piece whilst incorporating  the  more  fiery  aspects  of  Kessel’s  playing.   A guitar players album, Live In Los Angeles displays the dynamic range and versatility of electric guitar as part of the West Coast sound. The album also offers a great introduction to Kessel’s  own  playing,  showcasing  both  tasteful  lyricism  and  formidable  chops.  The  addition  of alternate takes and the legendary 1969 performance of Blue Mist with Kenny Burrell and Grant  Green  live  at  Ronnie  Scott’s  further  adds  value  to  an  already  complete  package. This album will certainly be enjoyed by fans of jazz guitar as well as providing study for aspiring players. The live nature of the performance is well captured by the recording, particularly on slower numbers and provides  just  enough  “sense  of  place”  without  being  overly distracting. The album also serves as a great example of the guitar led trio, with highly supportive bass and drums helping to serve the guitar up on a silver platter. Both US and European trios sound wonderfully tight with plenty of interplay between drums and guitar throughout. Overall a lovely album with chops, heart and a solid taste of West Coast jazz guitar. Reviewed by Martin Chung

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It Goes Like This The Matt Chandler Group featuring Tony Kofi. A collection of self-penned originals, 'It Goes Like This' is Matt's second release and sees him in fine form with flowing lines and figures reminiscent of Martino, Metheny and Benson. Matt is joined by Ian Beestin on drums, Karl Bingham on bass and Neil Hunter on organ and piano. Sax supremo Tony Kofi guests on three of the tracks. Recipient of a number of awards Matt was the 2013 'Future Guitar Legend' winner, which was presented to him in Los Angeles and it was here he met and played with the legendary John Pisano.

There is a no nonsense approach to Matt's playing. He uses a classic jazz guitar tone, uncluttered with effects and no matter how complex the lines; melody and good taste are the most prevalent factors. This is also true of the writing, some of the tracks feature jaunty, rhythmic heads yet there is never a sense of been overly complicated for the sake of it. The band too are excellent and play with expert ensemble skills. There is a diverse range of styles of this album, from organ based funk to bop to bossa nova, all played with skill. To choose stand out tracks is very difficult, I really like them all. 'Down the Stairs' has a lot of energy with Kofi's hard-edged sax sound producing a great contrast to Matt's softer sound. 'Before and After' see a more gentler side to Matt's playing with Wes inspired octaves and a beautifully simple and effective melody. These are today's favourites; tomorrow they will probably be different. Recommended http://www.mattchandlerguitar.com/home

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7. Of Interest

Found anything on the web or heard of something which may interest our members, then this is the place for it.

Other Jazz Guitar Clubs/Societies

(We are 1 of only 4 jazz guitar societies in England)

Here are a few links: -

http://cheadlejazzguitarclub.wordpress.com/

http://www.southjazzguitar.org

http://www.treforowen.com/index.php?id=38

http://www.meetup.com/LondonJazzGuitarSociety/

http://members.iinet.net.au/~jgswa/index.htm Jazz Guitar Society of Western Australia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Web Sites

www.mambo-amp.co.uk

www.adrianingram.com

www.jazzdawgs.co.uk

http://jazzguitarscene.wordpress.com/

http://www.joefinn.net/html/jazz_guitar_almanac.html

http://jamieholroydguitar.com

http://www.darrendutsonbromley.com Check out Darren’s pod casts

www.jazzonthetube.com

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8. Tuition

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Registry of Guitar Tutors (RGT) Jazz Guitar Diplomas

http://www.rgt.org/exams/jazz-guitar-performance-diploma.php

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Members of the HJGS might be interested in my Mike's Master Classes site – http://www.facebook.com/l/oAQEEZSvnAQEDO9yz8ulke0KlHpG_MbjrMPH2gGIYNfqJpw/www.mikesmasterclasses.com - also on FB and I have a Youtube channel "mgellar" that has clips from all of the classes on there that are available for download.

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22nd NORTH WALES INTERNATIONAL JAZZ GUITAR WEEKEND OCTOBER 10th - 12th 2014, GLYNDWR UNIVERSITY

Mold Road, Wrexham, Wales, LL11 2AW

North Wales Jazz: Now celebrating fifteen years of international jazz guitar events in Wrexham.

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IMPROVE YOUR JAZZ GUITAR SKILLS AT THIS GREAT VALUE WEEKEND!

Only £99! (£90 Concession)

Call +44 (0)1745 812260 to enrol and for further info or see www.northwalesjazz.org.uk and download the enrolment form.

Five 2 hour workshops with internationally renowned tutors.

GUEST TUTOR

RONI BEN-HUR

www.ronibenhur.com

RESIDENT TUTOR TREFOR OWEN

www.treforowen.com

Group A: Hands-on tuition sessions, i.e. for students who wish to learn in a playing situation.

Group B:

Tuition sessions for students who need help in basic skills.

Saturday evening concert (May10th - 8.30pm) featuring the course tutors plus guests.

Wide choice of reasonably priced accommodation available in Wrexham and the surrounding area.

Registered Charity No. 508519 President: Martin Taylor MBE.

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9. Sales

Please let me know as soon as items are sold to remove them from the list.

An important message to all contributors to the sales column.

Modern digital cameras take highly detailed pictures. This detail comes at a cost, namely huge file size. If this newsletter becomes too big (approximately 6-7 Mb), some email services, particularly academic institutions and businesses, will not deliver it.

If you want to include a picture of the sale item, or indeed item in our swap a lick column, then the pictures need to be reduced in file size, preferably no more than 100KB per picture.

Hints. Try searching for ‘optimising images for the web’ for help on this.

Crop the image view to show just the item.

I,  unfortunately,  don’t  have  the  time  to  spend  optimising  images  for  the  newsletter.    If  they are too big they risk getting left out.

Ian

Many guitars have been sold through our monthly sales listings. If an item is sold, as a direct consequence of an ad being seen in the newsletter, we, the committee, would be pleased to receive a small contribution to HJGS funds.

In order to keep the content fresh, we have decided that all ads will run for THREE editions and will be deleted unless specifically resent. All current ads  will  be  removed  from  next  month’s  newsletter  unless we receive notification from advertisers.

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The Guild Artist Award is 1975 with Guild case. Very good Aug14 condition as seen in photo's. The new reissue is $9,995. I am asking £3250.

The Knight Charlie Christian Guitar is new, with a Hiscox case. £2000.

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Grimshaw G4 revelation 1950's. Refinish by Knight guitars, with gig bag. £475. The E.Lange oval hole jazz guitar was made to special order by Eastman. A one off ! Great playing and sounding guitar. Selling for £750.

Roland VGA3. Combo £200. Contact Tom James 07972580332.

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Knight 16in. body, Cosomini C.C. pick up ex condition. £1500. Aug14

Contact Barrie Glen on 01740 644282 / barrieglen@yahoo.co.uk. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1949 Levin Deluxe Jun14

Levin's guitars quickly earned a reputation for high quality and they built a wide range of instruments including classical guitars, mandolins, harp guitars and archtops like the Deluxe here. The Deluxe, which was inspired by Gibson's Super 400 and Epiphone's Emperor, measured a little more than 18 inches across the lower bout. Levin Deluxe guitar is the highest quality workmanship. The top is hand carved spruce and the back and side hand carved walnut, the inlays are very detailed with a spectacular headstock inlay in great condition. All parts original (replica pickguard) Price £3,400

Contact Ian Wroe for further details

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Aug14

I am sending you some photos of a Chinese 7 string which I want to sell. I only want £500 for it. The quality is as good as top flight instruments. I spent quite a bit getting it set up and upgrading fittings and pu., which is a Bare Knuckle Black Hawk. Excellent for 7 string because of the defined bass response. It is semi hollow and Les Paul size. I thought you might know someone who is interested in 7 string and wants to try it but without spending a fortune.

Contact Tony Marshall on morestrings7@msn.com

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Gibson L5-C 1973. £3,500 Jul14 Superb guitar set up beautifully, excellent condition. The pickup in the photograph is not included but I can provide an original Gibson "Johnny Smith" pickup. The guitar can be heard on Youtube with this pickup. Search for 'Roy Sainsbury, What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?' Please feel free to call me for more details. Roy Sainsbury 07866 430926 or 01902 845246.

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SOLD

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Aug14

Early  ‘80s  Yamaha  AE  1200, solid top ebony fretboard and gold hardware. With original hard shell  case.    Yamaha’s  version  of  the  17”  Gibson  L5CES,  very  playable & great value. Martin Taylor played this model for several years as did Tommy Tedesco and Phil Robson.

£850

will consider trades against a Guild archtop or Polytone amp

1964 Gibson ES330TD sunburst with hard shell fitted case. Think Grant Green, Emily Remler and Terry Smith!

£2,250 ovno,

trades considered

Pickup and tortoishell bound pickguard from top of the line Guild Artist Award archtop. Should fit any acoustic archtop.

£75

(I was quoted £110 to have a similar pickguard alone made for my L5).

Contact Adrian Ingram on 01484 314529 or adrian@jazzdawgs.co.uk

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Here’s  a  message  from  Dan  at  Foulds  Guitars I'm running short of jazz guitars again! I've still got a bigger stock than most but decent jazzers between £300 and £1500 I'm selling everything I get so if you have any members that would like to move any unwanted guitars on we may be able to help. Of course I am happy to offer a deal on goods for members, they just need to mention when enquiring.

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Trades

Wants

1. small amp : Polytone (any model considered); Musicman RD50 (1x10 or 1x12)

2. Yamaha jazz guitar model AE1200, AE1200s AE2000 etc. cash or possible PX

3. Guild jazz guitars

If you have of know the whereabouts of any of the above please contact Adrian Ingram adrian@jazzdawgs.co.uk

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Back to Contents 10. Charts

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11. The lighter side of Music After all of the sweat and tears of practising/playing/hunting gigs we thought a little humour may not come amiss. If you come across any joke, bon mot, cartoon, story etc. which tickled your funny bone, then please send it in and share. Here are this  month’s  offerings:  -

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My neighbours listen to good music, whether they like it or not

******** Two  jazz  guitarists  are  talking  to  each  other,  and  one  says,  “Yeah  man,  I  

bought  your  last  album,  it  was  pretty  good!”  to  which  the  other  replies,  “So  that was you!”

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What’s  the  difference  between  a  jazz  guitar  player  and  a  large  cheese  pizza? The pizza can actually feed a family of four.

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Huddersfield Jazz Guitar Society

Contact huddjazzguitsoc@gmail.com

If you don't want to continue receiving newsletters and notices then send an email with the subject 'REMOVE' to huddjazzguitsoc@gmail.com

Cheers

Ian