Indeed, Martino was a musician, brilliant intellectual, passionate teacher and mystic, all rolled into one.
God doesn't need to know what time it is.
Value of anything is a most fascinating subject to me.
Eric Clapton hasn't owned this Rolex Daytona for nearly 20 years. It 's probably been in storage since he dumped it and is expected to fetch north of $1.6M?
For that much I'd want his playing ability AND his stereo system.
Showing 22 responses by stuartk
I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments about "show offs", which is a syndrome that appears to affect mostly Rock players. There are Black Soul/R&B Tele players we are surely failing to list, here. The Tele was a favorite (preferably with dead strings) in these genres. Someone out there must be knowledgeable in this arena. Of course, we've not mentioned Steve Cropper, James Burton, Roy Nichols and Roy Buchanan. And, Robben Ford has performed and recorded for many years with a Tele. Moving to Jazz, let's not omit the masterful Ted Greene. Back in the mid 70'S, I was very frustrated, trying to play S. Wonder tunes from "songbooks". The guitar chord diagrams rarely sounded right, so out of desperation, I began laboriously transposing the piano voicings to guitar. Around the same time, I bought a copy of Ted Greene's "Chord Chemistry", which, among other things, helped me understand why the piano voicings sounded better. I started learning chord formulas and how to build chords from scales. He was a monster chord melody player as well as a fine teacher. FYI, Jesse Ed Davis' solo albums were, at one time, reissued on CD.
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"1 - Eric Clapton is a great blues guitarist. He was on top a very long time for good reason 2 - Eric Clapton is also aging gracelessly and saying dumbass stuff about vaccines in particular. If you go back and look for it, he always said dumbass stuff, including racist and anti-Semitic stuff. Not entirely unprecedented for a mid-to-lower class Brit of his vintage, but still" All true. Each listener must make up their own mind regarding how to regard these contradictions. Just because someone can wield a brush, pen, marble chisel or guitar pick doesn't mean they are also of the highest moral caliber. And let's recognize that as fans, we are complicit in placing our favorite artists on pedestals, whether or not they belong there. (Same applies to sports). Perhaps one useful perspective is one expressed by Dylan, N. Young and Keith Richard-- that the artist is not so much a creator as a conduit. |
Just to clarify, I'm not advocating that Clapton's shortcomings should be excused or overlooked because he's a famed musician, merely pointing out that nearly everything in this world is a mixture of opposites or put another way, deeply paradoxical. That music you posted does not merely resonate in the ear but in the entire body nervous system and still more subtle aspects. It's about as far from "ear candy" as can be imagined!
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I found this list of miles sidemen: http://webx.ubi.pt/~hgil/utils/Miles.Davis/MD_Legacy.html . . all in all, a pretty amazing collection of players.
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Clapton has always acknowledged his debt to the Blues masters whose phrases he painstakingly learned by copying one phrase at a time off records, listening, then trying to duplicate what he'd heard , then moving the needle back and listening again. There were no guitar schools or TAB books or video lessons back then! I recall him stating in an early Guitar Player magazine interview that his style was composed of 1) these borrowed phrases and 2) lines he made up to connect the former. He said the latter comprised "his style" but that he much preferred the "BB and Freddie lines". Seems to me it's important to consider how Black Blues masters responded to Clapton-- typically with genuine respect for his dedication to learning the art and craft of Blues guitar-- before bringing up the topic of cultural appropriation. This process of "borrowing" is deeply ingrained in a tradition that, for a very long time, could only be learned by a process of listening and imitation, whatever he color of the players. Someone in this thread dismissed EC as a "hack", whatever that's supposed to mean, as if anyone can learn to play at EC's level. Eric can be accused of many things but not disrespect for or laziness in regards to his devotion to, the genre. Blues is easy to play poorly and many do. It is composed of very simple building blocks, which means there is no place to hide-- the burden lies entirely upon the sophistication of the player! I don't ever recall Clapton claiming he was the Greatest Blues player or Greatest Guitar player-- as far as I'm aware, he's been quite humble in this regard. After all, for much of his career, the masters he'd copied were still alive and playing. There was a PBS tv special that came out in conjunction with the From the Cradle album and Clapton's abiding passion as a scholar and student of the Blues is deeply apparent throughout that video. Egotistic bravado is conspicuously absent. I'm not a Clapton fanboy by any means (when it comes to British Blues players, I prefer Peter Green) but fair is fair. Here endeth my rant on this topic. |
@bdp24 ⁷ Cooder's playing on "Bring the Family" is exemplary! |
"The problem with EC's playing from my perspective is I always seem to know which note comes next which for me makes him boring" Fair enough-- each to his/her own. "We are sitting on the brink of a nuclear war, getting as close as the Cuban missile crisis" I can't speak for anyone else but I find myself caught between two apparently conflicting coping strategies-- 1) painstakingly following the blow-by-blow commentary and 2) shutting off the computer and deliberately focusing on other things (audio included). I've heard from friends and family members that they are experiencing the same conflict. |
Kudos for mentioning Kenny Vaughan-- very tasty player, indeed! You neglected to mention the Hellecasters-- John Jorgensen, Will Ray and Jerry Donuahue. Their "Escape from Hollywood" CD is one of my favorites. They are not just technically adept-- they can write evocative tunes, as well, which cannot be said for all guitar slingers. And let's not forget Albert Collins or Jesse Ed Davis, while we're at it. . . or Jim Messina, for that matter, who doesn't play a lot of notes but is extremely musical and makes every note count. Venturing further afield, Ritchie Kotzen is a phenomenal player who really delivers when it comes to communicating emotion: Check out his Live in Japan video:
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I never saw James Burton on TV-- my first astonishing exposure was on the song "For No One" on Emmy Lou Harris' "Pieces of the Sky" album. At that point, I had absolutely no idea that a "Country" player could play in such a "jazzy" manner, my only point of reference for Country playing being Roy Buchanan. I can see your point about Paisley, BTW. Steve Cropper is one of those players who doesn't play a lot of notes. . . and doesn't need to, as everything he plays just sounds right. Cornell Dupree is one of the great R&B tele players I was trying to think of, while we're on this genre. Robben Ford. . . everyone talks about his chops. What about his ears? ? ? Taking over from Larry Carlton with J. Mitchell. . . how many could step into those shoes? I'm hoping the next J. Mitchell box set will include unreleased live performances from the "Miles of Aisles" tour she did with Robben and the LA Express. I saw Robben on the Tiger Walk tour and enjoyed that material very much. I saw him later at at casino in the Tahoe area and the constant screaming by a highly inebriated crowd ruined that show for me. I left as three cops were attempting to wrestle some guy to the ground who was freaking out on who-knows-what substance. Bad scene. Can't imagine trying to play to that sort of audience! And those who've been summoned by Miles belong to a very elite club. . . Shorter, Carter, Holland, Corea, McLaughlin, Jarrett, DeJohnette, Coleman, Hancock, Scofield, Williams, Garrett, Bartz, etc.
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"Tiger Walk" is fairly unique in Ford's output. Although I enjoy the the material very much, I can't listen to it because of the production values. IMO, the rhythm section is so soul-less and robotic, they needn't have used real musicians. There is a live in Paris DVD I like much better that features some of the same tunes. I read and enjoyed "Chinaberry Sidewalks" very much. You mention the Millers. Let's not forget Gurf Morlix, who made stellar contributions to Lucinda Williams' early albums . . another Tele player! I'm wondering how you made the adjustment from CA to the Pacific Northwest. We lived in Eugene for 6 years and never were able to get used to the gloom. This followed 10 years in Maine in which the weather was rarely an issue. At least those New England winters include plenty of sunny days. |
I've never heard of D. Clinton Thompson but am familiar with Foster and Lloyd. How very cool that you got to see Lucinda so early in her career. I have the DVD of her first ACL performance with that band and it serves as an excellent informal tutorial for guitarists on how to tastefully back up a singer. Forbert-- what a talent. Are you familiar with his "Young Guitar Days" cd? It's a terrific collection of early previously unreleased material and well worth having. |
Well it's better to discover him late rather than never! If your taste's can be inferred by the players you've listed, you might enjoy "We'll Be Together Again" (very melodic and mellow duo with keyboardist Gil Goldstein) or "Remember-- A tribute to Wes Montgomery". Scofield has recorded in a wide variety of settings, so if you like Jazz guitar, I wouldn't give up on him until you've sampled a cross-section of his work. Needless to say, Spotify is your friend, in this regard. |