Coming very late to this party... I guess?

Michael Bauer · February 2013

No, they just cover different tunes. I'd recommend grabbing them both.

kevorkazito · February 2013

I'd like to acquire both of those volumes by Gonzalo if there is a chance of another printing (or used with the Cds).

MichaelHorowitz · February 2013

Gonzalo will be sending me more books next month. He just needs to print some more and should have them ready soon. I'll mark them in stock again once they're here.

thanks,

'm

kevorkazito · February 2013

Ok, that's great! thanx

Passacaglia · February 2013

Michael Bauer wrote:

I have the 25 Pieces, and it consists of typical chord patterns, with two solos, the first being quite basic and easy, almost like a melody, and the second being more advanced. I think they are quite good. The licks in Givone's Method are really good licks, not just scales or arpeggios, and you could memorize those licks and go play nothing but them over one progression after another and sound pretty impressive to any audience. His licks are more modern than traditional, especially in the Method, and the second half of the book seems to focus on connecting those basic licks up in different ways over different progressions.

You won't sound at all like Tchavolo by studying the Givone method, but you will have a great modern sound. I really love Givone's playing, so if you have the skill to play that stuff at speed, you really can't go wrong.

Another good source for expanding your ideas are Gonzalo Bergara's two excellent "How I Learned" books. They are short and to the point: eighth-note studies a la Joe Pass, that will give you a ton of ideas on playing and moving around the neck in a musical way. Never mind the production quality; they may have been assembled at Staples, but you'll never regret getting them. There are a lifetime of great ideas in those two slim volumes!

In total agreement on the quality of Daniel's book (I only have the first). They are great, great licks, just sound exquisite. I recall Elliott here on the board, saying something to the effect that if all you end up with after studying Daniel's books is sounding like Daniel Givone, well, in a word, you could do worse. (paraphrase; Elliott, hope I got the gist right).

Edit: I was going to be a lot more verbose. But simply, I'm really intrigued on the notion of a "modern" and "traditional" sound, and also where the two worlds seem to meet seamlessly. I find I'm listening to and watching these days, almost exclusively, The Rosenberg Trio (not saying that's good, just my nature...obsessed with these guys, can't get enough of them).

In a word, what are some of the components that you (or anyone) feel goes into making a more modern sound? (Not talking a "wetter" v. "drier" la pompe...will take that as a given). Vast subject, I know, but just curious on some elements that players feel go into these different veins.

Jazzaferri · February 2013

phrasing

Lango-Django · February 2013

Interesting question but may involve some element of reductionism to answer.

Django's phrasing, while unique to him, still contained elements what could be called the "traditional" jazz of his era: hot riffs, syncopation, string bends, blue notes, chord solos, tremeloed "banjo" chords. Jazz or "swing" was the defining music of Django's time, and all evidence points to the fact that he considered himself to be a jazz artist, just like Ellington or Armstrong or any other top-level American musican.

Yes, it is true that occasionally some of these "jazzy" or "swingy" qualities may be deliberately emulated by present-day GJ players, mostly as an expression of their love for Django, but as a general rule these features have been abandoned as "dated" or "passe"... with justification, most would say, though personally, I'm one of those "moldy figs" who prefers "old school" playing as best exemplified by Fapy.

The music that we hear from today's best GJ players is generally faster in tempo with busier arpeggios that seem to be more filled in and less syncopated. This music has evolved to become more "guitar-y" and less "jazzy".

In fact, you really can't imagine most of these great modern modern players taking their guitar to some jam session and playing jazz standards along with the rest of the piano, sax, trumpet players like Django used to do, because the style of music now generally played by GJ guitarists has evolved into a specialty genre where the spotlight is on the guitar as solo instrument... again, unlike Django's era.

To put it crudely---- most mainstream "traditional" jazz musicians don't give a rat's ass about playing GJ "standards" like "Minor Swing" or "Nuages".

And most GJ guys don't give a rat's ass about playing "traditional" standards like "Take the A Train" or "Satin Doll".

True, there do remain certain tunes that bridge the gap between "jazz" and "gypsy jazz" ("I Can't Give You Anthing But Love" or "All of Me" and a few others) but such tunes are the exception, not the rule.