Whose the best at:?????

Bones · February 2013

Agreed but....I think that's what I meant. No hay problema.

Not that I can do either but I would think that it would be very difficult and draining to play with maximum musical expressiveness at all times and never 'coast' on pure technique (if that even makes sense).

Maybe Bireli or Joscho will chime in with a phrase by phrase analysis and point out where they were using stock riffs and where they were being more expressive.

Actually, they would probably LOL at what I'm even talking about.

But certainly, some of the flashy parts are riffs that they have worked out over and over until they can throw them in at will and I think that is valid. But then I have a lot of appreciation for both aspects. I certainly love the expressiveness and passion but I also am amazed by the technical stuff so to me it's all good and that's all part of what I like about it. To each his own I guess.

Buco · February 2013

Passacaglia wrote:

My personal feeling, coming from two traditions that very much come from a traditional, apprenticeship-based training, is that technique is critical for the attainment of freedom - always and ever, fundamental technique refined over a lifetime, frees one up to make art (whether culinary, martial or, as here, musical).

My suspicion (only a suspicion, because I'm certainly not there) is that, having attained that technical mastery, it, like everything else, has to be let go - no good comes from making a religion out of something which is inherently just a way in to the true art. Not easy.

Meant to say, that was so well said.

Teddy Dupont · February 2013

This is my idea of great, swinging, creative guitar playing that does not depend on pyrotechnics and speed. There is one incredible chromatic run at 2.40 but speed does not dominate what is a true improvisation. Another take recorded about the same time has a very different solo by Django. At the point where we have the chromatic run here, he just plays some savage chords. Every take was different.

Buco · February 2013

I think one quality that separates Django from the rest is that while listening to his music and his solos there is a lot that you can recognize as his bag of tricks but his approach was more of impulsive nature, just the kind of personality he had, always in the moment.
On the other hand, a lot of players today have analytical approach.
Impulsive vs analytical, although I don't think that analytical automatically means playing without emotion. The only other guitarist, that I can think of with my limited knowledge, that had the same capacity was Wes Montgomery.
Jazzaferri mentioned Mozart and Salieri in a different post. There's a scene in the movie Amadeus, that while being the work of fiction, captures exactly what I think was going on in minds of those I mentioned here: Salieri plays one of his pieces to Mozart, and Mozart says something like "oh that's nice but you could do it like this", and then plays the same piece that explodes with harmony. Poor Salieri looks over with awe, anger love, hate and defeat, the look that says I'll never be able to do that.
I don't know...maybe others think they're doing the same thing, or are trying to do the same thing but...

Passacaglia · February 2013

Buco wrote:

I think one quality that separates Django from the rest is that while listening to his music and his solos there is a lot that you can recognize as his bag of tricks but his approach was more of impulsive nature, just the kind of personality he had, always in the moment.

One thing that's guaranteed to always make me smile, is how innocently, truthfully exuberant Django and the HCQF were, on hearing themselves recorded for the first time. I find that beautiful.