Hello Newbie here.
First off I don't want to offend anyone and I firmly believe in the phrase "to each his/her own" so here's my question.
Does anyone know of any posted videos of someone playing a Gypsy Jazz guitar more like a Std Jazz guitar with a soft touch I rather like the rhythms and lead work of the Gypsy Jazz style but I don't care for the aggressive heavy picking sound. I'd prefer a more contemporary sound plugged into an amp and/or PA. Maybe Jim Hall or Pat Methany meets Django.
Anyone?
Comments
andreas oberg plays with a flatter wrist / alternate picking style a lot, and very well, whilst he's also capable of playing the broken wrist style with aggressive gypsy picking. his playing is more musical, although he still plays a lot of canned ideas. i am quite impressed with his ability to switch back and forth between a modern electric guitar style, and a more "tchavolo" style, with apparent fluency and ease in both. most guys end up heading one way or the other way.
a probably lesser known one but a real favourite of mine is this young guy who goes by the handle "jazzmanouche90" on youtube, check him out. he plays with a soft picking style, but it's still gypsy style and it's still sounding like a gypsy jazz player, just a gentle and subtle hitter rather than a balls to the wall showy player. very musical and elegant playing, you can't really see his face in the videos but i think he's the guy clement reboul in sara french quintette.. don't quote me on that.
This. Some guys for some reason refuse to apply gypsy picking. Here's a great comparison of two extremes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1PGnB3kj4Q
By that I don't mean to knock on Frank. I really enjoy his playing when he is playing anything but gypsy jazz guitars. He has some kind of hybrid guitar that he some times uses for gypsy jazz, it suits his picking style so much better. It sounds right.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: picking over the soundhole makes the GJ guitar sound like a dreadnought. Look where Jimmy picks: just where the soundhole begins. He cuts through and the tone "breaks" and barks in a way that is authentic. Tchavolo is another great example. He has a very sharp tone with lots of bark and bite. I love his style.
These are all my personal thoughts and preferences. Some people may like the soft sound and that's fine. I'm drawn to the qualities of gypsy jazz that distinguishes it from other jazz styles, because I play bebop on the side so why would I want them to be similar?
Objectively, from a perspective that excludes personal preference, one may argue that gypsy picking is conductive to being heard in jam sessions because it helps the tone "break" to get more high frequencies and the volume is much louder.
So I would seriously consider that. If you're going to play amplified most of the time, choose the picking style that produces the sound that YOU want to create. For jam sessions with several rhythm guitars around the campfire however, you'll probably drown if you don't use gypsy picking.
My 2 cents.
I don't think Frank is trying to be the most authentic gypsy-style player. He's just trying to be the best musician he can be. Let's see what legendary guitar players would seem to think he's a decent guitar player - Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli, Jimmy Rosenberg, Tommy Emmanuel, etc. But I'm sure Frank will be really broken up since you think he plays a lot of tasteless licks. :roll:
I'll check out the other players mentioned. I'm not looking to do a Gypsy Jazz combo (I don't have those chops although I'm going to "borrow" some of those licks.) so I'm not worried about keeping up with other acoustic instruments playing heavy rhythms.
Hmm, didn't mean to offend anyone by dissing frankie V .. hey, Tchavolo is another example of a guy who plays a lot of tasteless licks aswell. But he executes them with such technique and style that they sound really good!
Agree he's not trying to be authentic, he's played a lot with Jimmy Rosenberg and he obviously would have picked up a thing or two from Jimmy already if he wanted that sound, I guess he doesn't want that sound. But he's the best example I could think of a musician at a high level who's regularly playing on a gypsy guitar, with other gypsy players, and has a genuine interest in gypsy jazz music.. but doing his own thing in regards to the sound and the technique.
I do also think he's an excellent guitar player and musician, but I stand by my opinion that on the gypsy stuff he sounds ... uh ... bad. I think Tommy Emmanuel is an excellent musician too, his original stuff is awesome and his technique out of this world, yet listening to the way he comps with stochelo just makes me cringe. It's like they're speaking 2 completely different languages and not really understanding eachother enough to communicate properly?! I digress ..
"It's a great feeling to be dealing with material which is better than yourself, that you know you can never live up to."
-- Orson Welles
For more of an modern electric sound there is Rocky Gresset's CD Mastering Rocky, and Ninine Garcia's My Dream of Love.
Each of these CD's have examples of softly played GJ styles. Much of it has to do with the songs being played of course. In this regard there are many recordings by the Rosenberg Trio that show a gentler, softer and more relaxed approach to playing; as can also be said about the master himself -- Django.
AE
Swang on,
Otherwise, as I said, in an all acoustic setting, you will be completely drowned out by the rhythm guitar player.
to my ear, the gypsy picking is absolutely necessary to get the good sound out of these guitars. Additionally, I find fully acoustic sounds way better then amplified.
But the proof is in the pudding. nobody sounds better than Django in my opinion, and he originated the gypsy style picking, creating the high volume and incredible tone.