New direction

Lango-Django

My fellow Djangonauts, I have come to tell you that I've come to a fork in the road, and have decided to embark upon The Road Less Travelled.

I'm going to take a vacation from gypsy jazz for a while and devote my time and energy into reinventing myself as a solo jazz guitarist.

Several factors have forced me in this direction, namely...

- in my neck of the woods I simply can't find another guitarist who wants to play GJ, thus I never get any gigs playing this style

- my wife is suffering from GJFS, "Gypsy Jazz Fatigue Syndrome"

-But most importantly, I am/was inspired by the magnificent Howard Alden's solo guitar style, which I got a chance to see up close for a week last December during a JazzFest At Sea cruise.

So my plan is to integrate the single string stuff I've managed to learn over the past few years with Howard Alden's sophisticated chordal style.

I'm also going back over my "Unaccompanied Django" book and CD now in search of great ideas to lift,

At age 62, it is my fervent hope to become a decent solo player sometime before senility or death arrives.

Given the diversity and high quality of players who frequent this site, I am also hoping to hear from other players who have gone through similar metamorphoses.

Wish me luck!

Will

bopster

Good luck Will! My journey was the opposite, I worked as a "straight ahead" swing and bop player, and changed to a Djangophile in 2008.

Joe Pass Guitar Chords was my guide in learning chords, and I wish you well!

Paul

Franz Morales

Good luck! Thank you for the encouraging and educational PMs I'm a newbie GJ player now, shifted after 15 years playing professionally in an electric-only band (playing rock and blues – as is the case with many I'm sure ). Not much GJ players in my neck of the woods too (haven't even jammed once) so I understand why you are shifting. Hopefully, jamming with yourself would prove fruitful!

noodlenot

good luck! indeed my wife also was bitten strong by the GJFS - i guess this style is mostly appealing to players.

Lango-Django

At Djano in June a couple of years ago, Jeff Radaich had a great line:

"Chicks LOVE gypsy jazz..."

Jazzaferri

Good luck Will

You might consider studying online with the Martin Taylor Academy. Martin does review your video submissions, can't remember if its once a month or what and gives you feedback personally. Worthwhile checking out.

bopster

If you really want to shoot for the stars, Lenny Breau was the Art Tatum of his time.

Al Watsky

Just keep on playing. It will all sort it self out.
If you don't depend on music as an income stream ?
No big deal. Just keep the axe in your hands.
FWIW
I have a background in Classical, Jazz and Pop. My wife has heard me practicing for hours a day for decades. She's a Jazz fan and although she appreciates early Jazz, Bix and Pops and Jelly Roll she's much more into the later swing era stuff. Count Basie , and later stuff , post swing ,Beebop, hard bop and up to and including middle period Trane.
This chopping wood BS as she calls it ain't her cup of tea. I grew up on big band style "orchestral" guitar , so wood chopping comes second nature to me. She got no earthly use for that.
For me its a means to an end.
My personal preference in this musical world is for Rom music. The swing stuff is OK and I'm happy to play swing when its required, but the soul of the music for me is in the older forms, pre Django, the things that are more folk oriented , with the Rumanian /Hungarian flavor and note choices. Those rhythms in the right hands are much more fluid than "le pompe". Unless played by Hono Winterstein !
I like the guitars.
Enjoy the journey. :bow:

Lango-Django

Thanks for the tips. Much as I admire Martin Taylor and Lenny Breau, at this point I can't see myself throwing away my pick and going back to finger style.

I've seen a lot of guys over the years just start to get good at playing an instrument in one style, and then you meet them a couple of years later and they've switched to Celtic fiddle or pedal steel guitar or some #%$&@ thing, and somehow they switch instruments and styles often enough that they never quite get good at anything.

I'm going to try and build on what I've already got going and for me I think Howard Alden is a good match. Much as I like Django and all the more exotic-sounding gypsy players, there's just something about that classic American Songbook standard repertoire that really feels like "me"... love to hear it, love to play it... plus, Howard's beautiful chord sense is something that really knocks me out... just check out this online lesson for a few minutes!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PL5AEB75DC26D56CF5&v=RkJ9sg15WfI

Bones

Hey Will, I hear ya. Fortunately, after years of playing alone some other people are finally getting interested in this stuff in SB. We have put together a quartet and we are starting to gig a bit and record.

Solo guitar is awesome and a good skill to have even in the rhythm chair of a jazz band without another rhythm guitar since you can solo over the bass.

Whatever your path it will be worth it if you have fun with it IMHO.

Steveareno

Just because we have GJ guitars, we're not not painted into a corner. They sound great in a variety of settings. Back in the day Django and his contemporaries just considered it "jazz". Adrian's (and others) solo stuff on YouTube sounds fantastic. Stepping outside the square can open up a lot of new doors. Solo jazz guitar has a solid history and is generally very popular with audiences. There's no real rules in music. Just gotta sound good. Family members can suffer due to over exposure and don't really count. I've got a few different guitars, including my SelMac style box. I enjoy them all. Playing solo you're not at the mercy of inconsiderate schmuck musicians not even calling out the key, going thru a whole bunch of complicated changes on a tune you've never done before and giving you a hard time for not being on the same page. Solo you can just do your own thing.
Mi dos centavos.
Swang on,