OK, for a while I thought to include the link to this video to one of the bountiful topics discussing rhythm playing, but I think this performance is so amazing that it needs to be a headliner.
The rhythm playing with it's intricacies is always a topic discussed often but it always seems to leave people split on two sides, one saying "be straight and solid!" and the other "it's so bland, like a chilly without vinegar!"
Especially this question which I thought was the one very easy for several people to be on a far extremes of a conversation while possibly trying to convey the same thing more or less which is staying solid on a beat, not making too many liberal choices so that the rhythm never steps on soloist, yet extremely dynamic, fun, conversational, far from boring.
Here it it answering all those questions and pleasing both sides of the field, Sebastien Giniaux and Mathieu Chatelain from Samois 2015, casual jam but one of the most stunning performances I've heard in the genre, Mathieu showing you everything you need to know:
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If you listen carefully to Mathieu though, you'll hear how subtle he is about changing the dynamics of his rhythm, making accents a touch shorter or a touch longer but making a world of difference in making it lively and in the service of music at the same time. And he also varies the voicings quite a bit but always staying in the pocket.
@terrassier it could've been you that turned me onto these. Yeah the one with Rocky is fantastic but this duo has something uniquely special about it.
Ed Bickert is a lovely jazz guitarist who comps beautifully and sensitively. Listen to his backing (and solo for that matter) of Paul Desmond 's version of Nuages. Django would have loved it I am sure.
I could name more but you get my drift.