"What do I do when I get lost in my solo?"

Jim Kaznosky

Find a way to rely on your blues phrases. These will get you out of a lot of terrifying situations.

TheHotClubofLickMyAxe

"What do I do when I get lost in my solo?"

#1 You breath

#2 You stop playing licks

There are a few more steps but I'll keep it to these two for now! Great topic and thanks for posting!

Scoredog

I start drinking and occasionally glare at the bassist (even if its not his fault).

pmg

Everyone gets lost from time to time. It could be that you are correct and the soloist or other players in the group have skipped some measures or fallen out of time.

No matter what gets you feeling that you are out of sync, listen to drummer first to get in time (if you have a drummer) then the bass player (why do they rarely screw up?), then the soloist. If the soloist is screwing up - do your best to follow them.

If you are the soloist and lost, then move to the key center of where the tune is at that time and grab a root or a fifth and maybe play a Wes style octave riff with those notes emphasizing rhythm more than content. Mute your strings and play percussion if you are really lost.

Practice practice practice and learn more tunes.

I am a cross over rock player and, when I started playing jazz, it was much more difficult for me follow other players than now - especially at higher tempos. Following others and not getting lost became easier as I learned more tunes and played in more jams.

When playing rhythm in GJ, I lock into the bass player and try to sound like one player with him/her.

Lastly, play with your ears as best you can - but use your eyes. Watch the bass player. Watch the lead player. Watch other rhythm players. Try to see their changes and where they are. before you jump back in.

Worse case, drop out until you feel comfortable getting back in. Unlike violin or reed players who mostly sit out until they play, guitar players are traditionally burdened with continuous playing responsibilities. Even Birelli sits out waiting for his turn when appropriate.

As others have said, you do not want the audience (if there is one) to sense that you are lost - so keep your fingers and hands moving to the rhythm and look confidant. Swagger and some BS can make make up for a lot mistakes!

Quadropenta

When I solo I'm hearing a chain of half notes which are the 3rds of the chords being played. [Sometimes I'll move to another chord tone.] This is called a "guide tone" line. If I get lost, I try to hear the thirds in the playing of the rhythm section. Then build a simple motif and "evolve" it rhythmically. This makes a connection with listeners as they try to guess what will happen next. By then I will know where the chord progression is.