Wow -- I just caught up on my reading in the "history" section of Ted's thread, "Gypsy Jazz or Gypsies Playing Jazz" (I've been pulled away with other projects, blah, blah, blah, and hadn't had a chance to be here for a while..), anyways, amazing! They covered just about everything about Gypsies except whether Jimi Hendrix was REALLY in a Band of Gypsies.
And herein lies my weak transition the subject of: "electric guitars."
What does the electric guitar bring to and take away from this musical genre that we now tepidly and reservedly call Gypsy Jazz?
In some ways it seems that the Selmer Mac - Django thang has created more limits than openings on "the proper" way to play this music -- especially, on the acoustic guitar.
Meanwhile, the players who use electric guitar seem to expand beyond the confines of the Hot Club style and borrow snippets from bop, jazz, soul, etc., and do so while maintaining the essense of what makes us think, Humm, Gypsy jazz...
Nonetheless at other times, playing the electric guitar seems to at times take the musical meanderings so far from the Hot Club style, one has to do a double-take at the CD label to see if it's really the same CD as stated on the cover.
SO... What do you think? What's the role of electric guitar in Gypsy Jazz?
A.E.
Comments
A.E.[/quote]
Fodder to sell, so we can buy more Sel-Mac's? I know! The "Electric Gui-toilet!!!"
Larry Camp
www.impromptujazz.com (my gypsy-jazz website)
I prefer the acoustic guitar but limiting the music exclusively to this instrument is incredibly stultifying.
Whatever anyone chooses to make it.
youtube.com/user/TheTeddyDupont
Breeze
Hi
And lets not forget the greatest--George Barnes!!
Kress' one time duo partner (sparring and otherwise!!)
He was one of the very first electric players
I was listening to his "Keeping out of mischief" cd today and was reminded of just how great he was;brilliant arranger as well!!
And such a lovely beautiful BRIGHT electric tone--i'm sure Django would have loved him!
Stu
An acoustic guitar is a social instrument by nature: you can basically sit down anywhere and just start making music with others without complicated set-ups, which in its part contributes to better execution little by little. This year in Samois I noticed (again) a huge skill boost in average jam sessions compared to previous years. You don't get those skills from ever better instruction materials and ever more frequent master classes alone; you get them from playing with others - for which the acoustic guitar is the easiest medium. I'd call that creating openings.
One application where the acoustic guitar is superior is rhythm: Django's rhythm guitarists played acoustic guitars; Rocky and Mundine Garcia are backing Ninine on acoustic guitars; Angelo Debarre had a magnetic pick-up in Samois 2004 but Tchavolo Hassan and Tchiquito Lambert didn't have. When you need a sharp attack and controlled dynamics, acoustic Selmer/Mac-sound just can't be beaten, in my humble opinion, especially when you don't have drums/brushes/percussions in the band.
Lead playing is a different matter, but there, too, I usually prefer the acoustic Selmer sound, although it's more the player and his/her style that counts the most. I can, however, well understand the American players' enthusiasm towards the electric guitar when it came in the market - their typical acoustic flat-top or arch-top guitars just didn't have the tonal capabilities to cut through in lead and still let also others be heard. AND their bands had drums and trumpets.
Couldn't agree more (listening to Integrale #20).
http://www.jazzpartout.com