Book Review: to rest or not?

Ando · August 2005

Vasquez's review is childish in its hostility, but like many tantrums, it can be enjoyed as such.

This is all a matter of preference. For instance, I like Boulou's approach to modern jazz precisely because the accents of his lines are not typical. Were Monk's? For the same reason, I like John Jorgenson's version of guitar musette. Because its accents are not so regular and hard-hitting, it conveys a certain Parisian refinement: champagne rather than Armagnac, polished wood instead of tree bark.

So to me, many of the hostile innuendoes of Vasquez's review involve straw men and red herrings. The serious question is always this: what do you want a given piece of music to convey, be it gypsy jazz or some kind of bop? Aggressive, declarative spiritedness? A lot of gypsy players convey that spirit, including late Django, and the rest-stroke/downpick accent is a proven technique to achieve it. Ditto for playing some form of bop. Charlie Christian wasn't pedantic about alternate picking; in what direction was Wes Montgomery's thumb going?; etc.

I like music that sounds declarative and resolute, but there's room at the table for everybody. If some are able to shout louder than others, say for more beer, why, more beer to them! That'll mean more whiskey for the rest of us.

RICK-D15 · August 2005

I will say that trying to play downstrokes exclusively gives much more power, volume and nuance to the notes, and I definately try to do this whenever the logistics will allow.

djangology · August 2005

using a system of playing has nothing to do with the sameness in Gypsy Jazz - chalk that up to lack or originality or more appropriately, a dedicated desire on the part of the player to mimik someone else

the way I look at this is that all of us over here on the American continent and still playing catch-up to the European guys. until we can create Django music which is close to equally flavorful then I think its ok to keep pounding the rest stroke. when everyone reaches the highest quality then I have no doubt that people will begin to branch out musically.

djadam · September 2005

This review reeks of wounded monkey ego. I can't possibly image another reason to say some of the things he said.

If you want to just play Django "prewar" and use a "Selmer Maccaferri" type guitar and be some kind of Django petrified jazz manouche clone, I would recommend the rest stroke (I've even read you should use only two fingers while playing his solos, as though Django wouldn't have done anything to have all his fingers back. Maybe you should buy some butane and orchestrate your own caravan fire to be really authentic). This sort of imitation is not flattering to Django memory and I think, pure silliness.

His reference to "using two fingers" might be a reference to Ian Cruickshank's book Django Reinhardt and the Gypsys, in which he notes that using your strongest two fingers naturally gives you a bounce which is desirable in this music, as well as a unique freedom around the fretboard. He goes on to say that Django's injuries may in fact have given him some advantage in finding his unique style. And he recommends you experiment with it, but he never says you SHOULD play this way. But you could definitely glean something by experimenting with it. An astute observation, methinks.

This guy seems to be obsessed with not being a clone musician and it's likely his own frustration which caused him to turn a supposed book review into a rant linking a method of picking to unoriginal clone musicians. He may have found rest-picking to be too confining (something Michael wisely predicts in his book for many guitarists), but then he does the monkey ego thing and assumes his own experience is a universal truth - how ordinary.

djangology · September 2005

or maybe, persons who find they dont have the patience or skill to actually learn the rest stroke, they hide behind the guise of trying not to be a clone. that way, none of us will expect them to actually learn it...

Tommasino · October 2005

I have an extensive background in Early Music, and I have heard these arguments before. Why go back to an antiquated harpsichord or clavichord? - Bach and Mozart would have killed for a modern Yamaha. Period articulation sounds choppy - let's slur everything so we can play it much faster. Gut strings on a violin? How about we give up running water and bring back the outhouse?...

Somehow, wanting to reconstruct or preserve a tradition as we think it was (to the best of our ability) sounds to some people like we are trying to set back the clock for the entirety of civilization - hence the ill-concealed hostility in the review.

For myself, I prefer to stick to my rest-stroke and my harpsichord.

Tom

Kelly Dow · October 2005

Listen to Joe Pass on "Cherokee" on his album "Virtuoso" to see just how limiting this picking is. It sounds choppy and focuses too much on the down beat instead of the subtle syncopation of later jazz, not to mention how sloppy it gets at these speeds.

Oh how I wish I could be as limited, choppy and as sloppy as Joe Pass!

tomcram · November 2005

Personally, I never thought that Joe Pass sounded that bad - choppy or whatever. What Pass had was a earthiness, humanness to his playing that most everyone enjoyed including the great musicians that invited Joe to perform with them.

As for the tech nuts, like Dimeola, Mc Laughlin, and the other "modern" players - to me the music sounds plastic - endless running of scales at speed in order to impress someone. To me it's like the kid who pulls up to the stop sign and races away squealing his tires - we supposed to be impressed because something was fast. Or that it was Lydian mode - instead it just sounding good they chose the Lydian mode -ugh!

I was always impressed by Grappelli who always sounded good, always had swing feel with a lilt, till he passed away (from the '30's to the 90's) - and we all know who was his favorite guitarist!
Tom - who notes the that Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi still sound good also!