Whether
you are an artist, poet, writer, architect, or a musician it is essential to
study the masters and classics to gain knowledge in your chosen field. Listening and watching great
musicians inspires the guitar student to practice more and work harder to achieve his
goals. Part of being a good musician is finding good music to listen to. Creating a library of music is very important
for the guitar student. To do
so, we need to dig much deeper than the local radio stations. Go to the
roots of the tree. Find out who your favorite guitarists listened to. Read books
and magazines about music. Many of the instruction books include discographies
listing their favorite musicians. Online radio stations such as 365live.com
are great sources for good music. With services such as CDBABY.COM and
ITUNES it is easier
and cheaper to create a music library than it was in the past.
Listed below are
a few of my favorite guitarists that I
consider to be essential listening. I hope you enjoy them as I have. If you have questions or comments send them to Brian Turner.
Howard Alden
Howard is a swing and jazz guitarist. I fell in love with his
playing after seeing the Woody Allen movie Sweet and Lowdown. Howard and Bucky Pizzarelli
did the guitar work on the sound track. The sound track to Sweet and Lowdown
is available on CD.
Oscar Aleman
Oscar was a jazz guitarist from Argentina. He was a
contemporary and friend of Django Reinhardt. If you like Django you'll like
Oscar.
Chet Atkins
Chet is the maestro of solo fingerstyle guitar. He has
influenced The Beatles, Tommy Emmanuel, Doyle Dykes, and just about every guitar
player born since 1940. One of my favorite tunes by Chet is Yankee Doodle
Dixie where he plays Yankee Doodle Dandy and then Dixie, and then both at
the same time.
The Beatles
(George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon)
The most influential musicians of the
20th Century. I have the complete scores of all the songs they recorded. It is
as big as a dictionary. Abbey Road and The White Album are my
favorite recordings but they are all great.
Jeff Beck
Jeff mixes rock with jazz. He was one of the first players
to popularize the style that came to be known as Fusion. His recordings, Jeff
Beck Jeff Beck (his name written twice is not a typo) and Blow by Blow are
my favorite.
Adrian Belew
Adrian is a rock guitarist that has played with King
Crimson and David Bowie. However, his solo endeavors are his best work. The
recording Young Lions is one of my favorite recordings. He uses a Roland
guitar synthesizer, a Fender Stratocaster guitar, and a Roland Jazz Chorus JC120
amplifier to create some great sounds.
Richard Bennett
Richard is a session man that has been around for decades.
He has played for Dire Straits, Neil Diamond, Steve Earle, Marty Stuart,
and Emmylou Harris. His solo recording titled Themes from a Rainy Decade has
the greatest guitar tone around. If you like the clean guitar sounds of Surf, Hawaiian
and the old themes from western movies then you'll love this recording.
California
Guitar Trio
These guys were students of Robert Fripp the guitarist of
King Crimson. They do classical and instrumental versions of classic progressive
rock songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Heart of the Sunrise
by Yes. They use steel string 'flat top' acoustic guitars. I discovered them on
XM radio.
Charlie Christian
Charlie played with Benny Goodman for a breif period in the late 1930s before his untimely death.. He was one of the first to play the electric guitar. He has influenced every major jazz guitarist that has come afterwards. In my opinion, he is the most influential of all jazz guitarists. My favorite songs of his are Flying Home, Till Tom Special, and Seven Come Eleven. They are on the Benny Goodman Sextet recordings.
Doyle Dykes
Doyle does Chet Atkins style and much more. He can tear up
a flat top.
Nokie Edwards (The Ventures)
The Ventures invented Surf guitar music. Walk Don't Run
(the original version is a actually a jazz tune written by Johnny Smith) is one
of the most recognized tunes of all guitar instrumentals. The Ventures were very
popular in the 60s and are popular to this day in Japan. Just about every
guitarist born during the last 50 years has tried to imitate Nokie.
Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy is a solo acoustic steel string 'flat top' guitarist. He can play any
style. This guy is phenomenal. I recommend a DVD of his live performance titled Live
at Sheldon Concert Hall. If he comes to your town, do whatever you can to
see his concert.
Danny Gatton
Danny has been called the greatest unknown guitarist. He
could play jazz, blues, and rock on his Telecaster but Rockabilly was what he did
best. My favorite song is his instrumental version of The Beach Boys song In
My Room on his CD titled 88 Elmira Street.
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
David is the guitarist for Pink Floyd. Dark Side of the
Moon, The Wall, and Wish You Were Here as all fabulous recordings but
my favorite is Animals. Enough said, we all know their great.
Steve Hackett (Genesis)
Steve was the guitarist for Genesis during the early days.
Genesis, Yes, and King Crimson are the founders of progressive rock which
is a mixture of rock, classical, and jazz. Groups such as Rush and more recently
Dream Theater are heavily influenced by the progressive rock bands of the 70s.
Steve used a Gibson Les Paul and a volume pedal creating volume swells that emulated
a violin creating his own unique sound. My favorite recordings are The Lamb
Lies Down on Broadway, Trick of the Tail, and Selling England by the
Pound. In fact, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is my favorite recording of
all time.
Steve Howe (Yes)
Steve was the guitarist for Yes, another monster progressive
rock band from the 70s. Steve uses a Gibson ES175 hollow body arch top electric
guitar which is unusual in the rock world due to feedback problems at higher
volumes. However, he used it and used it well. He also used a Fender
Stringmaster steel guitar which is normally heard on country recordings. He made
some nice sounds using an echoplex (a tape echo device that predated the
digital delay) with the steel guitar. My favorite recordings are Close to the
Edge, Fragile, and Yessongs.
Michael Hedges
Michael played instrumental music on the acoustic 'flat
top' guitar. I had the opportunity to see
Michael in concert. It was a wonderful experience. He travels with a guitar tech
whose main job is to tune his guitars while he is performing. He used a variety
of altered tunings such as dadgad, open G, and drop D just to name a few. He was very creative and
has done amazing things on the flat top guitar.
Jimi Hendrix
When Jimi Hendrix came on the music scene in the 60s it
was as if the aliens came to earth and dropped off a guitar player. Even the
great guitarists of the time such as Pete Townsend of the Who and Eric Clapton
of Cream were intimidated by this gifted guitarist. No one wanted to follow his
act at the festivals because his act couldn't be topped. Hendrix is known by the
average listener as the wild guitar player that played Purple Haze and set his
guitar on fire at Woodstock. But, Jimi was much more than that. He could play
the blues like nobody and his chord soloing on ballads were unparalleled. Much
is to be learned studying his playing. If you
want to play rock guitar, learn All Along the Watchtower note for note.
If you want to play the blues learn Red House note for note. If you
like a clean soulful sound on ballads and rhythm and blues learn Little Wing,
The Wind Cries Mary, May This Be Love, Angel, or Spanish Castle Magic
note for note.
Eric Johnson
Eric studied all the greats of the first generation of
electric guitarists: Jimi Hendrix, Chet Atkins, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards (The Stones), Wes
Montgomery, Jerry Reed and so on. His playing is an amalgamation of all of the
above. Not only does he imitate his heroes flawlessly but he has his own unique
style and he is a great songwriter. The recording Tones is my favorite.
Steve Kaufman
I had the pleasure to see Steve at a bluegrass jam
recently. If you like flatpickin' old time and bluegrass fiddle tunes on guitar
then you'll love Steve's playing. He is very good at what he does. He also has
tons of instructional books. I have his Four Hour Bluegrass Jam
book/CD. It is a great book.
Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy is as good as they get. Whether he's rocking
out on a Les Paul with his band or standing on stage by himself with an acoustic
guitar he is amazing in either setting. Phil isn't known to the general
population because he plays primarily at Christian venues. He has been recording
and touring for decades. My favorite recording of his is The Master and the
Musician.
Joe
Maphis
Fire on the Strings! This guy could play fast, fast,
fast, and in the days of Black Diamond strings as big as power lines (no Super
Slinkys in 1960). How did he do that?
Steve Morse
Rock, Classical, Jazz, Celtic, Swing, Bluegrass at the
speed of light, you name it, he does it. Steve is from Mars. He has to be from
another planet. My favorites are Verde Grande and Highland Wedding.
Mike Oldfield
Tubular Bells came out in 1973. It was a concept album. The
songs segued from one song to another. In 1992, he released Tubular Bells 2 which
were the same tunes with the newest technology. I love this recording. Not just
the guitars but everything about it. He uses a lot of compression on the guitar
to create his sound.
Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin)
Is there anyone in this galaxy that hasn't heard Stairway
to Heaven? The thing that impressed me most about Jimmy was his ability to
get different sounds on his guitars in the studio. He makes the guitar sound
like other instruments and has a large variety of sounds, tones, and timbre. He
also does a great job using altered tunings as heard on The Rain Song,
Kashmere,
Black Mountain Side and Going To California. My favorite songs are The
Song Remains the Same and The Rain Song.
Joe
Pass
Joe Pass is one of the most respected and emulated of
all solo jazz guitarists. He also has an instructional video that is great for
learning solo jazz guitar.
Jerry Reed
Jerry is the daddy of chicken pickin' guitar. Funny, funky
country. He has a great since of humor. My favorites are Amos Moses and Alabama
Jubilee.
Django Reinhardt
Django is the man! He is the father of jazz guitar. Books
have been written about the gypsy jazz guitarist. His left hand was terribly
maimed in a fire in the wagon of his gypsy caravan. He overcame the handicap to
become the most influential jazz guitarist of all time. He unknowingly created a
school of virtuoso disciples. Visit Hot Club Radio
and you'll see
what I mean. (Django made his mark playing in the Quintette
of the Hot Club of France. Anytime
you see the two words 'Hot Club' in conjunction with jazz and swing it is music
in the style of Django and Stephane Grappelli). A few of my favorites songs are Lime
House Blues, Tears, Swing 42, Oriental Shuffle and Nuages.
Chris Smithers
I discovered Chris at The Kerrville Folk Festival in
Kerrville, Texas. I was sitting far away in the beginning. As I was watching him, I kept hearing drums. I thought he must have a drum machine. I
walked up to the front of the stage and the drums I heard were his feet tapping
and shuffling on an old board with a mic pointed at it. Besides playing a mean
board with his feet, he's a great song writer, singer and player. He has a down
south bluesy style.
Joscho Stephan
Joscho is one of the young gypsy jazz disciples from Django
University. I discovered him at Hot Club Radio on 365live.com. My favorite
song of his is Gypsy.
Pete Townsend (The Who)
Pete wrote some great songs. He also started the rock opera
or concept album trend with the release of Tommy. The recording Who's Next
is one of the greatest rock albums.
Merle Travis
Merle started the alternating thumb style made famous by
Chet Atkins. Most players refer to the style as "Travis picking."
Joe Walsh
Does anyone not like the guitar playing on Hotel
California? I like Joe because he is fun to watch, he has a sense of humor,
and he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. He seems like the guy next
door, the goofy ordinary average guy that can play a mean guitar. I love his
phrasing on the solo of Life's Been Good To Me So Far. He's never in a
hurry. He makes a few notes say a lot. I like his older stuff too such as The
Bomber and Funk 49.
Muddy Waters
This is roots stuff. Muddy Waters is the father of electric
blues. Along with Son House and Robert Johnson, they were Mississippi delta blues
players that influenced Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Mike Bloomfield, Keith
Richards, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert Collins,
Freddy King, B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins, and many other players
that followed in their footsteps.
Doc Watson
Doc Watson is a very respected folk guitarist and singer.
He flat picks old time and bluegrass tunes with lightning speed and he does
Travis picking also. The Essential Doc Watson is a good CD to start with.
He has many recordings.
Great Guitarists Timeline
1930s
Charlie Christian (Benny Goodman Sextet)
Django Reinhardt (Quintette du Hot Club de France)
Oscar Aleman
Robert Johnson
1940s
Freddie Green (The Count Basie Band)
Oscar Moore (Nat King Cole Trio)
Herb Ellis
T-Bone Walker
1950s
Les Paul
Chet Atkins
Joe Maphis
Muddy Waters
1960s
The Beatles
Jimi Hendrix
Joe Pass
Nokie Edwards (The Ventures)
1970s
Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Steve Howe (Yes)
Doc Watson
1980s
Steve Morse
Eric Johnson
Phil Keaggy
Stevie Ray Vaughn
1990s
Danny Gatton
Michael Hedges
John Jorgenson
Bucky Pizzarelli
2000s
Tommy Emmanuel
Howard Alden
Richard Bennett
John Pizzarelli
10 Great Recordings from 1965 - 2000
| 1. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway |
Genesis |
| 2. Tubular Bells
2 |
Mike Oldfield |
| 3. Abbey
Road |
The Beatles |
| 4. Trick Of The
Tail |
Genesis |
| 5. Who's
Next |
The Who |
| 6. The White
Album |
The Beatles |
| 7. Riverdance |
Riverdance Orchestra |
| 8. Master And The
Musician |
Phil Keaggy |
| 9. Young
Lions |
Adrian Belew |
| 10.
Animals |
Pink Floyd |
