Home...

[dubhlinn]

..is where the Heart is..allegedly.

Over the past few weeks I have been listening to a few live recordings, Grappeli, Peterson, Burton, and of course, Bob.


They all seem to push it out to the limit, play it for everything they have and find a fair bit more, when they are in front of their own people.

Is this fair on the rest of us..or are we just lucky to have those recordings...

Slan,
D.

[izzarina]

Is this fair on the rest of us..or are we just lucky to have those recordings...

I would tend to think we're very lucky to have the recordings. The joy they bring are worth it all, don't you think?

[cowtime]

There's a connection with home folks, as I'm sure you know.

Yeah, we are durn lucky to have recordings.

[Coffee]

...Is this fair on the rest of us..or are we just lucky to have those recordings...

Slan,
D.

Yes.

[Innocent Bystander]

Are not these are now undead recordings?

The tag they told me is, Home is the place, that, when you go there, they have to take you in.

[ChromeLibrarian]

Home...home is where you wear your hat...

[Wombat]

Someone who could do that but doesn't is George Benson, I suppose. We're lucky to have recordings of him when he was creatively alive. The easy listening crowd are lucky to have someone that good playing for them now.

If part of what you love about an artist is their daring, I think you want to hear that when you see them live.

[dubhlinn]

I have a lot of respect for George Benson..a fine guitarist.

What put the idea into my head was a conversation with somebody who said that everything Grappelli plays sounds the same. A fair enough comment in many ways.

Dabbling in fiddle, as I do, Grappelli is a huge hero of mine and I will admit that sometimes he seems to be on autopilot and just knocks out the riffs and goes through the motions, mighty as they are.
I recently came across a live recording of the man..Paris..alongside one Oscar Peterson and Grappelli is playing out of his skin..unbelievable. I have noticed that he is at his best when playing alongside those who are at the top of their game. The home crowd probably helps.
Apart from that, or as well..is the album he made with a youngish Gary Burton - Paris Encounter - It's not live but it was recorded in Paris and again, Grappelli is playing at the top of his game. When in good company he can really hit it.

The first time I heard Benson swing I thought.."Is that the same George Benson who does that godawfull crappy psuedo soul/pop song the name of which I cannot remember, nor do I want to"..It was.

He probably made more money out of that than his guitar playing..such is Life.

Slan,
D.

[Wombat]

As a kid learning guitar in the mid to late 60s, the two really distinctive and unusual jazz guitarists to impress and influence me were Benson in his Jack McDuff and Columbia days and Jerry Hahn. Hahn stayed true to his art, as I saw it, and disappeared into teaching and making the occasional poorly selling album. George Benson became GEORGE BENSON. I think that that's what he wanted; I don't think it happened by accident.

As it happens, Hahn had a stint with Gary Burton and made an album I love with his group: Country Roads and Other Places. I used to think that the only other person influenced by Hahn was Chris Spedding. Then I belatedly caught up with John Scoffield and Bill Frissell and it dawned on me that probably every jazz guitarist of my generation had been paying attention to Hahn.

I think artists in it for the long haul can't hope to be at their peak every night. I suppose the great ones start off with such a superb sound and bag of cliches that they keep people happy, even on an off night. But every so often, an unusually clear head or an unusually challenging partner push them into exploration again. It's great when it happens.

A couple of months back, I had the pleasure of seeing Martin Simpson at the Old Town School in Chicago. Martin Taylor was on the bill as well but had to drop out due to ill health. Simpson stepped in and did both halves of the concert. He was absolutely riveting; we went home enraptured, oblivious to the cold of a December night. I don't know if we were an especially inspiring audience but it's frightening to think that it might just have been an ordinary night for him.

[chas]

Home...home is where you wear your hat...

Courage is what you are in the dark.

For those of you overseas, we have a silly thing in the US called the Grammy Awards. George Benson won the Grammy for "best new artist" in 1977 or 78. This was at least ten years after he'd won a Downbeat poll as best guitarist.

[djm]

Home... home is where you wear your hat... I feel so breakup, I wanna go home.
- Lord John Whorfin



djm