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There's a thread on the Guitar, Amps & Gizmos page about Jazz guitarists with the worst tone. OK fine, I guess, but how about listing a few of our nominees for 'best' tone, whatever that is? My personal favorites include, but are not limited to, the following. They're all somewhat different. I'm leaving out why I like them (I just do), but of course everyone doesn't have to do that:
Charlie Christian;
Johnny Smith;
Howard Roberts.
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Jimmy Raney, particularly on the album "But Beautiful."
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I like Doug Raney's Tone. (You almost beat me to the punch, Mr. B, but you chose his father).
I find myself trying to dial in sound on my equipment. It is a little dark but can also be bright.
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Bickert
Breau - bright, but necessary for his harmonic style
Montgomery
Barney Kessel - particularly on the recordings with Oscar
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My favorites are Hall on Live! and Montgomery on Incredible Jazz Guitar. Those are to me the two archetypal jazz tones.
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Great tones:
Jesse van Ruller
Joe Cohn
Wes Montgomery
Jonathan Kreisberg
Wayne Krantz
Hank Garland
Johnny Smith
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One of my consistent faves is Pat Matheny's on Bright Size Life, before he got the "blanket over the amplifier" tone. On tunes like Omaha Celebration, it is just spot on imho. I also liked George Benson on "Blue Benson", which I haven't heard in years. Jim Hall on "The Bridge" is nice, full and cuts through the mix.
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yes Mr B but beautiful is very nice, I think Jesse Van Ruller's sound is quite similar.
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Jim Hall's tone in the 50's, when he was playing his 175, and on the Live! album.
Julian Lage gets a beautiful tone, with both his Manzer and his Gibson Archtop
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Jim Hall on "The Bridge" is probably my all-time favorite for tone.
Wes and Kenny Burrell sound great on pretty much anything I've ever heard them play.
...and definitely Peter Bernstein.
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I'm a sucker for all the different great sounds a guitar can make in jazz. I can't find any "one" player that could satisfy my diverse appreciation for guitar tones. So many folks get a great sound, IMO.
Frisell
Burrell
Benson
Bickert
Ted Greene
Rosenwinkel
Moreno
Kreisberg
Khan
Bruce Arnold
Vic Juris
Abercrombie
....this list just scratches the surface for my tastes....
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The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow. (I want that tone, particularly They Can't Take That Away from Me.)
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If I think just pure tone, I'd say maybe Kenny Burrell, or Cal Collins, or Eric Gale. To cover a range. But I don't think I can fully separate the tone from the notes.
I can't think of any player whose tone I love, but whose playing maybe I don't love so much. That might be a good test of true, pure tone love.
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Grant Green. He understood that the guitar is a mid-range instrument and made those hollowbody ES-330s sing. Very hornlike.
Kenny Burrell, who ranged from dark to light and everything in between.
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Oscar Moore
Herb Ellis
1950s Jim Hall
Kenny Burrell
Johnny Smith
Mundell Lowe
Barry Galtraith
Bucky Pizzarelli
Russell Malone
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Ed Bickert,KurtRosenwinkel,Peter Bernstein,Ted Greene.
Last edited by eddy b.; 11-14-2013 at 11:16 AM.
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Originally Posted by
jster
+1
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Jim Hall on Sonny Rollins' "The Bridge" album.
Warm and woody. Nice balanced single notes, not too dark or bright. Chord voicings are articulate but have just enough of that small tube amp furry-ness.
I connect my favorite Hall recordings from around this period with his ES-175 with the P-90 pickup and whatever Gibson tube amp he was using.
Two of my other favorites, Kenny Burrell and Grant Green, also used P-90s around this time - it's most definitely my favorite sound.
Max
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Peter Bernstein
Jesse Van Ruller
Julian Lage
Martijn Van Iterson
Jonathan Kreisberg
Pat Metheny (Bright size life)
Pat Martino's live tone (pretty unbelievable!!)
Jim Hall (The Bridge)
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Originally Posted by
kris
Jesse van Ruller...:-)
Especially in this one!
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This is just a fantastic tone! Its all BIG!
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Kenny Burrell is my favorite. He is so great.
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