Guitar / Guitar - Herb Ellis - Charlie Byrd

 

Bluesette

Guitar / Guitar

Herb Ellis - Charlie Byrd

Produced by Allen Stanton

Cover Photo: Columbia Records Studio - Henry Parker

Columbia CL 2330

1965

From the back cover: Until recent years, guitar playing in jazz clubs more often than not was the exclusive province of the man who used a celluloid pick in his right hand while the so-called classical guitar remained at home, in the recital hall or the Spanish restaurant. This is no longer the case, due in no small measure to the impact made by Charlie Byrd. His fine concert technique, combined with a warm feeling for the real down-home style of blues has not only made him one of the world's most admired solo performers  but has also prompted many a seasoned professional "pick" player to start developing a finger-style approach to the instrument. A pioneer in bringing the bossa nova to popularity in this latitude, Charlie remains the most noteworthy of our homegrown interpreters of the idiom.

Herb Ellis first became well known as a member of the old Soft Winds group, back in the days when 52nd Street was still something more than a way to get across town. Later, he spent a number of semesters with the Oscar Peterson Trio and Jazz at the Philharmonic, finally settling on the West Coast, where he has most recently been seen and heard as a member of the Don Trenner band on the Steve Allen television show. (Although Steve has departed from the show, Herb remains, along with Terry Gibbs.) As any jazz aficionado will tell you, his playing – as well as his "axe" – is electric.

The common denominator is that both Herb and Charlie are essentially blues-type players. Although both are conversant with the most advanced progressive techniques, each manages to get, in his improvisations, a personal warmth which is lacking in a great deal of contemporary jazz. – Griffith O. Howe

Se Todos Fossem

Quais A Voce

Chung King

Carolina In The Morning

Three Quarter Blues

Take Care Of Yourself

St. Louis Blues

Jazz N' Samba (So Danco Samba from "Copacabana Palace)

Oh, Lady Be Good

Things Ain't What They Used To Be

A Hundred Years From Today

Bluesette