The evolution of Fingerstyle jazz guitar continues today with Martin Taylor, Tommy Crook, Jim Nichols, Duck Baker and Woody Mann. Each player has developed a distinctly different approach to interpreting and writing jazz for solo guitar by listening intently to numerous other musicians and composers – pianists, horn players, bassists, and singers as well as many guitarists in jazz, blues and other styles. What distinguishes them from more traditional jazz guitarists (who more or less function as a linear voice in an ensemble) is their ability to play (or imply) all aspects of the music – rhythm, chords, bass, and melody – without accompaniment.
Records by Charlie Byrd, Lenny Breau, George Van Eps, Laurindo Almieda, and Joe Pass have set a very high standard for solo fingerstyle jazz guitar, and it is from this vantage point that the solo flights of Taylor, Crook, Nichols, Baker, and Mann take wing. Their performances not only demonstrate their technical brilliance and imagination, they are a testament to the enduring power and beauty of jazz guitar in its current evolution as a major instrumental force in American music.
Track Listing (click for mp3 sample)
Martin Taylor
1. Shiny Stockings
2. My Funny Valentine
3. Just Squeeze Me
Tommy Crook
4. Lullaby Of Birdland
5. All The Things You Are
6. It Had To Be You
7. Wave
Jim Nichols
8. Can’t Take That
Away From Me
9. East Of The Sun
10. Taste Of Honey
11. Here’s That Rainy Day
Duck Baker
12. Back Home In Indiana
13. Forty Ton Parachute
14. Out Of The Past
15. Seven Point One
Woody Mann
16. Mr. Guitar
17. Uptown Tales
18. Spring Is Here
