Ares There Any Longer Solos By Charlie Christian

Why don't the backup instrument band members for solo artists start their own band?

They are often not staying as the backing band for a solo artist for that long and often have other projects and gigs. And of course you usually need a front person.Many backing musicians do end up forming different groupings and sometimes different stage or recording group names. Jazz musicians do this a lot more than rock musicians.You sometimes get “sections’ that earn a reputation and get work together under a name, horn sections like The Gil Evans Horn Section or Muscle Shoals Horns, rhythm sections like Sly & Robbie - Sly Dunbar (drums) and Robbie Shakespeare (bass) etc.The most famous band that did exactly that, go out and succeed in their own right was The Band, whose name basically tells that story.They started out as the backing band for Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, then went on to be Bob Dylan’s backing band, recording their own stuff during down time while doing Dylan’s sessions. Their first release just had the members’ names listed under the credits under the heading “The Band: ” and that became their name!You’d also find the music documentary “Standing in the Shadows of Motown” fascinating, its about the backing musicians behind nearly all the famous Motown recordings.

What are your favourite songs/solos to play on guitar?

I often develop my own songs / solos out of chord progressions borrowed from songs that I like. I have about a dozen that I work with. They are continuously changing as they evolve. Some of them are standards like Summertime or Misty Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out, A Change is Gonna Come, that are by now very different compared to the originals. I play George Harrison’s Something, Badge, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, That’s The Way it Goes, Beware of Darkness. The Beatles: Here There and Everywhere, You Can’t do that, Til There Was You, Do You Want To Know à Secret? mainly because of the melodies and chord progressions. Willie Nelson’s / Crazy, These Eyes by The Guess Who. I like playing Dylan’s Just Like a Woman for the chord progression which I changed somewhat and Clapton’s acoustic version of Layla. Most of those sound good on my Gretsch. Just in case you’re thinking it sounds like a snooze fest, on my strat I like: Johnny Be Good, Hey Joe, Deep Purple’s Mandrake Root, Clapton’s Guitar lines off the Bluesbreakers Album: Little Girl is one. I try some early Allman Brothers Solos. I’m trying to emulate the sound of Duane Allman’s slide guitar with my strat by bending and sliding notes. That’s a sample, sounds like a lot but I’ve been playing off and on most of my life, with a twenty year gap from age 20/40. I’m mostly self taught, learned to read but prefer to play by ear and chord charts. Some songs I’ve been beating to death since I was a teen. I’m A Man, the Stevie Winwood / Spencer Davis Group version is one of those. It’s a good jam song. Yes I do play some newer things, like the Dap Kings when they backed Amy Winehouse but mostly i’m Working on developing my own music, trying to write lyrics. I’m retired, Music is one of my favourite winter occupations.

Who are some well-known jazz guitarists whose music is generally not too difficult for an intermediate level player?

A couple things…While many jazz guitarists write their own music - many, if not most, cut their teeth on jazz standards.Some good jazz guitarists to start putting into your head would be guys like Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Grant Green, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow. All these guys are a bit more easy going in their style (that doesn’t always mean they are easy to play). Certainly you can cop some licks from their recordings at a beginner to intermediate level.You’ll find that many of these great guitarists feature jazz standards on their albums. For the beginning jazz guitarist, learning the “heads” (melody lines) of jazz standards will also put phrases under your fingers for solos.If you have not bought a “Real Book” I would highly recommend doing so. They typically run $20–30.Another good tool for learning jazz standards and how to solo over them would be to pick up Jamey Abersold Play-A-Long recordings. A good place to start would be “How to Play Jazz and Improvise” or “Maiden Voyage: 14 Easy to Play Jazz Tunes.” Music Book + CD sell for around $15 from your favorite music store (or on Amazon).There are definitely some key jazz standards you will want to learn: All of Me, Autumn Leaves, Bye Bye Blackbird, Just Friends, My Funny Valentine, Night and Day, Stella by Starlight, St. Thomas, There will Never Be Another You for starters.Also, with jazz your best source of inspiration may not be guitar players at all. Listen to the horn players: Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker, Clark Terry and so on. Borrow their phrasing; licks; and so on.Don’t ignore the fusionists: once you spend some time shedding on the standards - pick up recordings of the great fusion players: Mike Stern, John Scofield, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Allan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Larry Carlton, john Abercrombe, Kazumi Watanabe, and others.Plenty of inspiration and you’ll find scattered in their recordings melodies that you can pick up and make your own.

What are the top guitar solos ever recorded live?

Charlie Christian"Waiting For Benny"This is literally Benny Goodman's band jamming in the studio while they wait for him to arrive (you can hear him enter at the end.)"Solo Flight"Charlie's playing is so guitaristic - check out the crunchy clusters at 1:23.Django ReinhardtIt's hard to pick a single Django solo. Here's a tasty compilation.Here's Django's unaccompanied "Solo Improvisation #1."And here's some (sadly brief) footage of Django where you can see how he compensates for his burned hand: Grant Green"Down Here On The Ground"Starts off as cheesy lite fusion, but wait until the groove kicks in, then forget about it.John McLaughlinMiles Davis - "In A Silent Way"I know, Mahavishnu and Shakti and all that. But the older I get, the less interested I am in virtuoso displays and the more interested I am in melody and lyricism.Jerry Garcia"Help On The Way/Slipknot!"From Blues For Allah, the most groove-oriented Dead album."Morning Dew"From good old 5/8/77. The archetypal Jerry ballad -- the little cascading figures he plays during the quiet parts are so beautiful.PrincePrince might be the best living rock and funk guitarist. My favorite solo of his is "Kiss" -- Prince doesn't allow YouTube, just go listen.

In order to play a solo guitar in jazz type of music, such as George Benson, Lake, etc., what should a guitarist need to do?

There are several methods already posted here that will help you understand the complexities of jazz guitar. From Charlie Christian to Wes Montgomery to Les Paul and even Billy Gibbons, the range of your unique voice starts with your chords before your solos. My suggestion comes from John Scofield’s conversation in Guitar World or Guitar Player (I don’t recall which…). He told the interviewer that his daily practice includes taking a chord, then deconstruct it by identifying each note that makes up the chord, and then solo on each of those notes in relation to the chord. Meter then comes into play. My last suggestion is to not worry so much about sounding like your recorded mentor as it would be just having some fun developing your own personality through your guitar and amp. Release those thoughts of being like the past players and focus on you and your own skills; the rest will fall into place.