An inspired and exciting set by jazz's guitarist nonpareil, it ranges from a blistering race through Sonny Rollins' "Oleo" to the gentle duet with Pass's longtime partner Pisano on "Alone Together." "Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home" is a feature for Budwig, the great West Coast bass player who died shortly after this set. It's one of the best of the many Joe Pass albums. Joe Pass was an American jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. He is considered one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century. He created possibilities for jazz guitar through his style of chord-melody, his knowledge of chord inversions and progressions, and his use of walking basslines and counterpoint during improvisation. Pass worked often with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald.

Guitarist Al di Meola's second record as a leader is generally an explosive affair, although it does have a fair amount of variety. With Jan Hammer or Barry Miles on keyboards, electric bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Lenny White (Steve Gadd takes his place on the "Elegant Gypsy Suite"), and percussionist Mingo Lewis on most of the selections, di Meola shows off his speedy and rock-ish fusion style. He was still a member of Return to Forever at the time and was a stronger guitarist than composer, but di Meola did put a lot of thought into this music. The brief "Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil" (an acoustic guitar solo) and "Mediterranean Sundance" (an acoustic duet with fellow guitarist Paco de Lucía) hints at di Meola's future directions. A near classic in the fusion vein.

On Jonathan Butler's N2K Encoded Music debut, Do You Love Me, he continues his jack-of-two-trades approach, balancing R&B-based vocal tunes with easy, acoustic guitar-based instrumentals. While it's a friendly enough listen, Butler here doesn't display a powerful enough mastery of either format. His guttural, heartfelt vocal style – reminiscent of Jon Secada – can make even the most Lionel Richie-esque lyric seem deeper than it is (even a new song with a title like "The Way You Look Tonight"), but few of the adult-oriented vocal tunes here are as memorable or hooky as his best-known hit, "Sarah Sarah." "Do You Love Me?," for instance, should be a deep, emotional moment, but comes off as a pleasant, easily dismissed conversation. Fortunately, "You Don't Belong to Me" has more lyrical bite, nicely underscored with a percussive guitar line underneath his angry tone. Butler should put more of that pointed energy into his play-it-safe instrumentals, which generally gallop along smoothly without building much steam. The best one can do with this sort of album is like Butler a lot.

The slightly unusual date Two Jims and a Zoot features tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims interacting with two guitarists (Jimmy Raney and Jim Hall) while given subtle support by bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Osie Johnson. Although the eight selections (none of which caught on as standards) had all been written recently and sometimes display the influence of bossa nova, the quiet performances could pass for 1954 rather than 1964. The cool-toned improvisations and boppish playing have a timeless quality about them although for the time period aspects of this music already sounded a bit old-fashioned.

João Gilberto, Luiz Bonfá, Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd, Joe Pass Wes Montgomery, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others.
The Jazz Club series is an attractive addition to the Verve catalogue. With it's modern design and popular choice of repertoire, the Jazz Club is not only opened for Jazz fans, but for everyone that loves good music.

If you're an air guitarist, Al di Meola has likely been your man since his days as an unknown 21-year-old addition to Chick Corea's Return to Forever in the mid-'70s. Over the years since leaving RTF, he has been afforded the opportunity to record regularly, and this CD represents a good overview of his discography, primarily for the Columbia family of labels. His early dates Land of the Midnight Sun, Elegant Gypsy, and Casino are well represented, in addition to his collaborations with Jan Hammer on Tour de Force: Live. His middle-period efforts are not all that vital, as repeat ideas and predictable flash lost their original value even to the staunchest fans, therefore making this collection less than essential.

Definitive's mini-anthology of classic recordings featuring pioneer electrically amplified guitarist Charlie Christian is an excellent core sample taken from his brief and eventful career. Note that Definitive has also issued what purport to be compilations containing all of Christian's complete live and studio recordings, as well as another more modestly proportioned sampler entitled The Genius of the Electric Guitar. Charlie Christian was like a will-o'-the-wisp, a strikingly creative sideman who appeared at studio sessions and live jams during a span of months only adding up to a couple of years before succumbing to tuberculosis at the age of 25 in 1942. On Definitive's Celestial Express, the guitarist is heard with various groups led by Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman, with Edmond Hall's Celeste Quartet, and with the Kansas City Six (a band including Count Basie and Lester Young) at the second From Spirituals to Swing concert in Carnegie Hall.

A mix of reverence and adventure. An intimate and demanding solo guitar outing by Ratko Zjaca. 8 standard 2 originals. Each song played on a different legendary instrument.

Robert Conti is a talented bebop-oriented guitarist who is fond of playing high-powered solos at fast tempos. On this obscure CD from the defunct Time Is label, Conti (44 at the time and making his debut recording as a leader) teams up with pianist Pete Jolly, bassist Andy Simpkins, and drummer Carl Burnett on four standards (highlighted by "I'll Remember April" and "Bluesette") and five of his originals including songs titled "The Rookie Bookie," "The Shylock," and "Death by Chops: Dis'll Do It." The results are quite enjoyable, making this a CD worth searching for by straight-ahead jazz collectors.

Joe Pass, Catch Me. One of the greatest jazz guitar albums of all time, Catch me captures guitar legend Joe Pass, with pianist Clare Fischer. The two were a match made in heaven. Mostly, this album just has Joe Pass and crew swinging standards, but they make them sound so fresh and new. The beautiful rendition of Catch Me, is so vibrant, bright, and melodic. Pass plays great at those up-tempo tunes. The group swings down home on Summertime. Pass struts his blues side of him on this one, and the outcome is tremendous.

Joe Pass did the near-impossible. He was able to play up-tempo versions of bop tunes such as "Cherokee" and "How High the Moon" unaccompanied on the guitar. Unlike Stanley Jordan, Pass used conventional (but superb) technique, and his Virtuoso series on Pablo still sounds remarkable decades later.
Tony Rizzi was a prolific Hollywood guitarist who started recording in the mid-1940s with bands led by Boyd Raeburn, Les Brown and Harry James. By the early '50s, Rizzi also was on many small-group sessions that included the Dave Pell Octet and Paul Smith Quartet. Rizzi had a confident, swinging technique and superb taste, as evidenced on his small number of leadership albums. There were just four in all - two are superb while the latter two are sticky pop efforts and largely forgettable.

Daniel Santiago & Pedro Martins are a tremendously powerful and expressive guitar duo. These guys live and breathe guitar, rhythm, melody, harmony, feeling, and sound. It's been my honour to work with them on several different projects both together and individually. This duo is one of the great duos of the ages, and I am grateful to have been involved so closely, having recorded and produced this album in Berlin at Heartcore Studios.

This unusual LP was the result of a collaboration of Joe Pass with Tommy Gumina, the creator of Polytone amps and inventor of the Polyccorus (a souped-up accordion), along with veteran drummer Jimmie Smith. Although Gumina states in his notes that he hadn't played regularly for some 15 years preceding this session, he and Smith gel instantly with the matchless playing of Pass. There's a heavy concentration on familiar standards, including a glistening run through "My Shining Hour," but a surprising original blues by Pass and Gumina features the guitarist switching briefing to a sound more familiar to heavy metal fans, though his ability to swing never diminishes. While it may not be a top priority to acquire, it's worth buying, if you can find it.