You can define "spiritual" as you see fit.
I am talking about the aspect of consciousness and dimension of the human spirit that has the capacity to affect and be affected in abstract ways, whether they be cerebral or emotional.
Music, for many people, has a spiritual impact on them. It has been discussed here before.
What about guitarists [of any type]?
Are there any whose playing, above all others, touches you deeply, makes you contemplative, 'transports' you, "gets you off" etc.?
I have two and it's as if they reside in different lobes of my mind and/or pluck different sets of heartstrings.
Frank Zappa: long extemporisations in live settings, especially between 1978 and 1982, sometimes gritty and crunchy, sometimes soaring or hurtling, always very idiosyncratic [or even, according to some, sloppy] and non-repeating. Some people have referred to his longer improvised solos as air sculptures.
Jerry Garcia: his emotional playing synthesized a whole swathe of music styles ~ from bluegrass to blues to jazz ~ to create a tone and way of phrasing that meant you knew it was him playing even after hearing only a few seconds. He and his lyricist Robert Hunter wrote numerous songs that are equal to anyone else's in the American songbook.
- Joined
- 25 Nov 21
- Moves
- 1990
@fmf said<<Jerry Garcia: his emotional playing synthesized a whole swathe of music styles ~ from bluegrass to blues to jazz ~ to create a tone and way of phrasing that meant you knew it was him playing even after hearing only a few seconds. He and his lyricist Robert Hunter wrote numerous songs that are equal to anyone else's in the American songbook.>>
I have two and it's as if they reside in different lobes of my mind and/or pluck different sets of heartstrings.
Frank Zappa: long extemporisations in live settings, especially between 1978 and 1982, sometimes gritty and crunchy, sometimes soaring or hurtling, always very idiosyncratic [or even, according to some, sloppy] and non-repeating. Some people have referred to his lon ...[text shortened]... yricist Robert Hunter wrote numerous songs that are equal to anyone else's in the American songbook.
Jerry Garcia had the utmost respect and admiration for Art Tatum, the greatest pianist who ever lived.
Gave me a new appreciation of Jerry Garcia.
@pb1022 saidArt Tatum and Oscar Peterson are two of the greatest pianists of all time.
<<Jerry Garcia: his emotional playing synthesized a whole swathe of music styles ~ from bluegrass to blues to jazz ~ to create a tone and way of phrasing that meant you knew it was him playing even after hearing only a few seconds. He and his lyricist Robert Hunter wrote numerous songs that are equal to anyone else's in the American songbook.>>
Jerry Garcia had the utmost r ...[text shortened]... n for Art Tatum, the greatest pianist who ever lived.
Gave me a new appreciation of Jerry Garcia.
No argument there.
@avalanchethecat saidI don't know, my list would be longer.
Well, I do love Zappa's music, and I could give a pretty long list of guitarists who contribute to other music which moves me, but honestly I don't think the guitarist on his own is enough for me. Steve Howe maybe.
Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix probably are the top three for me. Not being a guitar-player, I'm often struck by the technical intricacy of these players. Being a piano player, I understand technical playing, and its connection to the spiritual side of playing, letting the music transport you to your own nirvana.
The right band can bring out the best in players, but a band consisting of players already skilled in their own way makes the confluence something special, too.
- Joined
- 25 Nov 21
- Moves
- 1990
@suzianne saidYep.
Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson are two of the greatest pianists of all time.
No argument there.
I very much like Erroll Garner’s “Concert by the Sea” cd too. And his rendition of “Dancing in the Dark” is incredible (at least the one I’m familiar with - don’t know if he recorded more than one.)
I saw the Oscar Peterson trio perform twice - once at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC and once at Symphony Hall in Boston. Great memories, thanks to my parents.
And I believe Oscar Peterson in a documentary said Art Tatum was the greatest pianist of all time in any genre. Gotta agree with that. The fact he was legally blind makes his playing even more incredible.
A lot of people are impressed by (and only focus on) the speed at which Art Tatum could play and his technical prowess, but he had a beautiful and otherworldly sense of harmony, rhythm and improvisational creativity. Truly a gift from God.
@pb1022 saidMy own playing has been influenced by Oscar Peterson, but I've heard a lot of his playing. Not so much Art Tatum, but I haven't heard as much from him, either. I'll seek him out more going forward.
Yep.
I very much like Erroll Garner’s “Concert by the Sea” cd too. And his rendition of “Dancing in the Dark” is incredible (at least the one I’m familiar with - don’t know if he recorded more than one.)
I saw the Oscar Peterson trio perform twice - once at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC and once at Symphony Hall in Boston. Great memories, thanks to my parents.
And I believ ...[text shortened]... ful and otherworldly sense of harmony, rhythm and improvisational creativity. Truly a gift from God.
- Joined
- 25 Nov 21
- Moves
- 1990
@suzianne saidHis playing can be hard to take at first because he’s (as they say) an “acquired taste.”
My own playing has been influenced by Oscar Peterson, but I've heard a lot of his playing. Not so much Art Tatum, but I haven't heard as much from him, either. I'll seek him out more going forward.
The ballads of his I liked and appreciated right off the bat included “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and “The Talk of the Town,” both from the Pablo Solo Masterpieces.
On the Pablo Group Masterpieces, I liked pretty much right away his recordings with clarinetist Buddy De Franco and the rendition of “Deep Purple” with a sextet that included Lionel Hampton on vibes and Harry Edison on trumpet.
Art’s accompaniment on “Deep Purple” and particularly his solo are amazing.
“Street of Dreams” from the Tatum Group Masterpieces is another gem that’s very easy to like right off the bat.
It’s when Art deviates a great deal from the melodic line that his renditions become hard to enjoy and hard to like on only one or two listens.
- Joined
- 25 Nov 21
- Moves
- 1990
BTW, “You’re Mine You” is a particular favorite of mine from the Tatum Group Masterpieces, and Art recorded two renditions of it on that series of CDs - one with Buddy DeFranco and one (I believe) with Benny Carter. Art also recorded a solo version of “You’re Mine You” which is great too.
One song I wish he had recorded is “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” I like that song very much, particularly Charlie Parker’s rendition of it from his “With strings” album. Same goes for “Everything Happens to Me.” I would have loved to hear how Art Tatum played that, but as far as I know, he never recorded it.