sounds

Please visit the joe finn YouTube channel to hear tracks from these albums, various live clips, solo guitar and more:

 INTERVIEWS

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Empire Radio Sounds Jazz Artist of the Month Joe Finn

This interview was conducted in April 2022:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGbdNjfwziU

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Joe was interviewed for the “Six count podcast” with xara wilde in 2019

https://sixcount.simplecast.com/episodes/joe-finn-post-bop-jazz-guitarist?fbclid=IwAR1qkh8YRvj10s_NRA-hh6nZZXcLg9ZnOD_PDZklsYUPxSiHkZXcHWYvBrk

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By Monica Waring

Old Chatham local and nationally recognized jazz guitarist, Joe Finn, released his sixth album in March of this year. The album, appropriately titled Generational Dynamics, is particularly special to the veteren instrumentalist with the addition of his son Tom on alto saxophone, the +1 of the Joe Finn Trio.

Both Joe and his son Tom grew up in Old Chatham surrounded by jazz music in their home. Joe was first introduced to music through his father’s jazz records collected during his days as a radio announcer and host of his own show “Spin With Finn” during the big band era in Connecticut. Joe’s father was not only a music enthusiast, but an amateur composer and piano player who saw to Joe’s musical education at the age of five with piano lessons. Joe didn’t stick with piano long however. The moment he picked up the guitar, he knew it was his instrument and hasn’t put it down since.

Forging a career in music

After receiving a BA in Music from Plattsburgh State followed by a decade on the road playing gigs across the U.S. and Canada, Joe returned to Old Chatham. He wanted to focus on local performances, recording and private guitar lessons taught from his private home studio. It was these guitar lessons that eventually peaked an interest in his young son, who wanted the same one on one attention he saw guitar students receive from his father. “I remember sitting him on my lap with the guitar when he was really little. He would try to press the strings down but he didn’t like it because it hurt his fingers. His Mom had played the alto saxophone in high school and she still had the horn in the closet. She got it out of its case, played a few notes on it, and then gave him the horn and he started playing. He really enjoyed it right from the beginning. We played together a lot, I mean seven days a week for years until he went off to school when he was 18.” Tom, now 30, plays the alto saxophone professionally and is employed as an instructor at The Bronx Charter School for the Arts in New York City and at The Litchfield Jazz Festival Music Camp in the summer, where his father once taught. Tom has grown as an artist and an equal in this recent album, according to Joe.

Father and son collaborate

“There is a musical maturation in Tom’s playing. I have included him on various gigs of mine since he was 13 or so, and we had of course played at home for years before that. Now that he is 30, he is really coming into his own as a performer and stylist. It’s gratifying to finally have a recording where we are together as collaborators. The give and take dynamic of father and son working together is something that happens only occasionally in jazz. So the CD title “Generational Dynamics” emphasizes this and when you listen it’s clear that Tom is a full partner in this endeavour.”

In addition to his son, Joe is also proud of the album as it’s the realization of a long time dream. Influenced by the music of guitarists George Benson, Wes Montgomery and Pat Martino, who had all recorded extensively with organists in a classic jazz configuration, Joe had hoped to do the same. For years he had no luck in finding a talented organist to play with regularly until he met Jon LeRoy, who finally helped fulfill the goal of producing a recording ensemble of guitar, drums and organ [+1]

Local influences

Looking back, Joe credits the Chatham High School Music Department for helping to make jazz music relevant and accessible to generations of local students through their program. Joe remembers touring with the Chatham High School Jazz Band , an experience that opened his eyes to a whole new world of performing , as it did for his son. 

“When I was in High School in the 1960s and 1970s Chatham had a jazz band . Tom’s experience a generation later was very much the same as mine. His band director’s name was Mark Giordano, who was a great mentor for Tom. He did amazing work with those kids. He took them to play at High School jazz festivals and he took them to perform at Lincoln Center, which was a real treat; especially for some of the students who had never been away from Chatham before.”

Old Chatham DNA

For Finn, his roots in Old Chatham have become part of his musical DNA and a family legacy. “Jazz for me is what I grew up listening to. It’s who I am. It’s my identity. Music is cultural expression. I played in all kinds of bands and I played every imaginable gig you could think of but I grew up in Old Chatham, New York, so in the end you just have to be who you are. Be true to yourself. That’s my own cultural experience growing up with jazz, and I guess I can thank my Dad for that because that’s what he introduced me to.”

Finn continues to perform and record locally and still teaches guitar from his home in Old Chatham. He is also the author of The Jazz Guitar Almanac, a blog style feature on his website that includes tips and advice for guitarists and other useful information for musicians of all skill levels.

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The following interview was given to Jazz Guitar Life in 2004

JGL: How old are you?

JF: I was born on January 29, 1953 in Hartford, Connecticut.

JGL: At what age did you first get into guitar playing and were you interested in jazz from the beginning or were there other musical interests before jazz? What was the motivating experience to get you involved in this particular music and instrument?

JF: I was exposed to music in infancy since my Father was an amateur pianist. He was also a radio announcer. He had a big collection of recordings that he had appropriated once the radio station was through with them. He was either playing the piano or playing records pretty much all the time. I remember hearing a lot of Nat Cole, Lionel Hampton, Stan Kenton, various big bands and lots of Frank Sinatra. He also listened to a lot of classical music. At the piano he would play a little Beethoven, various jazz standards like Green Dolphin Street and his own compositions. So I got to play the piano as a kid. They tell me I would spend hours sitting there plunking out little melodies and chords. I then got interested in guitar because my cousin had one. This was before I was ten. I don’t think he played it much and he let me borrow it. I hung on to it for an entire summer before getting one of my own.

JGL: What kind, if any, formal training do you have (ie: lessons, schooling, that sort of thing). And how did these experiences help you get where you are today?

JF: I have a bachelor’s degree in music from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. It helped me a lot to take those four years and focus heavily on music. The curriculum included ear training, composition, arranging, music history, theory, and the like. I also got my first opportunities there to work with and meet real professional players. Paul Winter, Chuck Mangione, Roy Burns, and Kirk Nurock, Billy Cobham, and John McLaughlin were some of the ones I remember. Aside from being inspiring musically, guys like this gave us the idea that a life in music was not just a dream. They were actually living that life. I had some great instructors too. Jim Miller, Jerry Lavene, Billy Hawkins and David Hoffman were people who really encouraged and inspired me.

JGL: What was your first guitar?

JF: The one I borrowed from my cousin was a Kay archtop.

JGL: Who were your influences on jazz guitar when you were beginning? And have they stayed the same or have they changed over the years? Who are you listening to today (guitarists or non-guitarists)?

JF: The first recording of a guitar I would have heard was Oscar Moore with the Nat Cole Trio. He was a very fine player that I learned to appreciate more and more later on. A lot of that music has been reissued and revisited by people like Natalie Cole and John Pizzarelli so it’s still pretty popular. I enjoy that style tremendously since I grew up with it. Later on I got interested in George Benson, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery and Pat Martino. I copied each of their styles closely. I would transcribe their solos and practice them until I could play them note for note. Those four will always be really special for me. Listening wise I go for a variety of different things. I love free improvisation the way Cecil Taylor and Bruce Eisenbeil do it. I listen to a lot of big band music. Maria Schneider is one of my current favorites. I always liked Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Toshiko, Carla Bley, Kenton and Buddy Rich too. I’ve listened to lots of Ellington, Basie and Wynton Marsalis also. I leave the radio tuned to the local classical station so I get to hear a little so called “serious” music every day. I even like to listen to opera. Among guitarists I like to listen to Fred Fried, Jim Hall, Paul Bollenback, Russell Malone, Mark Whitfield and Jimmy Bruno. I love what Pat Martino is up to these days. He’s the greatest.

JGL: Did you know early on that music was something you wanted to do as a career choice and if so, what were some of the things you did to make this choice work for you?

JF: Back when I was too young to have any idea what a career might actually be, I had a feeling that music would be something I would always be involved with. It was just intuition, I guess. I was always hanging around with the other players and when you are around these various musical situations you just get involved more and more. As time went on my interest in music continued to grow and various opportunities would just naturally come up. Before you know it you’ve got something people are calling a career.

JGL: When you were younger what was your band experiences like? Did you have friends who were involved in music as well or did you have to search for people to play with.

JF: I had friends in high school who liked to get together and play various easier tunes like Footprints, Maiden Voyage or Freddie Freeloader or whatever. We learned from listening to records and from each other. There didn’t seem to be as many instructors around back then so we were sort of on our own for a while. I also played electric bass in the high school jazz band. This I loved because we got to play concerts out of town. That was really fun for me. I think that was my first time away from home too.

JGL: What was your practice routine like when you were beginning and what is it like now? Are there specific areas that you work on or do you just play through tunes?

JF: As a kid I spent a lot of time playing along with records. I did this every day for years. It helped my ear and my time a lot. It’s still a good way to learn tunes. I continue to enjoy playing along with the recordings of other guitar players. Jimmy Bruno is a good one because he has so much imagination and facility.

JGL: How difficult do you find it making a living as a jazz guitar player? Or have you found it to be relatively easy?

JF: I think it’s a lot like being self employed in any other line of work. I’m basically a free lance independent contractor. I have to create my own opportunities and sort of make things happen. You’d have to do this in any business, though. It certainly has it’s ups and downs, that’s for sure. You don’t make the same amount of money every month. That can sometimes be a problem. I don’t seem to have any trouble staying busy. I just keep a lot of lines in the water, so to speak. The calendar seems to fill itself up.

JGL: How do you go about searching for gigs? And what have you found in your experience that makes looking for gigs easier?

JF: I keep the traveling to a minimum. Almost all my gigs are near enough so that I don’t have to stay overnight anywhere very often. I have lots of local contacts among musicians, the union, and various venues in the area. This helps a lot. It’s kind of a word of mouth thing where your contacts and your reputation are the things that get you booked. Having recordings and an internet presence helps a lot too.

JGL: What type of musical situation do you enjoy the most (ie: trio, quartet, duo, solo, etc.)

JF: I’ve learned to become comfortable in each of several musical configurations. There are aspects of playing in trio, quartet, duo, and solo settings that differ one from the other. I’ve played a lot more solo gigs in the last year or so for some reason and I really enjoy the freedom I have when I’m all by myself. I can do things as a soloist that are a lot of fun for me that I’d never get away with in a group. My regular quartet is a great little group too. Those guys are such strong players that it makes my job easy.

JGL: Do you like performing more as a sideman or as a leader? And if you could comment on the pros and cons of both.

JF: I’ve been working more and more as a leader. I like it a lot because I get to choose the material that best suits me and I like interacting with the audience. I always say a few words to the crowd to put them at ease and let them get to know me a little. This usually makes people more relaxed and receptive. Basically I just want them to enjoy the music.

JGL: How many CD’s have you released as a leader?

JF: There are now four releases. “Straight Ahead” from 1992, “Guitar Signatures and Duets” from 2001, “Blue Tomorrow” from 2002 and “Destiny Blue” from 2003.

JGL: What was the motivation to release your own CD’s? And what was your experience as such getting that first CD out (from the initial idea to the final product)? Do you have any plans for future projects and if so, will there be more original compositions on it or do you prefer playing standards?

JF: In some ways I record simply as a way of expressing myself musically. I’m looking to create a certain statement of where I’m at musically at a given time. I love being involved in the recording process. It takes time but the results are worth it. The last CD “Destiny Blue” was a continuation of the quartet concept that we began on “Blue Tomorrow”. I had a collection of standards and originals that we had been performing as a quartet and we just felt the need to lay them down in the studio. There’s a certain sense in which you want to document what the band is doing in the relatively controlled setting of the studio. Putting the tracks together into a coherent album of music is a very satisfying process. I haven’t decided if the next cd will be with the quartet or not yet. I feel a little like I’ve done what I can do with the quartet concept for the time being. I may record some duets with piano just to see where that takes me.

I’m in no rush to record right now. I can wait until the time is right.

JGL: Any advice for the younger guy or gal who is thinking about playing jazz guitar?

JF: I have a half dozen private students right now. I give them advice all the time. Some of them actually listen, too! I think the big thing for a lot of them is to learn as much of the repertoire as they can. A lot of them are good readers and many can improvise pretty well. One of the things that tends to hold them back is not knowing enough tunes. I usually ask a student to learn a tune every week. If they do this for two or three years they’ll have a pretty good list of material.

JGL: On your site, there is a wonderful resource called the Jazz Guitar Almanac…could you describe how that came about and do you put all the work in it yourself? It truly is a great resource. I visit it often and I really enjoy it. I always come away from it having learned something new. So kudos to you!

JF: About five years ago I began to notice that there were a lot of guitar players who had put websites up. Rick Stone and Jimmy Bruno were into this pretty early. I wanted to put up some instructional material and the usual audio clips and biographical information, but I felt like I wanted some other kind of content too. I wanted something that other sites didn’t have that would make my site a little bit different. I began to think about all the great guitar players over the last century who were becoming increasingly obscure. The idea of establishing a list of birthdays was what I came up with as a way of keeping the names of these players in circulation. I combined this with a list of tips for guitar players. It took me about a year to get the tips and the birthdays together but I’m glad I’ve done that. I always get lots of positive feedback regarding The Jazz Guitar Almanac.

JGL: I read somewhere that you appeared on BET’s Jazz Discovery Showcase in 1998 and won the award in their jazz instrumental category. How did that come about and what, if any, was the outcome of winning such an award?

JF: There was a local television show in Albany, New York at the time that had invited the quartet to play. It turned out that the audio and the video quality we got was excellent and one of the guys in the band asked why didn’t we submit a copy to Jazz Discovery Showcase? We had performed “Lucky Southern” and “The Days of Wine and Roses” on the tape which turned out to be good choices because they were very accessible and swinging. The funny thing about having won the award was that they put my private phone number on the screen after they had played the clip. This resulted in me getting all kinds of phone calls from all kinds of people I didn’t know in the middle of the night when the show aired. That was different. The phone calls were mostly good natured and amusing. All in all it was a great experience.

JGL: You play quite a few gigs as a solo guitarist and your CD “Guitar Signatures and Duets” is a solo guitar venture where you you pay tribute to jazz guitarists like George Benson, Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell, and others who have influenced your playing and/or listening habits in way or another. How did this CD come to be?. Could you explain why you have chosen this form of guitar playing and do you find it limiting at all or is there a greater sense of freedom not being bound by another instrument? How do you approach this method of playing?

JF: Well, as it turns out, there is a small group of my fellow guitarists to whom I owe a huge debt. These are the guys that taught me, through their recordings, not just how to play guitar but how to approach the art in a broader sense. What I decided to do was to record several solo guitar selections with each one being in the style of one of these players. I did this out of admiration and respect for these guys. Each of these players had a specific way of making a solo statement on the guitar that is very distinctive. To me it’s just as individualistic as a signature. That’s where the CD’s title came from. Playing unaccompanied solos in this way is very liberating but very demanding too. There is a lot of responsibility and a lot of freedom at the same time. Trying to keep all of this focused within the bounds of the “guitar signatures” theme made it a very challenging project for me. On some of the selections I did dozens of takes and was still not pleased with the results. After what seemed like weeks I finally got enough of what I was listening for to bring the project to fruition. It was really hard work, much more difficult than a combo recording.

JGL: How important is the audience to you? And how do you handle nights when the club is practically empty or when you are playing your heart out and everyone seems to be blabbing away and not listening to what you’re playing?

JF: The audience is everything. Without them I’m out of business. Everybody plays to a half empty house now and then. There will also be nights, in clubs mostly, when the crowd is inattentive or too busy socializing with one another to bother listening. It doesn’t bother me anymore though. I see every time I perform as an opportunity to make something beautiful happen. It doesn’t matter how humble or how spectacular the situation might be. It’s nice to have the audience with you of course, but if they aren’t that’s ok. Even on the worst nights there is still somebody out there listening closely.

JGL: I’ve read that you endorse guitars made by the Montreal luthier Michael Greenfield. How did all of this come about? Were you approached by these guitar makers or did you seek them out?

JF: I’m very pleased to be associated with Michael Greenfield. He makes some of the greatest guitars I’ve ever played. I’ve played all the best guitars on the market and Greenfield guitars are unsurpassed. I met Michael at a guitar show where I was performing last year. After playing his guitars and talking to him for a while we decided to get together on some promotional things. He had me up to Montreal to record some music for his demo cd and we’ll also be doing the Classic American Guitar Show on Long Island in May 2004. At this point in my life I can play any guitar I want. So I sat down with Greenfield and came up with some ideas for a custom archtop. He is building it to my specifications. I’m sure it will be spectacular; all select wood, with a carved top custom voiced by Michael. It should be ready pretty soon. This level of craftsmanship takes time. You can’t rush it.

JGL: You live in Upper New York State. Could you describe the scene their for jazz musicians and jazz guitar players in general? And have you ever thought about moving to a larger metroploitan milieu like New York or Boston or elsewhere? Is it a quality of life issue for you?

JF: There’s more than enough going on in upstate New York to keep me busy. There are a few other guitarists in the area too like Chuck D’Aloia, Jack Fragomeni, Joe Gitto and Sam Farkas. They are all solid players and nice friendly guys too. Good players will always stay busy. I play a lot in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont also. I haven’t played in New York or Boston lately but I really enjoyed my last trip to Montreal. I’d like to do some gigs there again soon.

JGL: Have you ever had second thoughts about your choice to have music as a career and if so, what other career path do you think you would have followed had you not been a guitar player.

JF: I don’t have second thoughts really. Not really. One of the things that continues to be important to me is to play well. What I mean is that I want my playing to be on a really high level. That’s not always easy even when music is a full time pursuit. It’s a constant challenge. I really don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t a guitar player. I kiddingly say that I’m a guitar player because I’m not smart enough to do anything else. Actually, I’m really only half kidding.

JGL: Thank you Joe for participating in jazzguitarlife.com. It is most appreciated.

The Jazz guitar almanac

JUNE 2025

June 1

“Lennie Tristano had so much music education and I had none formally. So, he kept asking me to study with him. And I did go over there two, maybe three times. He’d say, ‘Next week, know all your scales.’ I’d say, ‘I know my scales. I may not know them the way you mean, but c’mon.’ I’d been playing with him for a year and I know how fast he was and how he’d play one scale against another. Some nights, I’d play something and he’d play it in another key with me in harmony. But he kept after me saying, ‘You’ve got a great record inside you.’ Some people thought he played in too intellectual a way, but he really knew what he was doing.”   Billy Bauer

June 2

I have students bring me parts they are working on. I help them over the rough spots but I'm not exactly sight reading the parts. Oftentimes it's music I'm familiar with anyway. I play gigs as a sideman and am often asked to play various new original compositions. Most leaders send the music ahead of time. This way people can live with it for a few days before the actual performance. I have played in various big bands, shows and ensembles of all kinds over the years. In rehearsals, while looking at new material, the guitar part will sometimes feature melodic material.  There is generally an opportunity to look the part over and even run a few of the lines before the director drops the beat. Many directors send the music out ahead of time. Looking at original music at a friendly jam session is pretty common too. These are occasions where people will trot out a new original tune or two. It's almost more of a rehearsal than a real jam. Anyway there is generally ample opportunity to look over your part, ask questions, play tricky figures, etc.  before running it down.

June 3

Happy Birthday, Jack Wilkins!  [1944]

“ [Jazz is]  like playing tennis: You don’t start playing when you’re 25 years old and expect to reach the championship level. You have to start when you’re six.”    [Jack Wilkins]

June 4

Happy Birthday, Andor Kovacs!         [1929]

The various brain research studies that we have seen seem to confirm what we musicians already know through intuition. Musicians process music much differently than the layman. We are into conceptual levels of subtlety and layers of complexity that casual listeners are pretty much deaf to. Musicians also know a thing or two about focus and concentration. Kids who take music lessons learn to submit to the rigors of the discipline and gather a wealth of skills that are very beneficial later in life regardless of the career they ultimately pursue. 

June 5

Happy Birthday, Monnette Sudler!!! (1952)

Adult guitar students are usually not beginners. They generally have a ton of bad habits, a poor work ethic, unrealistic expectations and insufficient time to practice the lesson material; which adds up to a formula for frustration and failure. They generally stick with the lessons for a year or so, or at least until it dawns on them that their degree of improvement is directly proportional to the hours they dedicate to the music. 

June 6

Happy Birthday, Grant Green!  [1931]

“I’m not saying a guy shouldn’t take lessons, but if you want to play like the artists, you have to go and get what they are putting on records and take it from there.”   Grant Green 

Happy Birthday, Paul Bollenback!    [1959]

June 7

Happy Birthday, Tal Farlow!  [1921]

What I think I do is to relate any new material to how similar it is to something else. The closest that I can come up with something that's already in my experience, the easier it becomes. All I have to do then is remember where it differs, like relating a chord sequence that comes from some other tune, or several different tunes, or maybe parts of them and then work it from there. Tal Farlow

Happy Birthday, Royce Campbell! [1952] 

June 8

“When it’s somebody like Miles, well, he doesn’t owe anybody anything. He doesn’t have to do anything the way somebody thinks he should do it. He’s a great artist – Miles, Trane and Ornette are probably the three most important artists of that era of our music, so he doesn’t owe anybody a damn thing. If that’s how he wanted to do it, who’s to say no? Even the great recordings that guys of my generation just worship, the things of the mid-1960s with Ron and Tony and Wayne and Herbie. A lot of those recordings aren’t even like you conjure them up to be, because the more you learn about music, then much of that stuff sounds like recorded rehearsals to me – there are mistakes. “  Steve Khan

June 9

Happy Birthday, Les Paul!  [1916]

A guitar is something you can hold and love and it's never going to bug you. But here's the secret about the guitar - it's defiant. It will never let you conquer it. The more you get involved with it, the more you realize how little you know. Les Paul

Happy Birthday,  Jimmy Gourley!  [1926]

Happy Birthday, Mick Goodrick!  [1945]

June 10

Happy Birthday, Joe Negri!   [1930]

“I believe that the triadic approach to learning the fingerboard is a very thorough way to learn to visualize and see the guitar fingerboard….I learned to use the triads from my first teacher…….   I developed a much more sophisticated and thorough look at the fingerboard in “The Common Sense Approach to Improvisation”…. I focus on utilizing the triads to create melodic lines.”  Joe Negri

Happy Birthday, Joao Gilberto!!     [1931]

Happy Birthday, Gray Sargent!  [1970]

June 11

The nice thing about music is that it is always possible to learn new material, attend a master class, study with a new teacher and or generally continue to expand your horizons. It's the work of a lifetime. In my own case, I don't know if I am playing any better than I used to but I know I'm still learning something new every day. 

June 12

Happy Birthday, Greg Chako!!!!    [1958]

“The key aspect for any artist is to develop their own individual style, and for any performer, to “move” people, to elicit an emotional response in listeners. I am comfortable in my own skin and don’t want to sound like anybody else. I’m most proud of my writing, and feel that to some extent, I offer more as a composer-arranger than I do merely as a guitarist.”   Greg Chako

June 13

Happy Birthday , Attila Zoller ! [1927]

“I don't like making certain types of music just for the money's sake. That is an "in" thing to make a hit. I like to do some original stuff that people like. And if they like it, I like it too.”  Attila Zoller 

June 14

Happy Birthday, Joe Cinderella !   [1927]

Happy Birthday, Nappy Lamare !  [1910]

I don't tend to get overly sentimental about guitars. I've had dozens of them over the years. They come and go. In the end it's just an instrument; or a tool if you like. If it gets lost, stolen or broken it can easily be replaced. It's no big deal. 

June 15

Happy Birthday, Alan Reuss!  [1915]

Prodigies grow up in families where advanced materials are presented to them at an early age. Without the instruction and encouragement they receive it is highly unlikely that they would develop the advanced skill sets commonly associated with the wunderkind phenomenon.  

June 16

Happy Birthday, Al Viola!  [1919]

“Doing studio work, I've had all kinds of calls; I've worked for the majority of Hollywood composers, such as Elmer Bernstein, Alex North, Michel Legrand. It gets scary once in a while, because they put something in front of you and they don't want to know about the fact that you were up late last night; they want you to read it, and run it right down. So that's been a thrill; and the nice thing is that I've been able to do all that, while still keeping up my contact with Sinatra.”  Al Viola

Happy Birthday, Eddie Diehl!  [1936]

June 17

“Jimmy Raney and I spent a lot of time together. A lot of people seemed to think there was a similarity in the way that we played. In fact when we started playing together, he’d say, “You sound like me….”  And I sounded like him! We weren’t trying to copy each other; it’s just that the guys we idolized were the same guys: Charlie Parker and Dizzy and Bud Powell; not unusual for the time. I’m sure we both had the same thought when we heard them play on sax or trumpet or piano that “that would sound nice on guitar”.... So we’d try to transcribe it for guitar.”   Tal Farlow

June 18

“Chuck (Wayne) was a major influence when I first started making guitars in 1968. It was he who suggested if I want to refine the guitar, “Think like a violin maker…  not a guitar maker.” He insisted a solid ebony tailpiece would be an acoustically superior component…… Chuck also originated the narrow “abbreviated” ebony finger rest which, unlike the larger traditional plastic pickguard, did not obstruct the treble F hole. He convinced me very early on that a refined acoustic design should be devoid of inlays and plastic bindings.”    Bob Benedetto 

June 19

Happy Birthday , Ernest Ranglin!!     [1932]

Being away from the instrument for awhile has an interesting effect on one's mental outlook. It can really help you to hear things anew and to reconceptualize some of your thinking with regard to improvisational approaches. One of the problems with playing all the time is that you can get into a rut. Especially if you are playing a show or some other routine presentation, you can get into a situation where you just put things on "automatic pilot", so to speak, and stop thinking about what you are playing. The mental exhaustion that sets in when you play all the time can be a problem. An occasional day off can be quite refreshing.

June 20

Happy Birthday, Dennis Budimir!  [1938]

While software clearly can reduce the elements of music to formulae that can in turn generate sequences of tones and harmonies I'm not sure how musically significant these really are. This is perhaps more significant in terms of the actual engineering and the science that it is based on. Will they develop code that will write prose, poetry and plays? For all I know they already have. In terms of engineering the journey seems to be headed towards a destination where human intelligence is artificially replicated. Human artistic expression is such a very highly evolved process though. I'm not sure if software can ever really get there.  

June 21

Happy Birthday, Chuck Anderson!    [1947]

Music is a recreational pastime for many and a profession for others. There will always be a grey area where these things overlap. People outside of any given profession have a poor understanding of how the insiders really operate. Music is no different from anything else in this sense. 

June 22

“I didn’t have a teacher. I would sit at the record turntable and slow the speed down and copy things I heard. But I hate the word “practice”. I just play. Even now I just play as if I were on a gig. If there are certain tunes that I need to work on I will just play through them and figure out how to get through the changes. I would also try to copy how horn players phrase their lines. Joe Henderson and George Coleman were very influential to me. I like to think that all of [my playing is truly spontaneous]. If it is not spontaneous, it is not jazz. I mean, we all have licks and phrases we like to use,  just like when speaking……  What is important is how those phrases are used. It has to be “in the moment”. I like to think I am always “in the moment”.   Russell Malone 

June 23

“I don’t play like anyone else, I can play like anyone else. I can play octaves, like Wes (Montgomery), or fast, like Joe Pass. But a whole lot of notes just shows that I practiced. I want to say something. At first, I played nothing but be-bop, but when people said I sounded like Kenny Burrell--and why wouldn’t I, since we both came from Charlie Parker--I started adding a little blues to my sound to be different. Because of Creed [Taylor] people think all I can play is funk.”     Eric Gale 1987

June 24

“Berklee was good for learning theory and for meeting people. John Abercrombie, John Schofield, Mike Stern and Pat Metheny were all there at the same time as I was. I met Herb Ellis and he introduced me to Carl Jefferson of Concord records and at nineteen I was playing with Herb, Jake Hanna and Tal Farlow, and I signed the recording contract at twenty-two. I was very fortunate. I never had to look for a record contract. They came after me; probably being a girl helped – uniqueness and all that. I moved back to New York after three years and proceeded to do local gigs around there with such great musicians as Eddie Gomez, Bob Moses, Sal Nestico, Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Rufus Reid and McCoy Tyner, all as a result of being in New York.”       Emily Remler

June 25

Happy Birthday, Johnny Smith! [1922]

“When I was working at NBC. I had a little quintet Stan Getz was featured with the group some of the time and we were featured on this show each week. Sanford Gold, who was a friend of mine at NBC, took an air check of some of our music along to Teddy Reig who owned Roost Records. This man liked it and wanted to put out a 78. So we did Taboo, which we thought would be the one to go because it had lots of rhythm and, you know, was flashy. On the other side we did Moonlight in Vermont, and I was amazed that this tune became so popular. I guess it was because the DJs liked it. “   Johnny Smith

June 26

I was at a recording studio a couple of years ago. At one point the engineers realized they had no sound output for playback. Then they started checking the cables, the amps, the speakers, etc., but there was still no sound.   Then they went into the software and everything looked ok. The whole room was being fed through a computer and that looked fine too. After nearly half an hour somebody finally decided to restart the computer. That's all it took. The monitors suddenly came to life and everything was fine. You never saw such a bunch of nervous gearheads in your life!!!! 

June 27

Happy Birthday, Jimmy McLin!        [1908]

Happy Birthday, Robert Norman!     [1916]

I think we all remember the first time somebody sat us down and taught us the basics: this is a whole note, this is a treble clef, etc. , etc.   In my case this occurred before I was five. My dad was my first teacher. We played through some Schaum piano books together. The guitar came a year or two later. As an instructor I continue to delight in the opportunity to work with a beginner. To be the one who unlocks a young mind is still inspiring to me. There's nothing quite like it.  

June 28

There is something about the fluidity of jazz improvisation that pertains not just to the soloist but to the accompanist as well. Often times chord changes will vary from one chorus to the next.  The way to understand this is through performance and listening; not so much from fake books. 

June 29

Happy Birthday, Gilberto Gil!  [1942]

One aspect of brand loyalty is at least a little nostalgic. The first decent guitar I owned was a Gibson. I bought it used for $300 back in 1968 when I was in high school. I earned the money mowing lawns in the neighborhood. It was a few years old at the time. It was a solid body with two p-90s and a bigsby tailpiece. The guitar was similar to a Les Paul but due to a contractual problem between Gibson and Les Paul the guitars that were made that year were designated as "SG". When I learned that it was technically not a real Les Paul I didn't care. It looked just like one. I frankensteined that guitar a bit; replacing the tailpiece and the gold finish.    The guitar had a typical Gibson neck profile and to this day that is the way I think a guitar ought to feel. As a result I bought several other Gibsons over the years. 

June 30

Nightmare guitar repair stories seem so common. I had a nice 175 right after I got out of college. At the time I was on the road a lot playing six nights a week in resorts and hotels. After several years of this the guitar needed some work. The frets were shot, the dovetail was loose and the top was starting to cave in. Knowing what major surgery like this would cost and how long it was likely to take, I did the next best thing which was to trade it in as is for a new guitar. Guitars do not last forever. There is no guarantee that you will be happy with the instrument after it has been worked on. There comes a time when a new instrument is the only practical course of action.

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The Jazz Guitar Almanac is published in monthly installments on the first of each month.

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Press

Here is a review of the Joe Finn Quintet from 2021:

https://www.nippertown.com/2021/09/03/joe-finn-quintet-jazz-on-jay-9-2-21/

“Finn has a special way of taking on this music. Like modern guitar pioneer Wes Montgomery, Finn brings out the up-to-date elements of music without ever losing contact with the listener. The music stays lyrical and melodic, intelligent and pensive, never becoming discordant or unpleasing to the ear. If we awarded stars, this album would get five.” 

Dave Nathan  AllAboutJazz.com

 “Finn's technical prowess on the guitar is impressive while managing to be understated and not obviously imitative of any in the jazz pantheon.”   

David Hewitt JazzReview.com

“Finn's playing reveals a smooth tone and immaculate technique, reminiscent of such players as Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis.”

Dave Nathan AllMusic.com

“Taste, musicality, chops, maturity, and swing. These are words to live by when one steps into the ring as a jazz musician, and it's obvious from the first listen that Joe Finn and his quartet live by these words...and more.”

Lyle Robinson   JazzGuitarLife.com

“Finn proves to be a formidable player who rarely stumbles. His mostly single note licks fly by with ease, with an occasional octave twist a la Wes Montgomery.” 

Jay Collins  Cadence Magazine

“There's a fluidity to Finn's playing that always makes me smile whenever I hear him. The notes just flow out like water over a gorge.” 

J. Hunter AlbanyJazz.com

“Finn plays a straightforward, uncomplicated, but highly melodic and deftly harmonic instrument. He adopts that clean sound that seems to be the preference of his peers. This style also lets the listener get a grasp around each note Finn plays rather than trying to sort them out among a cacophony of over-ripe chordal structures.” 

Dave Nathan    AllMusic.com

“A top jazz guitarist based in upstate New York, Joe Finn has a mellow tone (a little reminiscent of Jimmy Raney), creates harmonically adventurous improvisations, and swings at every tempo.

            The COVID pandemic made it very hard for jazz musicians, but for As Luck Would Have It, the guitarist’s seventh release as a leader. Joe Finn took advantage of the fact that the top players living in his geographical area were available. His sidemen, vibraphonist Mike Benedict, pianist-keyboardist Wayne Hawkins, bassist Mike Lawrence, and drummer Pete Sweeney, have not only had extensive experience playing with major musicians but have also led bands of their own. On ten of the guitarist’s originals, they form an attractive group sound and their performances are full of subtle and inventive interplay.

            The opener, “The Good Word,” is a relaxed minor-toned medium-tempo piece that introduces the quintet and (as is true on all of the other selections) features inventive and concise guitar, vibes, and piano solos. “As Though I Had Wings” is an attractive jazz waltz which hints at “Inchworm” in spots. The uptempo “As Luck Would Have It” (with Lawrence particularly prominent in the ensembles and Sweeney taking a fine solo) is followed by “Elan,” a slow ballad that one could imagine pianist John Lewis and the Modern Jazz Quartet playing.

            “Come What May” a happy piece utilizing the chord changes of Charlie Parker’s “Confirmation,” is followed by the harmonically complex but still cooking “Purity Of Essence,” the atmospheric and moody “Dedalus,” and the swinging “Asymetrical Reflections.” The CD concludes with one of the strongest original melodies of the program (“Born Yesterday”) and the joyful “Blue Ullon.”

            Each of the ten performances on As Luck Would Have It (www.joefinn.net) is enjoyable with Joe Finn displaying an original style that, while connected to the jazz tradition, does not sound like any of his predecessors. The musicians all were clearly inspired by each other’s presence and quite happy to be playing together. The result is a high-quality set of music that is easily recommended to anyone who enjoys modern straight ahead jazz.”

Scott Yanow The Los Angeles Jazz Scene