Jazz Guitarist - 1950s and 1960s

1950s and 1960s

In the 1950s, Herb Ellis' accomplished technique and elegant lines reached a wide public through the recordings of Oscar Peterson's trio. During the same time period, Tal Farlow's bebop virtuoso playing did much to make up the ground between the guitar and the other "frontline" instruments such as saxophone and trumpet. Kenny Burrell (1931-) did recordings in the 1950s with Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane and led his own groups.Lenny Breau (1941–1984) performs using an ensemble improvisational playing, along with a more orchestral fingerstyle solo jazz guitar. He used many diverse elements of music, including closed voicings, flamenco style guitar, use of varied rhythms, fingered harmonics, modal jazz harmony,an intimate knowledge of inversions and tritone substitutions, and a great understanding of bebop. Charlie Byrd (1925–1999) did nylon-string guitar recordings with saxophone player Stan Getz which helped popularize Brazilian bossa nova and samba music in North America.

Jim Hall is a masterful melodic player, composer, and arranger who did his best work in duos with Bill Evans, Ron Carter and others. Hall has a melody-based, motivic approach to improvisation. Wes Montgomery was a self-taught guitarist who used his right thumb rather than a plectrum (pick) to produce his unique sound in his late-1950s and 1960s hard bop recordings. Joe Pass pioneered solo guitar with chordal substitutions in his duos with Ella Fitzgerald.

George Benson (1943-)'s success as a pop vocalist in the 1970s made him a household name, but he was an influential jazz guitarist in the 1960s, particularly with his organ trio recordings with organist Jack MacDuff. Grant Green's funky 1970s organ trio music makes him a favourite with 2000s-era lounge and club DJ's, but much of Green's best jazz work can be found in his 1960s output. The king of the descending blues lick, Grant Green's deceptively simple style was full of groove and tone, and it is hard to replicate. Fusion guitarist Larry Coryell (1943-) was among the first to combine the sound and energy of rock with jazz lines in the late 1960s.