Greetings folks, I hope you are doing well, and welcome to Jeff's Place!
Roman Pokorny (left) with Ed Bickert (right). Roman is holding Ed's famous Telecaster. Photo courtesy of Roman Pokorny.
For me, the late Canadian jazz guitarist, Ed Bickert, is one of the 'great lights' of jazz guitar.
Like a lot of the great jazz guitarists, Ed played a Gibson ES-175 archtop jazz guitar early on in his career, before switching over to the Fender Telecaster - shocking at the time - that would become synonymous with his name in later years (the photo above).
The Telecaster has a lot of sustain due to its solid-body construction, and that combined with Ed's sophisticated chord voicings and artful improvisation ability lends an almost piano-like complexity to his sound.
Paul Desmond's 'Pure Desmond' with Ed Bickert (1974).
Paul had superb taste when it came to jazz guitarists, first playing with the legendary Jim Hall, and then later with Ed Bickert.
A lot of people first became familiar with jazz guitarist Ed Bickert from his playing on Paul Desmond's albums, Pure Desmond (1974) and Paul Desmond (1978).
At the time jazz lovers listening to the Paul Desmond and Pure Desmond albums assumed that Ed's guitar was a standard jazz archtop guitar like a Gibson ES-175 or Gibson L-5 due to Ed's gorgeous tone, and were shocked to find out that Ed was playing a Telecaster.
At that time the versatile Telecasters were more commonly associated with country music (Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, et al), rock & roll (Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Page, et al), blues (Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, et al), and it was considered a bit of a heresy to play jazz on a Tele.
Paul Desmond's 'Paul Desmond' with Ed Bickert (1978).
Due to Ed's pioneering influence playing jazz on a Telecaster, the Telecaster has been accepted into the mainstream of jazz guitar, with lots of jazz guitarists playing Telecasters in live performances as well as in the studio.
I might also add that due to its compact shape that the Telecaster is also very comfortable to play, and avoids most of the shoulder pain that can result from playing the larger archtop guitars, particularly for those of us with beat-up shoulders (my beat-up shoulders are from motocross racing crashes in my youth. Ouch.).
Today's trio of recordings featuring Ed Bickert are courtesy of my friend David Gitlen (and actually all the previous Ed Bickert recommendations as well).
Westminster Royal SEs, Triode Lab 45 EVO integrated amplifier, and Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player.
David and I get together once a week when David stops by to teach me a jazz guitar lesson, and after the lesson we retire to my living room for some fun jazz guitar listening on the stereo while sipping some espressos. We have a blast listening to the albums and talking about all things jazz guitar.
This week's system consisted of my Tannoy Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers, the Triode Lab 45 EVO integrated amplifier, and the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player, which is a stellar combination both in terms of sound quality and musicality on the typically well-recorded jazz albums from the magnetic era of the recording arts (mostly).
Murley, Bickert & Wallace 'Live at the Senator'
Murley, Bickert & Wallace 'Live at the Senator'
Murley, Bickert & Wallace's Live at the Senator is a Juno Award winning album of jazz standards that were recorded live at Toronto's Top O’ the Senator jazz club in November of 1999, featuring Mike Murley on tenor sax, Ed Bickert on guitar, and Steve Wallace on bass.
This live recording provides that musical spontaneity and time-travel music listening experience that only live recordings do so well.
A superb recording combined with brilliant playing make this an album a must have for Ed Bickert and jazz fans - highly recommended.
Frank Rosolino's 'Thinking About You' with Ed Bickert
Frank Rosolino's 'Thinking About You' with Ed Bickert.
Frank Rosolino's Thinking About You features Frank Rosolino on trombone, Ed Bickert on Guitar, Don Thompson on bass, and Terry Clarke on drums, and was recorded live at Toronto's Bourbon Street jazz club in 1976.
This is a two CD set that features the first four songs from the original LP version, as well as eight songs that were previously unreleased.
As with Live at the Senator, this live recording provides musical spontaneity and a time-travel music listening experience that only live recordings can do so well.
This is another superb recording combined with brilliant playing in a live jazz club setting that make this an album a must have for Ed Bickert and jazz fans - highly recommended.
Murley, Bickert, Wallace 'Test of Time'
Murley, Bickert, Wallace 'Test of Time'.
Murley, Bickert, and Wallace's Test of Time is a studio album recorded in 1999, and was a Juno Award winner in 2013.
While this album doesn't offer the intimacy of the earlier live recording Live at the Senator, some audiophiles may prefer this album for its excellent sound quality, vivid, and 'close-up' presentation of Mike Murley on tenor sax, Ed Bickert on guitar, and Steve Wallace on bass.
Still, Test of Time features Ed Bickert on guitar, with his usual virtuoso jazz guitar playing, and is an album every Ed Bickert fan should have in their collection.
Ok, that's it for today. Many thanks to David Gitlen for enriching my musical life through jazz guitar lessons, introducing me to the players and history of jazz guitar, and sharing with me - and you - many great jazz guitar albums that I wouldn't have been aware of otherwise.
My jazz guitar album library is growing nicely - thank you, David!
Previous Posts in The Jazz Guitar Chronicles Series
Below are links to the previous posts in The Jazz Guitar Chronicles to help you with building your own jazz guitar library. Enjoy!
The Jazz Guitar Chronicles: Joe Pass in Hamburg HERE
Joe Pass in Hamburg. ACT Jazz Classics.
The Jazz Guitar Chronicles: Herb Ellis and Joe Pass 'Two For The Road' HERE
Herb Ellis and Joe Pass' "Two For The Road".
The Complete Pacific Jazz Joe Pass Quartet Sessions HERE
The Complete Pacific Jazz Joe Pass Quartet Sessions
The Jazz Guitar Chronicles: 'Three for the Road' with Ed Bickert! HERE
'Three for the Road' with Rob McConnell (valve trombone), Ed Bickert (guitar), and Don Thompson (bass, piano).
The Jazz Guitar Chronicles: 'Undercurrent' by Bill Evans & Jim Hall! HERE
Bill Evans & Jim Hall 'Undercurrent'
I hope you've enjoyed today's installment of The Jazz Guitar Chronicles. There are many more recommended jazz guitar albums to come to help you build your music library, so stay tuned from more!
As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
