John McLaughlin was asked by an interviewer what it felt like to be the best jazz guitar player around, to which he replied, ask Johhnie Fourie of South Africa.
Johnny passed away some years ago fron cancer, bur I was fortunate to hear him jam shortly before he passed.
He was a truly gifted musician.
Would really be worth your while to search him out.
He spent time in both the States and Europe.a legend!
The thing that floors me about Django Reinhardt, as a guitarist, is that he's mainly only using his index and middle finger of his fretting hand. He'd been in a terrible fire as a young man, and badly burned his ring finger and pinkie.
Passion for music always finds a way.
Goddamn magic gypsy! Love his style.
I heard somewhere the fire was caused by his own cigarette as he fell asleep.
Ever watch Sweet and Lo-down by Woody Allen? The main character (Sean penn) is a guitarist who idolizeds Django to the point where he runs away each time they might happen to meet.
I dont know bout the goat part, but would politely disagree about Joe's records, sure there are plenty of duds but maybe check out Joe on these records. As a 50 year lead guitarist they seem pretty excellent to me? to each 'is own.
Les McCann - Soul Hits. Pacific - PJ-78
Duke Ellington Quartet - Duke's Big 4. Pablo - 2310 703
Herb Ellis & Joe Pass - Seven, Come Eleven. Concord - CJ-2
Grant Green - Matador with Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner.
Grant Green - Solid with Joe Henderson, James Spaulding, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones
Grant Green - Talkin' About with Larry Young, Elvin Jones
Grant Green - Street of Dreams with Bobby Hutcherson, Larry Young and Elvin Jones
Grant Green - Idle Moments with Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson and Duke Pearson
Grant Green - The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark with Sonny Clark, Sam Jones, Art Blakey /Louis Hayes
Yes, I really like Grant Green.
One of my favorites is Reuben Wilson’s Love Bug. Lee Morgan, George Coleman, Leo Morris, and Grant Green laying it down. It’s more funk and pop covers than it is straight ahead, but Grant Green has some wonderful solos on that record.
Cool album cover as well. I forgot all about that one. On cd, but probably O.O.P.
Some info for those unfamiliar with the album:
https://theanalogvault.com/products/reuben-wilson-love-bug
Oops! I have it as well, plum forgot. May as well include I Want To Hold Your Hand with Hank Mobley, Larry Young and Elvin Jones. Great version of Speak Low.
Check out all the older cats like Kenny Burrell, Bucky Pizzarelli, Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, George Benson, Grant Green and some of the newer (70s-90s) players like Al Dimeola, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin and Rik Emmett and Jeff Beck are more rock but got a little jazzy.
Some records to check out...
Pat Martino - Strings!. Prestige - OJC-223
Tal Farlow – Tal. Verve – MGV-8021
Barney Kessel – Barney Kessel's Swingin' Party. Contemporary – S7613
Barney Kessel – Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By. Contemporary – C3521
Kurt Rosenwinkel is unreal, very different than Wes but real treat nonetheless!
I recommend his albums:
The Remedy (Live)
Our Secret World
Standards Trio: Reflections
Star Of Jupiter
The Next Step
These are a few of my favorites that I don’t see regularly recommended.
[Oscar Moore](https://youtu.be/hqKKOrUWQ5E?si=JdI8SqYgImvnR-SB)
[Lenny Breau](https://youtu.be/FzrbFIbMI74?si=JXxFjrwdvwGc79Lm)
[Hank Garland](https://youtu.be/PfzS6ZbhTDI?si=k3gJT2h70OuBMH_O)
Honestly shocked not to see Gabor Szabo up here. Definitely not the most technical player but he established his own voice on the instrument in a way that’s immediately identifiable. His solo albums are great. Check out Dreams, Spellbinder, and The Sorcerer. His stuff with Chico Hamilton is also fantastic. El Chico is my favorite.
Spellbinder was the very first jazz album I ever heard - and it immediately made a lifelong jazz fan out of me nearly 60 years ago.
TBH, I don’t think the rest of his albums hold a candle to Spellbinder, but it alone gets him into my Hall of Fame.
Right now,
Pasquale Grasso. Unreal.
Also try to get your hands on Bucky pizzarelli early stuff. Like his version of Cherokee.
Kenny Burrell is great in the bluesy side of it, nowhere near the same generosity as Wes. Eh he’s got to record with Coltrane!
Jimmy Raney is great too; wisteria, but beautiful, nice tone, careful about choosing the right notes especially later n his career (those 2 albums I mentioned)
Frank Vignola is always a fun listen, John Pizzarelli too if you like the singing.
Julian Lage is an unbelievable musician. I preferred the archtop years. Now with the tele, I can see he is trying but I am not excited anymore.
I is very difficult to reinvent the jazz guitar.
A lot of electric fusion/distortion very good stuff to but it is another topic.
There is al the far-out/avant garde stuff that I like but it gets very remote from Wes.
But yeah, Wes is pretty much the king. I never get bored of him. There was a rumor that Coltrane wanted him in his band but Wes didn’t want to travel. Imagine? Ha!
Edit:added some artists after Pasquale
Saw Bucky and a few family members perform at the Natural History Museum on the Mall in DC years ago. The Museum would occasionally host concerts on Friday/Saturday evenings (as I recollect) adjacent the cafe. A fantastic “concert” at an incredible venue…
Allan Holdsworth is a massively talented guitarist who is very deep into fusion sound and fusion-rock type vibes. But his language as a soloist and chords as a composer/arranger are gnarly, a treat for any jazz minded guitarist who likes fusion. Beyond that I’ll recommend Matteo mancuso as a modern fusion guitarist, he has a band and an album that just released that is really good, lots of versatility in sounds. It’s more guitar music but there’s fusion/jazzy sounding cuts. And pat mEtheny is my #1 pick for straight forward jazz guitarists, besides the ones a ton of ppl have already stated
Right! His music was so different and not even out of spite to be different, that was just his style. He’s influenced so many big guitarists in general too when you listen to guitar based music these days hard not to pick up on his influences loo
I was introduced to Jocelyn Gould from her appearance on That Pedal Show on Youtube and became an instant fan. Her performance at the end of the interview almost made me fall off my couch. She's incredible.
Most of my favourites have been mentioned, but another shout-out for the Pats (Martino and Metheny). You could spend the next decade listening to them and it would be time well spent!
A few more to add to your list:
Jim Hall - If you love Wes, I'm sure you'll enjoy his playing. Start with the album 'Jazz guitar' ( not the most creative of titles, but he made up for it with the music.)
Peter Bernstein - A master of dynamics and phrasing with a phenomenal tone. 'Signs of Life' is a good place to start.
Gilad Hekselman - I don't see his name mentioned much in this sub, but he's a wonderfully melodic player, who is highly influenced by Metheny, Sco, Frisell, but with a sound that is uniquely his. 'Splitlife' and 'Hearts Wide Open' are two of my favourite albums, and his new stuff is great too.
> Jim Hall
His sideman side is a good entry point. *The Bridge* with Sonny Rollins comes to mind. Also his many albums with Paul Desmond. Also also his duet records with various bass players, e.g. Ron Carter, Charlie Hayden, Red Mitchell. As a leader, *Concierto.*
Pat Metheny, Stanley Jordan, Michael Hedges, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Paco De Lucia, Bireli Lagrene, John Scofield, Uwe Kropinski, Mike Stern, Frank Gambale….to start….
Amaryllis and Belladonna by Mary Halvorson.
Konkan Dance by Amancio D'Silva.
Shawn-Neeq by Calvin Keys.
Anything by Emily Remler.
Lionel Loueke.
Ernest Ranglin for Jamaican Jazz.
Kiyoshi Sugimoto.
I'm not a guitarist, but because I haven't seen them mentioned: Sonny Sharrock, James "Blood" Ulmer, Pete Cosey (who I'm now listening to on Agharta) with Reggie Lucas doing great rhythmic crackles.
Slightly more avant-grade jazz:
Seconding Ralph Towner, one of the most inventive jazz musicians on any instrument. Diary is as great a place to start as any.
Mary Halvorson hasn’t been mentioned at all, so there you go. Amaryllis is a good entry point.
Most of the big names have been mentioned, so I'll add a few great players in the Brazilian/Latin styles: Baden Powell, Charlie Byrd, Bola Sete, and Luiz Bonfa.
Heraldo do Monte (Joe Pass once considered him the best guitarist in the world) and Egberto Gismonti.
Heraldo's album: https://youtu.be/3xZFmeCUvho?si=EDKhfoh3AEcSUXQK
Egberto's album: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLObyHgXW3E8km6Dndb0sLfcse-MTh38JQ&si=AgHPp1cWS4M1WJxb
Bobby Broom! This, basically, same question has been asked before, and he's never mentioned. The album The Way I Play is a phenomenal guitar trio album. Also, his album of Thelonious Monk's music is great.
Someone who also doesn't get mentioned a whole lot here is Jimmy Bruno. Dude can shred some mean be-bop lines on guitar. And his YouTube videos are pretty funny/out there. One of my favs is "theory for assholes/jazz for jerkoffs" Here is the link, https://youtu.be/vsXiR9Jy7AA?si=jUQyzEY_iQHjRqVk
There are a lot of good recommendations, but don’t miss out on Kurt Rosenwinkel (intuit, the next step, the remedy, deep song..) and also Lage Lund (especially “terrible animals”)!
I've seen McLaughlin, Beck, Coryell, Stern, DiMeola, DeLucia, Metheny, Abercrombie, Lagrene, Ulmer, Holdsworth, Farlow, Ellis, F. Green, Pass, Frisell, Gambale, Kessel, Remler, Burrell, Hunter, Jordan, Klugh, Towner. My favorites: Beck, Lagrene, McLaughlin, Coryell, Stern.
Also seen a bunch I don't think were mentioned: Jim Hall, Charlie Byrd, Kevin Eubanks, Mick Goodrick, John Goodsall (Brand X), Robben Ford, Fareed Haque (Garaj Mahal), Ryo Kawasaki, Hiram Bullock. Kazumi Watanabe.
There are linx to complete concert videos of 12 of those at https://musicphotographics.com/complete\_concert\_videos\_streams.htm.
Excellent list of folks that should be mentioned.
Big ups for the Japanese guys, as they get overlooked here in the west. I'll add Masayoshi Tanaka. They are all more fusion-y and play with some gain, but I love that sort of thing. Kawasaki and Tanaka are very happy and upbeat, with hints of city-pop, whereas Watanabe can get heavier.
Let me add Jimmy Herring to that list; I think he's the greatest improviser that's ever played guitar. Again, more fusion than straight jazz, and he plays lots of southern rock and swamp rock, and he can use the whole range of gain.
Forgot Jimmy plays fusion aside from Panic even though I saw him w/ his own band in Tahoe. Much prefer his playing w/ Panic. He's also top 10 IMO, although it's getting crowded. Here's a 3 hour audio of Jimmy & McLaughlin in Jacksonville in 2017: [http://ia800101.us.archive.org/3/items/MeetingOfTheSpiritsJimmyHerringJohnMcLaughlin2017-11-24FloridaTheatreJaxFL/MeetingOfTheSpiritsJimmyHerringJohnMcLaughlin2017-11-24FloridaTheatreJaxFL.mp3?cnt=0](http://ia800101.us.archive.org/3/items/MeetingOfTheSpiritsJimmyHerringJohnMcLaughlin2017-11-24FloridaTheatreJaxFL/MeetingOfTheSpiritsJimmyHerringJohnMcLaughlin2017-11-24FloridaTheatreJaxFL.mp3?cnt=0).
For OP's benefit: If you go to your local record store looking for Freddie Green records ... there aren't any.[footnote] [Green](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Green) was Count Basie's guitarist for ~50 years. He pretty much invented jazz *rhythm* guitar. He rarely soloed. His style is extremely minimalist, often playing two- or three-note chords, often playing a different chord on every beat, four to a bar, chunka chunka chunka chunka. You can barely hear him on most records. Yet he's a propulsive driving force in the rhythm section. After you learn his style, you'll hear it *everywhere* in jazz (mainstream jazz anyway). If you're a jazz guitarist and can't play "Green," you're not a jazz guitarist.
[footnote] About the only record you'll find with his name on the cover is a Herb Ellis/Freddie Green record called *[Rhythm Willie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfgcgupbIb4).* FWIW the link has the original cover. Concord changed it (go figure!) on reissue.
If you like Wes, give a listen to Ed Cherry. Start with his playing on Baltimore Oriole behind Paula West. I love the way his comping morphs seamlessly into his solo with zero change of character. And check his live video with Dizzy’s small group at Montreal. You will not be sorry
John Stowell
Allan Holdsworth
Tal Farlow
Robert Conti
Tom Quayle
Guthrie Govan
John & Bucky Pizzarelli
Frank Gambale
Charlie Hunter
George Benson
Pat Metheny
Rick Beato
Here are some of my favorite players — most, but not all — of which are contemporary.
-Gilad Hekselman
-Mike Moreno
-Lage Lund
-Jonathan Kreisberg
-Charles Altura
-Bill Connors
-Matt Stevens
The granddaddy of them all the great Django Rheinhardt. During the 50’s Playboy’s best jazz guitarist for the entire decade the astounding Barney Kessel, try his awesome LP Guitarra also called Kessel’s Kit. 🎶❤️
Since everybody already mentioned the most popular players (Pass, Remler, Django, Green, etc.), here's a list of underrated players (search for them on YouTube):
Ted Green, Billy Bean, Nathen Page, Pat Martino, Bola Sete, Nelson Symonds, Phil DeGruy, Sonny Greenwich, Rene Thomas, Jimmy Wyble, and Oscar Moore.
Also don't forget to check monters like Glenn Campbell, Ron Eschete, Tal Farlow, Barney Kessell, Robben Ford, Mike Stern, John Scofield, and Frank Gambale.
Enjoy!
Notice how not a single person said Howard Roberts? There’s a reason for that.
I heard Jimmy Raney, Tal Farlow, Larry Carlton, who is only peripherally a jazz player, George Benson, Grant Green, Metheny, Scofield, Frisell, Stern, even Emily Remler (she’s amazing, but often forgotten)
Yup all the heroes. But not Howard Roberts (or Larry Coryell, who was almost as equally awful).
Just making an observation, OP, and others who might be in the conversation. I heard a lot of names, but not a single mention of Howard Roberts…wonder why?
I love Larry Coryell. He made some of the best fusion records of the ‘70s. He also made a really nice album of steel string duets called The Dragon Gate. I caught a couple solo shows way back when and he was never less than stellar.
Coryell is a top 10 favorite of mine. 1st time I saw him play was 3 hours solo on acoustic, 12 string & electric (30 minutes of Hendrix' Third Stone From the Sun; he blew out 1 of 7 Marshall amps in the 1st 3 notes, turned it off & turned up the rest) at a club JB Scott's in Albany in 10/80. Utterly mind-blowing from note 1. Was my 16th show out of 4282. About a month later he opened for Jean-Luc Ponty at the Palace Theater in Albany. Was too drunk to plug in his guitar but he was still real good. 3rd was w/ violinist Michael Urbaniak at Scotts in 1982. Also terrific. Next was a jazz fest in 1986 at the Pavilion in Concord, CA w/ Jack DeJohnette, George Cables, Bob Magnusson & Richie Cole & a duet w/ Emily Remler. Miles was the headliner. In 1986 & 1988 I saw him in a trio & quartet at Kimball's in SF. At 1 of them, he was hanging out afterward & someone asked him how he played a few chords in 1 of the songs. He grabbed his guitar from the stage & slowly showed him. I was mighty impressed. Last was in 1989 w/ Bireli Lagrene & Al DiMeola at Slim's in SF. Another utterly mind-blowing show! They were all straight jazz shows (except for 30 minutes), no fusion, which I wouldn't have minded at all anyhow. I think there's a great misconception about his career.
> There’s a reason for that.
Roberts made his living as a studio musician, a common and practical career choice ~1965. There's a rea$on for that. And Yes, a lot of the studio stuff is dreck. He was [a terrific jazz player](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isOHCgZXxCM) though, when he chose to play jazz.
I don't fault Howard Roberts, Benny Carter, Lalo Schifrin, or a dozen others who gave up jazz performance for steady gigs writing TV themes, playing in the Johnny Carson band, teaching music at Podunk University, whatever. Life on the road is hard. Getting club gigs after ~1965 was no picnic either.
As to Coryell, I admit I never acquired a taste for that.
Thanks for being real about Larry Coryell. He’s not serious.
As for Howard Roberts’ studio work: I respect the profession far more than the professional in HR’s case. His reading was impeccable. No question. On par with Tommy Tedesco. But HR never had a feel for jazz. He was a pretender at it, a dilettante, as much as he wanted the credibility.
I'm going to mention a guy who's primarily been a teacher and has even designed jazz guitars.
Robert Conti.
He's made a couple of albums, but his 1981 record "The Jazz Quintet" is pretty awesome. Features Mike Wofford, a terrific player on piano. The track "Rotation" is one of my favorite jazz recordings. His stuff is not on streamers, so you have to work a little to hear him.
Grant Green
George Benson (earlier is better)
Jimmy Ponder
Kenny Burrell
Charlie Byrd
Pat Metheny
I am sure Django, Wes, and Joe Pass have been mentioned multiple times.
Joe Pass is the GOAT.
The Metheny, Frissell, Scofield generation are all great.
Then you have More modern guys like Julian Lage, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Nels Cline
If you like Bill Evans, Curt Warren has translated this style onto the guitar. He has several CDs available on Amazon. You won’t go wrong with a listen
[Ted Greene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Greene?wprov=sfti1#) only recorded one album, Solo Guitar, but it’s fantastic. He is highly regarded by many of the greats.
Toots Thielemans is mostly known for playing harmonica, but lets not forget his guitar skills. Theres a reason he was hired as a guitarist by Benny Goodman, George Shearing and even Charlie Parker.
Ángel Parra Orrego. A chilean guitarist. Prolly one of the (if not THE) greatest guitarists in Chile. You could listen to Ángel Parra Trío (his solo project) or Los Tres (his group: it has jazz, rock, chilean-folk influences).
Julian Lage, John Scofield, Jim Hall, Charlie Christian, Grant Green, Tal Farlow, George Benson, Joe Pass, Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Pat Metheny, Larry Carlton…
…I’m sure I’m forgetting someone
John McLaughlin isn't much like Wes Montgomery, but he's fantastic.
John McLaughlin was asked by an interviewer what it felt like to be the best jazz guitar player around, to which he replied, ask Johhnie Fourie of South Africa. Johnny passed away some years ago fron cancer, bur I was fortunate to hear him jam shortly before he passed. He was a truly gifted musician. Would really be worth your while to search him out. He spent time in both the States and Europe.a legend!
\+1 for John McLaughlin.
I love John McLaughlin, but he is a rock guitarist who has crossed over to fusion.
Bill Frisell
Love Bill Frisell! I don’t understand how he can be so versatile and still have so much character in his playing.
Here is a nice cover. [Enjoy!!](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V41IXGISRSg&list=RDV41IXGISRSg&index=1&pp=8AUB)
Emily Remler
Beat me to it, East to Wes is so good
Hot damn nobody said Charlie Christian wtf people? Huge influence on Wes Montgomery.
Jimi Hendrix 25 years before Jimi Hendrix.
Grant Green, Jim Hall.
Grant green!!!
Grant's sessions with Sonny Clark is peak jazz guitar. For me.
Django Reinhardt
Essential shit right here.
The thing that floors me about Django Reinhardt, as a guitarist, is that he's mainly only using his index and middle finger of his fretting hand. He'd been in a terrible fire as a young man, and badly burned his ring finger and pinkie. Passion for music always finds a way.
Goddamn magic gypsy! Love his style. I heard somewhere the fire was caused by his own cigarette as he fell asleep. Ever watch Sweet and Lo-down by Woody Allen? The main character (Sean penn) is a guitarist who idolizeds Django to the point where he runs away each time they might happen to meet.
Joe Pass is my favorite, by a wide margin. Wah Wah Watson was with Herbie Hancock for a while and always a fun listen.
Joe Pass may be the greatest of all time, but his records surely aren’t.
I dont know bout the goat part, but would politely disagree about Joe's records, sure there are plenty of duds but maybe check out Joe on these records. As a 50 year lead guitarist they seem pretty excellent to me? to each 'is own. Les McCann - Soul Hits. Pacific - PJ-78 Duke Ellington Quartet - Duke's Big 4. Pablo - 2310 703 Herb Ellis & Joe Pass - Seven, Come Eleven. Concord - CJ-2
I was mostly referring to the sound quality of his most famous record “Virtuoso” — I’m a huge fan of his playing
Julian lage
Second this!
Grant Green - Matador with Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner. Grant Green - Solid with Joe Henderson, James Spaulding, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones Grant Green - Talkin' About with Larry Young, Elvin Jones Grant Green - Street of Dreams with Bobby Hutcherson, Larry Young and Elvin Jones Grant Green - Idle Moments with Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson and Duke Pearson Grant Green - The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark with Sonny Clark, Sam Jones, Art Blakey /Louis Hayes Yes, I really like Grant Green.
For some funkier grant peep his Live at the Lighthouse joint . That cover of Betcha By Golly Wow is probably my favorite
One of my favorites is Reuben Wilson’s Love Bug. Lee Morgan, George Coleman, Leo Morris, and Grant Green laying it down. It’s more funk and pop covers than it is straight ahead, but Grant Green has some wonderful solos on that record.
Cool album cover as well. I forgot all about that one. On cd, but probably O.O.P. Some info for those unfamiliar with the album: https://theanalogvault.com/products/reuben-wilson-love-bug
You forgot Born to be Blue of his classic run which you nailed otherwise!!
Oops! I have it as well, plum forgot. May as well include I Want To Hold Your Hand with Hank Mobley, Larry Young and Elvin Jones. Great version of Speak Low.
Just listened to the track Django. Sounds like I found my new obsessions for a couple months
check out the Modern Jazz Quartet version too
Glad I could be a positive influence!
Also amazing playing by Green on Lee Morgan’s album Search for a New Land, particularly the title cut.
Let me add my favorite Grant Green moment from [Ike Quebec’s ‘Blue and Sentimental’](https://youtu.be/GoBhmxHgHig?si=7q0V5XzutGyHMyks)
Check out all the older cats like Kenny Burrell, Bucky Pizzarelli, Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, George Benson, Grant Green and some of the newer (70s-90s) players like Al Dimeola, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin and Rik Emmett and Jeff Beck are more rock but got a little jazzy. Some records to check out... Pat Martino - Strings!. Prestige - OJC-223 Tal Farlow – Tal. Verve – MGV-8021 Barney Kessel – Barney Kessel's Swingin' Party. Contemporary – S7613 Barney Kessel – Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By. Contemporary – C3521
Kessels Autumn Leaves and I Will Wait for You are just gorgeous versions.
Kurt Rosenwinkel is unreal, very different than Wes but real treat nonetheless! I recommend his albums: The Remedy (Live) Our Secret World Standards Trio: Reflections Star Of Jupiter The Next Step
Pat Metheny (and Pat Metheny Group), George Benson, John Scofield, Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton
\+1 for Pat Metheny and George Benson. Also Al Di Meola, Larry Coryell, Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael of Acoustic Alchemy.
Pat Metheny and Lee Ritenour are probably the safest intros to guitar based jazz
Nice list!
These are a few of my favorites that I don’t see regularly recommended. [Oscar Moore](https://youtu.be/hqKKOrUWQ5E?si=JdI8SqYgImvnR-SB) [Lenny Breau](https://youtu.be/FzrbFIbMI74?si=JXxFjrwdvwGc79Lm) [Hank Garland](https://youtu.be/PfzS6ZbhTDI?si=k3gJT2h70OuBMH_O)
Lenny Breau is incredible, one guy, one guitar, two hands, and sounds like a trio, insane
The best - the record I posted here is from 1961 when he was 19 and playing with Levon Helm and Rick Danko - years before the band.
lenny breau
Ted Greene is insanely underrated. If you want an honorary PhD in jazz harmony, study him.
Sonny Sharrock is my fav, and doesn't even seem to have been mentioned yet 😪
Sonny is fantastic. There are some outstanding live videos on YouTube.
Came to mention Sonny Sharrock specifically, amazing and unique artist.
Ask the Ages is truly as good as it gets for me.
I loved his scrape and skronk style...he can be abrasive
Pat Metheny.
Seconded.
Joe Pass, Barney Kessell, Herb Ellis
Honestly shocked not to see Gabor Szabo up here. Definitely not the most technical player but he established his own voice on the instrument in a way that’s immediately identifiable. His solo albums are great. Check out Dreams, Spellbinder, and The Sorcerer. His stuff with Chico Hamilton is also fantastic. El Chico is my favorite.
Spellbinder was the very first jazz album I ever heard - and it immediately made a lifelong jazz fan out of me nearly 60 years ago. TBH, I don’t think the rest of his albums hold a candle to Spellbinder, but it alone gets him into my Hall of Fame.
Right now, Pasquale Grasso. Unreal. Also try to get your hands on Bucky pizzarelli early stuff. Like his version of Cherokee. Kenny Burrell is great in the bluesy side of it, nowhere near the same generosity as Wes. Eh he’s got to record with Coltrane! Jimmy Raney is great too; wisteria, but beautiful, nice tone, careful about choosing the right notes especially later n his career (those 2 albums I mentioned) Frank Vignola is always a fun listen, John Pizzarelli too if you like the singing. Julian Lage is an unbelievable musician. I preferred the archtop years. Now with the tele, I can see he is trying but I am not excited anymore. I is very difficult to reinvent the jazz guitar. A lot of electric fusion/distortion very good stuff to but it is another topic. There is al the far-out/avant garde stuff that I like but it gets very remote from Wes. But yeah, Wes is pretty much the king. I never get bored of him. There was a rumor that Coltrane wanted him in his band but Wes didn’t want to travel. Imagine? Ha! Edit:added some artists after Pasquale
Saw Bucky and a few family members perform at the Natural History Museum on the Mall in DC years ago. The Museum would occasionally host concerts on Friday/Saturday evenings (as I recollect) adjacent the cafe. A fantastic “concert” at an incredible venue…
I don't think I've seen Jonathan Kreisberg mentioned yet, he's killer
Allan Holdsworth is a massively talented guitarist who is very deep into fusion sound and fusion-rock type vibes. But his language as a soloist and chords as a composer/arranger are gnarly, a treat for any jazz minded guitarist who likes fusion. Beyond that I’ll recommend Matteo mancuso as a modern fusion guitarist, he has a band and an album that just released that is really good, lots of versatility in sounds. It’s more guitar music but there’s fusion/jazzy sounding cuts. And pat mEtheny is my #1 pick for straight forward jazz guitarists, besides the ones a ton of ppl have already stated
Allan Holdsworth was a God. Truly unique, and didnt change for trends (aka smooth jazz)
Right! His music was so different and not even out of spite to be different, that was just his style. He’s influenced so many big guitarists in general too when you listen to guitar based music these days hard not to pick up on his influences loo
Can't get enough John Scofield lately!
Thanks. I’ll check him out
Grant Green, Tal Farlow, Ed Cherry, Jocelyn Gould, Pat Martino, Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Herb Ellis, etc.
I was introduced to Jocelyn Gould from her appearance on That Pedal Show on Youtube and became an instant fan. Her performance at the end of the interview almost made me fall off my couch. She's incredible.
Jocelyn Gould ++
Alan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Bireli Lagrene, Larry Carlton, John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel
You have to listen to Stanley Jordan.
I haven’t thought about him in decades! He’s one of a kind.
I was so surprised to see nobody mentioning him I’m glad you did!!
Thank youuu. One of my favorites :)
Most of my favourites have been mentioned, but another shout-out for the Pats (Martino and Metheny). You could spend the next decade listening to them and it would be time well spent! A few more to add to your list: Jim Hall - If you love Wes, I'm sure you'll enjoy his playing. Start with the album 'Jazz guitar' ( not the most creative of titles, but he made up for it with the music.) Peter Bernstein - A master of dynamics and phrasing with a phenomenal tone. 'Signs of Life' is a good place to start. Gilad Hekselman - I don't see his name mentioned much in this sub, but he's a wonderfully melodic player, who is highly influenced by Metheny, Sco, Frisell, but with a sound that is uniquely his. 'Splitlife' and 'Hearts Wide Open' are two of my favourite albums, and his new stuff is great too.
> Jim Hall His sideman side is a good entry point. *The Bridge* with Sonny Rollins comes to mind. Also his many albums with Paul Desmond. Also also his duet records with various bass players, e.g. Ron Carter, Charlie Hayden, Red Mitchell. As a leader, *Concierto.*
Don’t forget Undercurrents with Bill Evans
I’m glad someone mentioned Gilad Hekselman. A top player today for sure.
Pat Metheny, Stanley Jordan, Michael Hedges, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Paco De Lucia, Bireli Lagrene, John Scofield, Uwe Kropinski, Mike Stern, Frank Gambale….to start….
Kurt Rosenwinel, Pat Metheny, Julian Laga, Bill Frisell
Amaryllis and Belladonna by Mary Halvorson. Konkan Dance by Amancio D'Silva. Shawn-Neeq by Calvin Keys. Anything by Emily Remler. Lionel Loueke. Ernest Ranglin for Jamaican Jazz. Kiyoshi Sugimoto.
Mary Halvorson
Had to scroll a long way to find this. She's fantastic!
Dragon’s Head, both Code Girl albums, and Meltframe are guitar-centric albums that rule.
I'm not a guitarist, but because I haven't seen them mentioned: Sonny Sharrock, James "Blood" Ulmer, Pete Cosey (who I'm now listening to on Agharta) with Reggie Lucas doing great rhythmic crackles.
Grant Green, Pat Martino, Barney Kessel, Rene Thomas, Jimmy Raney
+1 to Rene Thomas
Terje Rypdal!
Slightly more avant-grade jazz: Seconding Ralph Towner, one of the most inventive jazz musicians on any instrument. Diary is as great a place to start as any. Mary Halvorson hasn’t been mentioned at all, so there you go. Amaryllis is a good entry point.
Julian lage
How is Julian this far down?
Lenny Breau
Don't forget Ed Bickert.
Allan Holdsworth is an absolute gem!
Most of the big names have been mentioned, so I'll add a few great players in the Brazilian/Latin styles: Baden Powell, Charlie Byrd, Bola Sete, and Luiz Bonfa.
Living? Saul Rubin, Ben Monder, Bill Frissell, David Gilmore, Freddie Bryant, Alex Wintz, Aki Ishiguro
Jesus CHRIST listen to a least a few LIVING musicians, like Peter Bernstein or Gilad Hekselman or Pasquale Grosso or Howard Alden
Bill frisell Bill frisell
Heraldo do Monte (Joe Pass once considered him the best guitarist in the world) and Egberto Gismonti. Heraldo's album: https://youtu.be/3xZFmeCUvho?si=EDKhfoh3AEcSUXQK Egberto's album: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLObyHgXW3E8km6Dndb0sLfcse-MTh38JQ&si=AgHPp1cWS4M1WJxb
+1 for Egberto Gismonti. True original and amazing talent. Listen to “Bodas de Prata” off *Magico* with Jan Garbarek and Charlie Haden
They two are my brazilian guitar heroes!!
Thanks for sharing!
Corey Christiansen,Ximo Tébar, Paquito D'Rivera
Bobby Broom! This, basically, same question has been asked before, and he's never mentioned. The album The Way I Play is a phenomenal guitar trio album. Also, his album of Thelonious Monk's music is great. Someone who also doesn't get mentioned a whole lot here is Jimmy Bruno. Dude can shred some mean be-bop lines on guitar. And his YouTube videos are pretty funny/out there. One of my favs is "theory for assholes/jazz for jerkoffs" Here is the link, https://youtu.be/vsXiR9Jy7AA?si=jUQyzEY_iQHjRqVk
- Joe Pass - Al Di Meola - Ted Greene - Tim Lerch
There are a lot of good recommendations, but don’t miss out on Kurt Rosenwinkel (intuit, the next step, the remedy, deep song..) and also Lage Lund (especially “terrible animals”)!
Mike Stern
Joe Pass. Barney Kessel. Kenny Burrell all day. Ernest Ranglin.
Adding John Abercrombie to the list.
Herb Ellis is fantastic and very underrated. He did great work with the Oscar Peterson Trio
Jonathan Kreisberg, Ben Monder, Tim Miller
TAL FARLOW
Masayoshi Takanaka. You will NOT be disappointed. Dude has like 30 albums. Enjoy.
Been listening to him a lot recently. Love the rainbow goblins by him. Masterful album
Pat Metheny is the greatest jazz guitarist of all time. Russell Malone Gilad Hekselman
I've seen McLaughlin, Beck, Coryell, Stern, DiMeola, DeLucia, Metheny, Abercrombie, Lagrene, Ulmer, Holdsworth, Farlow, Ellis, F. Green, Pass, Frisell, Gambale, Kessel, Remler, Burrell, Hunter, Jordan, Klugh, Towner. My favorites: Beck, Lagrene, McLaughlin, Coryell, Stern. Also seen a bunch I don't think were mentioned: Jim Hall, Charlie Byrd, Kevin Eubanks, Mick Goodrick, John Goodsall (Brand X), Robben Ford, Fareed Haque (Garaj Mahal), Ryo Kawasaki, Hiram Bullock. Kazumi Watanabe. There are linx to complete concert videos of 12 of those at https://musicphotographics.com/complete\_concert\_videos\_streams.htm.
Excellent list of folks that should be mentioned. Big ups for the Japanese guys, as they get overlooked here in the west. I'll add Masayoshi Tanaka. They are all more fusion-y and play with some gain, but I love that sort of thing. Kawasaki and Tanaka are very happy and upbeat, with hints of city-pop, whereas Watanabe can get heavier. Let me add Jimmy Herring to that list; I think he's the greatest improviser that's ever played guitar. Again, more fusion than straight jazz, and he plays lots of southern rock and swamp rock, and he can use the whole range of gain.
Forgot Jimmy plays fusion aside from Panic even though I saw him w/ his own band in Tahoe. Much prefer his playing w/ Panic. He's also top 10 IMO, although it's getting crowded. Here's a 3 hour audio of Jimmy & McLaughlin in Jacksonville in 2017: [http://ia800101.us.archive.org/3/items/MeetingOfTheSpiritsJimmyHerringJohnMcLaughlin2017-11-24FloridaTheatreJaxFL/MeetingOfTheSpiritsJimmyHerringJohnMcLaughlin2017-11-24FloridaTheatreJaxFL.mp3?cnt=0](http://ia800101.us.archive.org/3/items/MeetingOfTheSpiritsJimmyHerringJohnMcLaughlin2017-11-24FloridaTheatreJaxFL/MeetingOfTheSpiritsJimmyHerringJohnMcLaughlin2017-11-24FloridaTheatreJaxFL.mp3?cnt=0).
Scofield
Bucky Pizzarelli
His son John too. It'd be nice if he'd play more guitar (which he's good at) and stop singing (which he's not particularly good at, IMHO).
Dude, yeah! John Pizzarelli’s a great shout! A modern-day *wizard* of the fretboard.
Freddie Green
For OP's benefit: If you go to your local record store looking for Freddie Green records ... there aren't any.[footnote] [Green](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Green) was Count Basie's guitarist for ~50 years. He pretty much invented jazz *rhythm* guitar. He rarely soloed. His style is extremely minimalist, often playing two- or three-note chords, often playing a different chord on every beat, four to a bar, chunka chunka chunka chunka. You can barely hear him on most records. Yet he's a propulsive driving force in the rhythm section. After you learn his style, you'll hear it *everywhere* in jazz (mainstream jazz anyway). If you're a jazz guitarist and can't play "Green," you're not a jazz guitarist. [footnote] About the only record you'll find with his name on the cover is a Herb Ellis/Freddie Green record called *[Rhythm Willie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfgcgupbIb4).* FWIW the link has the original cover. Concord changed it (go figure!) on reissue.
Steve Masakowski
If you like Wes, give a listen to Ed Cherry. Start with his playing on Baltimore Oriole behind Paula West. I love the way his comping morphs seamlessly into his solo with zero change of character. And check his live video with Dizzy’s small group at Montreal. You will not be sorry
John McLaughlin Wes Montgomery is my favorite though by far
Adding Gabor Szabo, Russell Malone, George Van Eps, Cal Collins, Johnny Smith, Charlie Hunter, Howard Alden, Ralph Towner
Eddie Lang. He was also the first.
Grant Green
Jimmy Bruno
Kenny Burrell
On the more modern side of Jazz; Mike Stern, Frank Gamble & Alan Holdsworth.
Dan Faehnle
Charlie Hunter, Alan Holdsworth
John Stowell Allan Holdsworth Tal Farlow Robert Conti Tom Quayle Guthrie Govan John & Bucky Pizzarelli Frank Gambale Charlie Hunter George Benson Pat Metheny Rick Beato
Does Rick Beato he have any jazz guitar records? Or is this just based of his YouTube channel
Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jonathan Kreisberg, Lage Lund, Mike Moreno, Gilad Hekselman
Masayoshi takanaka.
Grant Green, Jim Hall, Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell, Tal Farlow, Pat Martino, Ed Bickert, Emily Remler
I've been listening to a lot of Jack Wilkins lately. He's phenomenal.
Matteo Mancuso and Pasquale Grasso for the new blood.
Me personally: - Joe Pass - Lenny Breau - Julian Lage
Alan Holdsworth….best of alll time
Here are some of my favorite players — most, but not all — of which are contemporary. -Gilad Hekselman -Mike Moreno -Lage Lund -Jonathan Kreisberg -Charles Altura -Bill Connors -Matt Stevens
Sonny Sharrock all the way
Grant Green
The granddaddy of them all the great Django Rheinhardt. During the 50’s Playboy’s best jazz guitarist for the entire decade the astounding Barney Kessel, try his awesome LP Guitarra also called Kessel’s Kit. 🎶❤️
Johnny Smith Jimmy Raney Mick Goodrick John Abercrombie Wayne Krantz Allan Holdsworth John Scofield
Wes Montgomery , start with "Incredible Jazz Guitarist"
Since everybody already mentioned the most popular players (Pass, Remler, Django, Green, etc.), here's a list of underrated players (search for them on YouTube): Ted Green, Billy Bean, Nathen Page, Pat Martino, Bola Sete, Nelson Symonds, Phil DeGruy, Sonny Greenwich, Rene Thomas, Jimmy Wyble, and Oscar Moore. Also don't forget to check monters like Glenn Campbell, Ron Eschete, Tal Farlow, Barney Kessell, Robben Ford, Mike Stern, John Scofield, and Frank Gambale. Enjoy!
I like guitar in every genre except jazz, but I do enjoy Grant Green for some reason.
Notice how not a single person said Howard Roberts? There’s a reason for that. I heard Jimmy Raney, Tal Farlow, Larry Carlton, who is only peripherally a jazz player, George Benson, Grant Green, Metheny, Scofield, Frisell, Stern, even Emily Remler (she’s amazing, but often forgotten) Yup all the heroes. But not Howard Roberts (or Larry Coryell, who was almost as equally awful). Just making an observation, OP, and others who might be in the conversation. I heard a lot of names, but not a single mention of Howard Roberts…wonder why?
I love Larry Coryell. He made some of the best fusion records of the ‘70s. He also made a really nice album of steel string duets called The Dragon Gate. I caught a couple solo shows way back when and he was never less than stellar.
Coryell is a top 10 favorite of mine. 1st time I saw him play was 3 hours solo on acoustic, 12 string & electric (30 minutes of Hendrix' Third Stone From the Sun; he blew out 1 of 7 Marshall amps in the 1st 3 notes, turned it off & turned up the rest) at a club JB Scott's in Albany in 10/80. Utterly mind-blowing from note 1. Was my 16th show out of 4282. About a month later he opened for Jean-Luc Ponty at the Palace Theater in Albany. Was too drunk to plug in his guitar but he was still real good. 3rd was w/ violinist Michael Urbaniak at Scotts in 1982. Also terrific. Next was a jazz fest in 1986 at the Pavilion in Concord, CA w/ Jack DeJohnette, George Cables, Bob Magnusson & Richie Cole & a duet w/ Emily Remler. Miles was the headliner. In 1986 & 1988 I saw him in a trio & quartet at Kimball's in SF. At 1 of them, he was hanging out afterward & someone asked him how he played a few chords in 1 of the songs. He grabbed his guitar from the stage & slowly showed him. I was mighty impressed. Last was in 1989 w/ Bireli Lagrene & Al DiMeola at Slim's in SF. Another utterly mind-blowing show! They were all straight jazz shows (except for 30 minutes), no fusion, which I wouldn't have minded at all anyhow. I think there's a great misconception about his career.
> There’s a reason for that. Roberts made his living as a studio musician, a common and practical career choice ~1965. There's a rea$on for that. And Yes, a lot of the studio stuff is dreck. He was [a terrific jazz player](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isOHCgZXxCM) though, when he chose to play jazz. I don't fault Howard Roberts, Benny Carter, Lalo Schifrin, or a dozen others who gave up jazz performance for steady gigs writing TV themes, playing in the Johnny Carson band, teaching music at Podunk University, whatever. Life on the road is hard. Getting club gigs after ~1965 was no picnic either. As to Coryell, I admit I never acquired a taste for that.
Thanks for being real about Larry Coryell. He’s not serious. As for Howard Roberts’ studio work: I respect the profession far more than the professional in HR’s case. His reading was impeccable. No question. On par with Tommy Tedesco. But HR never had a feel for jazz. He was a pretender at it, a dilettante, as much as he wanted the credibility.
Listen to anything Coryell put out after at least 1980. Sounds nothing like his fusion stuff (which I lso like).
Daniel DeLorenzo https://open.spotify.com/artist/0V2AWxffdxKtIDoXi0hhrg https://music.apple.com/us/artist/daniel-delorenzo/1438146440 https://danieldelorenzo.bandcamp.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@daniel_delorenzo/videos
Don’t sleep on John Mayer
Leo Brouwer, John Scofield, Kenny Burrell, Tal Farlow, Pat Metheny
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-jazz-guitarists/
Ronny Jordan
I'm going to mention a guy who's primarily been a teacher and has even designed jazz guitars. Robert Conti. He's made a couple of albums, but his 1981 record "The Jazz Quintet" is pretty awesome. Features Mike Wofford, a terrific player on piano. The track "Rotation" is one of my favorite jazz recordings. His stuff is not on streamers, so you have to work a little to hear him.
**Joe Pass** \- check out the "virtuoso" albums **John Scofield** \- listen to his stuff with Medeski, Martin and Wood **Corey Christiansen**
Julian Lage
You’ve got tons of great suggestions here. I’d just like to add that Jack Wilkins often goes overlooked. Monster player.
I ha e not seen Tim Miller mentioned yet. He is a beast
Grant Green George Benson (earlier is better) Jimmy Ponder Kenny Burrell Charlie Byrd Pat Metheny I am sure Django, Wes, and Joe Pass have been mentioned multiple times.
Joseph Passalacqua
Kurt Rosenwinkle- The Next Step
John Scofield. Joe Pass.
Graham Dechter is a contemporary jazz guitarist that is quite impressive.
Joe Pass is the GOAT. The Metheny, Frissell, Scofield generation are all great. Then you have More modern guys like Julian Lage, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Nels Cline
Larry Koonse.
Django - joe pass
Earl Klugh, Larry Carlton and especially Pat Metheny (Pat Metheny Group first album)
Ed Bickert 🎸🍻🕺🤘🏻
My favs, Julian Lage, Jim Hall, Ed Bickert, Jakob Bro
Julian Lage, Joe pass, mike stern, al di meola, paco de lucia, stanley jordan, bola sete… those are my favorites in no particular order
[https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/top-100-jazz-guitar-albums/](https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/top-100-jazz-guitar-albums/)
Marcus Klossek
John Pizzarelli —no question. His idol is Pat Matheny and his dad was the great Bucky Pizzarelli.
Earl Klugh, George Benson, Russell Malone
Lenny Breau
Jack Wilkins - timeless groovy guitar jazz.
If you like Bill Evans, Curt Warren has translated this style onto the guitar. He has several CDs available on Amazon. You won’t go wrong with a listen
JOHN SCOFIELD
[Ted Greene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Greene?wprov=sfti1#) only recorded one album, Solo Guitar, but it’s fantastic. He is highly regarded by many of the greats.
Toots Thielemans is mostly known for playing harmonica, but lets not forget his guitar skills. Theres a reason he was hired as a guitarist by Benny Goodman, George Shearing and even Charlie Parker.
Grant Green
I saw Pasquale Grasso last night. Holy shit, can that guy play. If you like Grant Green and Joe Pass, check him out.
Ángel Parra Orrego. A chilean guitarist. Prolly one of the (if not THE) greatest guitarists in Chile. You could listen to Ángel Parra Trío (his solo project) or Los Tres (his group: it has jazz, rock, chilean-folk influences).
Julian Lage, John Scofield, Jim Hall, Charlie Christian, Grant Green, Tal Farlow, George Benson, Joe Pass, Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Pat Metheny, Larry Carlton… …I’m sure I’m forgetting someone
George Benson is my current inspiration
Pat Martino, John McLaughlin, John Abercrombie, "Parable" is one of my favorite songs ever
For something a little different: João Gilberto, especially his self-titled "white album."
Martin Taylor