The Magic of Django Reinhardt for Plectrum Guitar - 1961

Django Reinhardt (1910 – 1953) was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who is regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time. He had a formidable technique and an impressive intuitive individual style.

Laurindo Almeida from the Romantic Era Guitar Solos - 1960

Brazilian virtuoso guitarist and composer Laurindo Almeida (1917 – 1995) made many recordings in classical, jazz and latin genres. He was described as " an artist known for his harmonic mastery, subtle dynamics, rich embellishments and adept improvisatory skills in a variety of idioms " by authors Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha.

" From the Romantic Era " is a transcription of nine pleasant, well-known classical pieces, most of which were arranged and recorded by Laurindo Almeida, on the 1956 Capitol Album with the same name :

George Van Eps Guitar Method - 1961 (first published in 1939)

Guitar method books from the past can provide an interesting source of instruction. Apart from the information, these books usually display an attractive old-fashioned graphic style on the front cover and occasionally include interesting advertisements from a bygone era ...

George Van Eps (1913 - 1998) was one of jazz guitars' great chordal exponents. He was a pioneer of the seven string guitar which allowed the incorporation of sophisticated bass lines into his distinctive style of playing.

George Van Eps' original guitar method (front and back cover pictured above) explores his approach to guitar-based harmony. The method book consists of 82 exercises (including a short etude study on the last page) of major, minor, diminished, dominant and augmented triads in all inversions on each set of three strings. Upper, lower, inside voice movement and contrary motion exercises have been included - in short, an excellent, meticulously presented and valuable publication for the jazz guitarist.

A highly informative interview with George Van Eps on the Ted Greene Website :

Ted Greene "George Van Eps Interview" - circa 1981 (audio and .pdf)

Play In A Day - Bert Weedon's Guitar Guide To Modern Guitar Playing - 1957

Bert Weedon OBE (1920 – 2012) was a British guitarist with a popular and influential playing style during the 1950s and 1960s. He was the first British guitarist to have a hit record, "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" in the UK Singles Chart in 1959. He was awarded an OBE in 2001 for his services to music.

His well-known method book, Play in a Day, was an initial tutor for many leading British musicians including Eric Clapton, Brian May, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon.

A link to a brief NPR Audio Clip of a tribute to Bert Weedon :

Remembering Bert Weedon : Guitar Teacher To Rock Stars (And Many More)

The Ivor Mairants Series Of Plectrum Guitar Solos - 1959

Apart from writing various method books, Ivor Mairants arranged a series of plectrum guitar solos, available in sheet music form. He composed and arranged "Personal Call" as a tribute to jazz guitarist Barney Kessel :

The Ivor Mairants Album for Voice and Guitar - 1958

Ivor Mairants' Complete and Up-To-Date Guitar Tutor in Theory and Practice

Ivor Mairants (1908 - 1998) was a distinguished guitarist, composer, writer and teacher. From the 1930s he was a featured banjoist and then guitarist of many of Britain's leading dance bands.  During the 60's and 70's he often recorded for television, radio and film soundtracks. Mairants also devoted much of his time to writing music and instructional methods for the guitar.

The Guitar - Self Instructor Series - 1938

This method book provides an introduction to reading music with a few simple pieces which combine notes and open string chords. The student is also encouraged to explore the higher range of the instrument with principal chord inversions and a few chord-melody studies.

The 1938 method book offers advice on the use a plectrum when playing a " wire strung " guitar.

Anthony Antone's Ultra Modern Book On Chords for the Spanish Guitar - 1944 (first published in 1939)

Anthony Antone (Antonelli) (1906 - 1959) was a New York based guitarist, teacher, conductor and the "Guitar Editor" for "Metronome" magazine. He was heard on numerous broadcasts over the Mutual Broadcasting System and New York City radio stations WMCA and WOR.

The book consists of 776 chords in diagram form side by side with music notation. Following the "Open String Chords" section, all chord forms have been based on F.

How To Play The Guitar - Paxton's Progressive Tutor written by Will Van Allen - 1936

Will Van Allen (William Dodds) was a highly successful variety artist who used the banjo in his act at the turn of the last century. He had a successful teaching studio in London. In 1902 he toured the U.S.A. for a year. He was also associated with the making of banjos. The “Will Van Allen" banjos were sold during the 1920's.

 

The Guitar Magic of Les Paul - 1947

The Guitar Magic of Les Paul consists of ten guitar solo transcriptions with piano accompaniment. An analysis of Les Paul's guitar style has been included at the beginning of a 24 page insert of an additional 'stand alone' section of the ten guitar solo transcriptions.

Les Paul (1915 - 2009) was an American jazz, country and blues guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar. His early experiments with overdubbing, delay effects,  phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.

The King Cole Trio's Oscar Moore Guitaristics - 1947

Oscar Moore's Guitarisitics consists of five guitar solo transcriptions with piano accompaniment. An analysis of Moore's style has been included at the beginning of a 15 page insert of an additional 'stand alone' section of the five guitar solo transcriptions.

An advertisement for "The Guitar Magic of Les Paul" on the back cover.

Oscar Moore Guitar Solos - 1946

Oscar Moore (1916 – 1981) was an influential American jazz guitarist and an integral part of the Nat King Cole Trio during 1937–1947, appearing on virtually all of Cole's records during that period.

The music book features Five of Oscar Moore's guitar solos which have been transcribed from his recordings with the Nat King Cole Trio.

Dance Band Chords For The Guitar by Eric Kershaw - 1946

Eric Kershaw was a London session guitarist and an author of various guitar method books, including "Dance Band Chords for the Guitar" which he wrote in Reykjavik, Iceland during World War Two.

Published in 1946, the book is described on the front cover as : " The most convenient method of chord finding ever published. Every dance-band chord for Guitar (including 9ths, 11ths' etc.,) is shown in both diagram form and musical notation and the fingering of the chord is also shown. No matter what chord you wish to play, it takes only a second to find it in this book. four-note, five-note and six-note formations given. "  

In the 1930's Eric Kershaw was heard regularly on the B.B.C. Radio programme, 'Eric Kershaw and his Rhythmic Guitars'. He subsequently performed with top bands such as Jack Parnell's Orchestra and Cyril Stapleton. In the sixties Kershaw performed for many shows in the West End including Expresso Bongo and the Benny Hill Show. Kershaw also become the jazz guitar lecturer at Leeds College of Music, U.K.(until 1981) where the guitar prize, the Eric Kershaw Guitar Award, is competed for each year by the guitar students at LCM.

George Barnes Guitar Styles - 1942

George Barnes (1921 - 1977) was a renowned studio musician and a significant figure in the development of jazz guitar. Among the few guitarists in the 1930's to develop an individual single string playing style,  he was also known as one of the first pioneers of the electric guitar.

Described in an advertisiment on the inside back cover as :  " Twelve solos in folio form 'styled' by George Barnes, just as he played them on 'Plantation Party' and other N.B.C. presentations. Each number arranged for guitar solo with piano accompaniment and chord symbols for guitar accompaniment. "

Modern Plectrum Guitar Playing by Dick Sadleir - 1938

Published in 1938, Dick Sadleir's Modern Plectrum Guitar Playing is described on the front cover as “ A unique rapid system embodying the essentials of harmony, development of the left hand, dance band chord styles, extemporisation of ‘hot’ solos and modern vocal accompaniments together with original solos by famous radio guitarists ”. 

Daily Essentials For The Guitar by Ned Cosmo - 1935

Published in 1935,  Ned Cosmo's Daily Essentials For The Guitar was advertised as : "A series of exercises for both the amateur and the professional for maintaining and improving guitar technic. Compositions for daily practice on various chords and scales ... "

The inside back cover advertised various method books published by Mills Music, Inc.

According to Ned Cosmo's biography,  included at the beginning of the course,  Ned Cosmo (Cosmo Lomatieri) was born in Sava, Italy in 1910. Two years later his parents settled in Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.A. At eleven, Cosmo was playing first chair mandolin with the Worcester String Symphony Orchestra. He switched to banjo and was a professional performer by the age of fourteen. After a coast to coast tour with presentation and stage bands, he  eventually switched to guitar. His first professional engagement occurred at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre where he was "instantaneously acclaimed as one of the outstanding guitarists in the country".

Vic Flick's Guitar (used for the original James Bond Theme) Up For Auction

Guitarist Vic Flick with his 1939 Clifford Essex Paragon De Luxe

(photograph Wikipedia Commons).

The original James Bond theme (composed by Monty Norman and arranged by John Barry) was performed by Vic Flick. The U.K. session guitarist played the famous theme on a Clifford Essex Paragon De Luxe acoustic guitar (c1939) via a De Armond pick-up.

Flick shared his experience of the memorable recording session :

" The Paragon’s sound was perfect for the riff. The combination of the way I played, the type of strings I used, the Vox 15 amplifier, the microphone and the studio set up all helped to give the guitar, on that particular session, an identity that has maintained its popularity for 50 years. Although no film was shown during the session there was a feeling of excitement at the music being for a spy film."

Vic Flick used the Paragon guitar in June and July 1962 for two original recordings of The James Bond Theme. The first recording took place at CTS Studios, Bayswater, London, and could be heard as the opening theme and throughout the first Bond film, Dr. No. The second recording was made at Abbey Road Studios, London, for a commercial release on EMI's Columbia label. The latter recording became a big hit for The John Barry Seven Orchestra.

The guitar, bought by Flick in 1958, is up for auction today and is expected to fetch between $30,000 - $50,000.

A link to an interesting NPR Audio Clip which includes an interview with Vic Flick :

The Sound Of James Bond : Vic Flick's Surf Guitar

The Eddie Lang Modern Advanced Guitar Method - 1935

Published in 1935,  The Eddie Lang Modern Advanced Guitar Method includes chord progressions, scale runs in all twelve keys, arpeggio studies and exercises for learning chords and their respective inversions.

The publishers included "Suggestions For Teachers And Students" on the last page : 

"This book is designed for advanced students only. The real purpose is to preserve in printed form some of the unique artistry of Eddie Lang. All the material in this volume was written in close cooperation with Eddie Lang; the fingering on the arpeggios and chords is his own.  The exercises are merely expansions of his ideas so that they are presented in the best form for intensive and progressive study ... "

Back Cover 

Eddie Lang (1904 - 1933) is regarded as jazz guitar's first virtuoso performer.

View / Download

View or download Eddie Lang's Modern Advanced Guitar Method here.

Francis & Days Guitar Tutor by Bill Tringham - c1935

In the introduction of this early guitar method book which cost two shillings, Bill Tringham wrote :

" I was faced with a difficulty when I began this tutor. It had to be elementary enough for the student who did not even know a note of music, yet it had to be advance sufficiently to enable him to play popular dance music rhythmically on the guitar. All this was to be contained within the strictly limited pages of a shilling book ... "

Bill Tringham was a member of Geraldo's Orchestra, one of the most popular British dance bands in the 1930's /1940's.

The Herb Ellis Jazz Guitar Style - 1963

Published in 1963, The Herb Ellis Jazz Guitar Style method book consists of some interesting lessons on Herb's approach to comping and improvising. His solos from five tunes have been transcribed (including a complete analysis of one of his solos on "Roy Showed").

Herb Ellis (1921 - 2010) was one of the finest guitarists to emerge during the 1940's. He had a natural ability with the blues and a strong rhythmic approach. A member of the Oscar Peterson trio during the 1950's and a staple west coast studio musician, Herb Ellis recorded with top performing artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Ben Webster, Sonny Stitt, Freddie Green, Joe Pass, Barney Kessel and Laurindo Almeida.



Mickey Baker's Complete Course In Jazz Guitar Book 2 - 1959

The sequel to Mickey Baker's first book consists of  a number of mostly stand alone lessons including the use of pedal point, altered chords, chord melody and symmetric harmony.

Preview

A preview of the first six lessons of Mickey Baker's Complete Course In Jazz Guitar Book 2 is avialable here.

Mickey Baker's Complete Course In Jazz Guitar - 1955

Mickey Baker (1925 - 2012) was an American session guitarist who played on hundreds of recordings during the 1950's. His playing style influenced the bridging of rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll. He also taught and wrote a series of instructional jazz guitar method books.

 
Published in 1955 with a cool minimalist cover design, Mickey Baker's Complete Course In Jazz Guitar remains a relevant introduction for the guitar student with an interest in jazz and old school R&B. 

Preview

A preview of the first three lessons of Mickey Baker's Complete Course In Jazz Guitar is available here.

Jazz On The Deck - Royal Cape Yacht Club - 2nd Dec 2012

Royal Cape Yacht Club is proud to announce the next event in the “Jazz on the Deck” series on Sunday, December 2 at 13h00.

Featuring Gary Deacon (Acoustic Guitars/Bass), Amanda Tiffin (Vocals/Keyboard) and Willie van Zyl (Saxophones/Clarinet).

Food and drinks will be available in one of Cape Town’s most spectacular settings. Come down and enjoy a hearty lunch of Roast Beef and Chicken for R55pp while friends and family are soothed by mellow Jazz melodies.Your guests are welcome and there is no cover charge. 

For further information, contact Bridgette (021 421 1354) or Keith (082 338 2778).

Bookings are advisable!!