Ah! The jazz guitar! No frills, no “effects”, no distortion; just pick up your axe and show me what you got! Here are two tasty treats that are finger pickin’ good!
Lenny Breau takes you back to LA when there were actually clubs for jazz artists to perform in. What we’ve got here is a gig from 1984 at the beloved Dontes on good old Lankershim in North Hollywood. It was probably five bucks to get in, tops, and a two drink minimum. You got your money’s worth on this set as Breau takes his seven string guitar and teams up with Ted Hawk/dr and Paul Gormley/b for a swinging evening of standards. He’s got a tone as thin and dapper as William Powell’s mustache, and he can use it to create some gently calm lines as on “I Love You” and the chiming “Stella By Starlight.” He bends the strings to get lonely on “Lover Man” and has a hip to the jive feel on “Blues Number One” and “Four.” The support here is in the pocket, and Gormley walks the bass on “Blues Number Two” like it’s an Golden Retriever on a long leash. Great outing! Where’d I park my car?
In the same veing, Guitarist Mark Elf leads a quartet of David Hazeltine/p, Peter Washington/b and Lewis Nash/dr through a mix of originals and standards. He’s got a sound as clear as a prism, and makes it shine on the bluesy bopper “A Little Ditty” and the flowing “The Sandy Effect.” He can mix chords and single runs like he’s shuffling a deck in Vegas on “Time On My Hands” and with the added percussion of Steven Kroon creates a sizzling mood on “Michellie’s Mambo.” Washington’s bass takes you off to the races as “The Bottom Line” makes for a photo finish, yet Elf also shows his debonair side on the sensuous “Titillating.”He even throws in some interesting textures when he switches to baritone guitar on a couple of tracks like “The Bottom Line” making for fun interplay with Washington.This guy’s got it!
Jen Bay Records