Joe Pass, live solo performance 1985

[NormanKliman]

Came across this last night. It’s all astoundingly good, but if you don’t want to watch the whole two hours, check out the blues starting at 11:28. That’s about when I started whooping and hollering at the TV last night!

[Kerbie]

Love the guy! An amazing jazz guitarist. I liked him best when he was accompanying Ella Fitzgerald. They were a great combination.

[keith.rogers]

I saw him live in Phoenix back in '77 or '78. Just him, the guitar, and probably a little Polytone amp on stage. Amazing. Had the Virtuoso LP (direct to disk recording) for many years. Just checked - I've got 185 tracks of his in my iTunes - need to listen to a bunch today.

[NormanKliman]

My first exposure to him was the “The Trio” album in the late 1970s. I used to think he only played with a pick, and although I noticed not long ago that he also played fingerstyle, I thought he did it on just a few tunes and in a simple way (thumb subordinate to other fingers). Man, was I surprised by his skill in this video.

So here are a few things I’ve noticed. His fretting hand: He uses his little finger constantly. At times, he’s flying around, all over the fretboad, and the accuracy of his fretting seems superhuman. You occasionally see the tip of his left thumb, but he keeps it on the back of the neck. He plays with lots of barre chords, I assume from having had to deal with keys that are “unfriendly” for the guitar, but check out his use of open strings and the other elements of his playing that make use of the way the guitar is built. Absolute mastery of the instrument, in my opinion. Regarding his striking hand, he seems to favor using the same finger consecutively, instead of alternating two fingers. He often uses his thumb in conjunction with another finger, but he seems to gravitate toward the standard “thumb on basses; index, middle and ring on trebles.” His economy of movement is highly refined, too. There are plenty of moments in the video in which you can hear that he’s playing but his striking hand and fingers appear to be motionless, and it’s not because of all the slurs.

[Mr. Jelly]

I have always been fascinated by a man and a guitar that can stand and deliver. Joe Pass has always been my favorite jazz guitarist. Thanks ... like a breath of fresh air today.

[NormanKliman]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I have always been fascinated by a man and a guitar that can stand and deliver.

Glad you like it! I feel the same way, and it’s what convinced me about Chet, long ago. I’d only heard his older, more commercial recordings (Yakety Sax, etc.) and then I heard Black Mountain Rag and that nylon-string guitar. In this case, about Joe, I don’t care if he never touched one in his life! His playing is just relentlessly perfect. And it’s not like there aren’t any clams in that video. With the warmth of his comments, they add something to the performance.

Here’s an image of his hands (scroll to bottom) on a website dedicated to him.