John Williams reflects on Segovia

[Wendell123]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

Simple. They are both very fine guitar players.

True,, but one is perhaps the finest player who ever lived..
The other is a talented entertainer with a ton of chops,tricks, and licks


W

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Wendell123

What does Tommy Emmanuel have in common with John Williams? Ok , they are both Australia ? ? ? W

I mentioned Emmanuel in connection with Segovia not Williams. Tommy is in a position to help lesser known guitarists as was Andrés (Andy, as I like to call him) and I wanted to point out how much more helpful the Australian was than the old Spaniard.

[Dave T]

The thing that keeps me from completely embracing classical music is the snobbery. As much as I like listening to Williams, Bream and even Segovia (and I do listen to their CDs regularly) I am much more comfortable with Tommy Emmanual, Chet Atkins or any bluegrass or gospel flat picker. Guess my Appalachian roots are showing. (smile)

Dave

[Wendell123]

Originally Posted by Dave T

The thing that keeps me from completely embracing classical music is the snobbery. As much as I like listening to Williams, Bream and even Segovia (and I do listen to their CDs regularly) I am much more comfortable with Tommy Emmanual, Chet Atkins or any bluegrass or gospel flat picker. Guess my Appalachian roots are showing. (smile)

Dave

I dont see snobbery in classical players,,, I do see classical and Jazz players read music
which is the short comming of guitar players (myself included) as musicians,

Chet read music,, and played classical pieces with style and technique,,
I like Tommy E,,, but im a little Tommy"d out, so its hard to be objective,
but Tommy can entertain for a full concert on just instrumentals,, not easy to do,, and i think that is his legacy..
W

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Wendell123

I dont see snobbery in classical players,,, I do see classical and Jazz players read music
which is the short comming of guitar players (myself included) as musicians,

Chet read music,, and played classical pieces with style and technique,,
I like Tommy E,,, but im a little Tommy"d out, so its hard to be objective,
but Tommy can entertain for a full concert on just instrumentals,, not easy to do,, and i think that is his legacy..
W

Perhaps unwittingly, you introduced an element of snobbery when you said:

Originally Posted by Wendell123

True,, but one is perhaps the finest player who ever lived..
The other is a talented entertainer with a ton of chops,tricks, and licks

W

Apparently, you initially agreed with Eatswodo that Tommy and Johnny are both fine players but then you went on to say, in so many words, that Tommy was not of the same stature. Please correct me if I got that wrong.

It is true that Tommy is an excellent showman but he is also an excellent guitarist whose talent goes far beyond the mere collection of chops, tricks and licks that you attributed to him

[Paikon]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

I mentioned Emmanuel in connection with Segovia not Williams. Tommy is in a position to help lesser known guitarists as was Andrés (Andy, as I like to call him) and I wanted to point out how much more helpful the Australian was than the old Spaniard.

The thing is that all classical guitarists of today are students of Segovia or his students or their students

[Wendell123]

-----

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

Perhaps unwittingly, you introduced an element of snobbery when you said:

that Tommy and Johnny are both fine players but then you went on to say, in so many words, that Tommy was not of the same stature. Please correct me if I got that wrong.

It is true that Tommy is an excellent showman but he is also an excellent guitarist whose talent goes far beyond the mere collection of chops, tricks and licks that you attributed to him

-------------------------------------------------
Herb,
We agree Tommy is a fine player, and showman.
and he wows people with chops , tricks and licks.
You do not have it wrong if you are talking John Williams compared to
to Tommy Emmanuel,, they are not of the same stature,,, that is just my
opinion,,, and this is an opinion based forum,, at least it is in my opinion

W.

[Peter Lovett]

Originally Posted by Paikon

The thing is that all classical guitarists of today are students of Segovia or his students or their students

Sorry but that is not true of Bream. He wanted to have lessons with Segovia and auditioned for him and was accepted by Segovia but Bream's father could not afford the fees and fares to Spain so he was not able to take up the offer.

There are countless video interviews with Bream as well as the books about him that describe him as being basically self-taught. Perhaps the only thing that Bream acknowledges of Segovia is that after watching a recital of Segovia's, Bream changed to using nails rather than finger tips.

[Paikon]

Originally Posted by Peter Lovett

Perhaps the only thing that Bream acknowledges of Segovia is that after watching a recital of Segovia's, Bream changed to using nails rather than finger tips.

And what a difference that made!

That was what i wanted to say that Segovia influenced everybody.

[Peter Lovett]

Originally Posted by Paikon

And what a difference that made!

That was what i wanted to say that Segovia influenced everybody.

Very true.

[Wendell123]

Originally Posted by KenW

Looks like it turned out alright for him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Andr%C3%A9s_Segovia

Correct,, Carlos Andres Segovia is a Doctor of Theology,
Teaching Temple era Biblical Judaism and new Christian theology,,
not a guitar player, i dont believe,, his father had to find other
things to correct him on.


W

[Trevor B.]

Originally Posted by Dave T

The thing that keeps me from completely embracing classical music is the snobbery. As much as I like listening to Williams, Bream and even Segovia (and I do listen to their CDs regularly) I am much more comfortable with Tommy Emmanual, Chet Atkins or any bluegrass or gospel flat picker. Guess my Appalachian roots are showing. (smile)

Dave

And to take Dave's point one step further, its my understanding that Chet Atkins considered Tommy Emmanuel to be one of the best guitarists of his generation and said so. Given that Chet Atkins played country, bluegrass and jazz as well as classical guitar (check out Atkins' arrangement of the Schubert "Ave Maria") he is every bit as much of a pioneer and as important an exponent of our instrument as Segovia.

[Portland Bill]

Originally Posted by Trevor B.

And to take Dave's point one step further, its my understanding that Chet Atkins considered Tommy Emmanuel to be one of the best guitarists of his generation and said so. Given that Chet Atkins played country, bluegrass and jazz as well as classical guitar (check out Atkins' arrangement of the Schubert "Ave Maria") he is every bit as much of a pioneer and as important an exponent of our instrument as Segovia.

Chet didn't play Classical Guitar he played a Classical Guitar with simple arrangements of a few easy to play standards.

[Wendell123]

Originally Posted by Portland Bill

Chet didn't play Classical Guitar he played a Classical Guitar with simple arrangements of a few easy to play standards.

Keep in mind, Chets first love was melody,, he liked a beautiful, singable (even though he did not sing) melody... The man was from East Tennessee and automatically boxed in as a country player,, but being a curious, self educated man, who truly could have defied stereotyping , he embraced his country roots and went on to explore popular, jazz, and classical,Read music, and given his limited exposure to strict classical technique,, did pretty well at the compositions he liked enough to work on... He praised Tommy E., but also Doc Watson,Thom Bresh,
Richard Smith, Earl Klugh and many others.. and was always encouraging to amateur pastimers who sought him out.. he was a kind, modest, and approachable man... Classica guitarist John Williams was aware of Chets playing, and liked it very much esp the Jerry Reed compositions..
Chet was , in his own way as influencial as Segovia, as American and all round guitar playing is concerned.

W.

[jmat]

Originally Posted by Portland Bill

Chet didn't play Classical Guitar he played a Classical Guitar with simple arrangements of a few easy to play standards.

Well, the below are not the Cannon Ball Rag:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ipTcSYzprA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIF-rXVVN5U

Chet certainly piqued the interest of my ancestry creating awareness of the guitar and its possibilities as a solo instrument. If Segovia can be credited with bringing the guitar to the world’s stage then Chet certainly brought it to Indiana farm country!

I do love Segovia in all his complexities. The good maestro was the first classical guitarist I saw when, as a teenager, my mother pulled me by the ear to hear him play at the then recently re-opened Alte Oper in Frankfurt. I have to laugh at myself as I didn’t know who he was and I had no idea the guitar could be played in such a way. It changed the way I thought about the guitar and was responsible for me later studying classical guitar. Segovia did not however get my feet tapping to Travis style playing; I would have to wait for Chet on that matter…