Virtuoso

Some reviewers apparently don't like unaccompanied guitar. However, to compare this to unaccompanied Miles on trumpet, or unaccompanied Sonny Rollins is a false analogy. No horn can play more than one note at a time, no chords, no bass lines. Only a guitar or a keyboard (or vibes) can do that. It's fair enough to say you don't like the sound of solo guitar. Not everyone likes harpsichord, or sackbut,or theorbo. However, if you do like guitar music this recording is the bible on how to play it "solo". Classical guitar is a different animal. Joe Pass played barely-amplified archtop jazz guitar,and no guitarist I've heard in my life played the "whole guitar" like him, not George VanEps, not Wes Montgomery. What I think is most stunning about his playing is the continous flow of ideas, weaving in and out of chords, single lines, bass, melody, rhythm. As some have pointed out, he had great respect for the melody and overall structure of the American Standard Tunes he played. Even though his substitutions and altered bebop-ish lines were breathtaking, you could still recognize the flow of the tune. There was plenty of speed and chops, but that's not what has moved me since I first heard him 30 years ago. You could tell his playing was largely improvised and every chorus had something new. I heard him play the same tunes many times, live and recorded, and each interpretation was different. He was playing at the speed of thought. More than anyone I've ever heard he sounded as if he could almost instantly transmit a creative idea from his "inner ear" to his fingers. It sounded like it was as easy as breathing. It sounded spectacular. He was the most natural guitarist I've ever heard.

The album is aptly named, as it proves Joe Pass' virtuosity beyond doubt. It's the album that made Pass a star, after some false starts and time in prison. I used to love it; now, not so much. Why did I love it? Because Pass did what nobody has been able to do: he played up-tempo music as a soloist using a five-finger technique, chords abounding. Very, very impressive. But I listened to Tal Farlow the other day. Farlow played a single-note line. But, oh, what feeling, what emotion, and what swing! Boppers seemed to want to replace "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" with "it don't mean a thing if you can understand it." Sorry, but I think those folks left the roots of jazz behind. And Pass? Where's the feeling, the heart? My primary music is classical, so I appreciate virtuosity, but the great ones play with heart. I don't hear that heart in Joe Pass, just a lot of very impressive notes going by in a hurry and in bunches. If that's art, I'm missing something.

I am a guitar player. I love to listen to guitar music. However, as you'll read in another of my reviews, I don't inherently love instrumental jazz to begin with.I thought these standards, while played with great technical virtuosity, would have been more interesting had Pass added some "color" to the tunes by alternating some solos with other instruments such as a piano and sax. Even though I'm a guitar player, I find songs done with a single tonal coloration and singular style to be boring. Imagine Miles Davis doing So What all the way through with only his trumpet...If you are a devoted jazz lover and/or a devoted lover of instrumental guitar, add a couple of stars. My guitarist friend loves him, but I can pass on Pass.

I really enjoyed this cd...up to a point. I have been a guitar player for many years and can truly appreciate the skill that Joe Pass displays on this recording. The phrasing, subtlety and incredible ability are very evident here. As much as I enjoyed it though, I found myself thinking that unless you are a real guitar nut, you might find this style of unaccompanied guitar tiring. It reminded me of listening to Bach on the harpsichord. Beautiful but a little goes a long way.

Great album as Joe is one of the best guitarists. You really have to have an appreciation for what he does and how he does it. That said, this is not for the faint of heart. You wont hear any romance songs with sweet melodies as you would with George Benson. Still a neccessary album for any real guitar fans.

Well recorded guitar of incredibly skilled player! Deserves the name and then some.

Lots of lessons here...

I am delighted to see this album available again. The harmonic and melodic variations are superb. The continuous stream of virtuosity, creativity and class is unequaled in jazz guitar playing. I have listened to other Virtuoso#X albums but this one is definely the best of the series. It has jolted my concept of guitar playing for sure not only by raising the bar very high but also, as a guitar student a few years back, it has given me a clearly transcribable encyclopedia of jazz guitar. Another jazz/accoustic recommendation similar to this one would be "My goal's beyond" by John McLaughlin.

Pass was surely the greatest of jazz guitarists, a native genius to rival Reinhardt with an outrageous skillset on the fretboard. The only problem I have with this collection, the first of several Virtuoso recordings, is that he was so relentlessly inventive that I can't listen to more than a few tracks without becoming overwhelmed by notes! Sometimes you just wish he'd calm down.I've seen a review elsewhere moaning about the recording quality on this CD. Pay no attention - it's perfect, like he's in the room. Maybe the guy just got a bad pressing. A poor CD player. Or a tin ear.

From the very first notes of `Night and Day' the CD's title is justified -a flurry of single notes, full chords and triads leave the listener in awe of the mastery of Joe Pass over the guitar. Fascinating are the bop runs filling the rest-periods in the original song, as in `How High the Moon'. The contrast of sound between electric and acoustic instruments is another delight. All in all `Virtuoso' in a wonderful experience for any lover of the jazz guitar.

Bought as present for guitar-playing friend. Brilliant.

This was for my husband and he was very pleased with this CD. It is a good product, received on time.

以前ラジオでジョーパスの曲を聞いて惹かれました。どのアルバムに入ってるかわからずとりあえずこのアルバム聞いてみたのですが・・・。私は楽器の演奏はしませんので技法やテクニックなど詳しく分かりませんが　ちょっと違うかな・・って感じでした。ギターソロアルバムなので期待して聞いてみたのですが　なんていうのかちょっと難しいのかな、私には。こういう演奏は解りづらいですね。