North From Here wrote:
Yeah, I'm still not sold on jazz guitarists (why focus guitar when sax/trumpet/piano are available?) but Wes Montgomery's bluesy thumb style is pretty incredible to watch.
This Sonny Rollins is great, thanks for sharing. In jazz I've found the hard bob/modal stuff from the late 50s early 60s the most appealing so far, whereas the material before lacks this period's virtuosity and the stuff after is a little too weird. I realize this is a very common, standard opinion but we can't be experts on every genre. Thoughts on fusion?
Most of my Liszt favorites are much longer and with orchestra, but this will do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpfbDLFSZb4I think the guitarists are operating more on a "wow, that is technical skill" level than the sax dudes, it's definitely a step down in genre terms. And yet the sax groupings are equally technically skilled, not least the drummers, who always seem half-forgotten in jazz terms which is insane because there are so many greats.
Glad you dig the Sonny R, and I'd agree, that 50s/60s period seems to be when the creativity was flowering most. It's all hit-or-miss beyond that even before you get onto the likes of Alice Coltrane's later absolute nonsense... And yet there are moments of splendour. Fusion I like, still need to discover plenty but it seems to be a flowering of talent unlike anything since that 50s/60s burst. For example, this modern band are doing interesting things with the genre's building blocks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G55GspnNkBo(and I like the Liszt! I think part of the issue is getting used to classical pieces. I'll keep coming back to this, and add Liszt to my playlist)