Charlie Christian
If you have to name one person as being the originator of the modern jazz guitar style, it would have to be Charlie Christian. He was also the first musician to popularize the electric guitar as a lead instrument.
Today, the electric guitar is a central instrument in rock, jazz,
Django Reinhardt
Imagine how devastating it would be for a guitar player to lose the ability to use both his/her ring and pinky finger.
That´s exactly what happened to Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt when he was 18 years old. A gypsy, he was living in a caravan that he shared with his
Les Paul
When you talk about Les Paul, you have to talk about two equally important spheres of influence. There´s the great guitarist who played jazz, country music, blues, and rock and roll, and then there´s the tireless inventor whose many innovations really were game changers for musicians and audio engineers.
As a
Chet Atkins
Chet had me at a disadvantage because he could copy what I was doing, but I couldn´t copy what he was doing.
With these words, the renowned guitarist and inventor Les Paul heaped praise upon Chet Atkins, referring his experience recording the legendary album ¨Chester and Lester¨ in which the two
Robert Johnson
Back then, if you lived in the country or in a small town, and you wanted to hear bluesmen play, you´d head for the local juke joint on Saturday night, usually a house on the edge of one of the plantations …They´d shove the furniture into a backroom, sell whiskey and chitlins, and hire whoever was in the area: Robert Johnson, Honeyboy Edwards, Johnny Shine, to attract a crowd, and everybody would just cut loose
T-Bone Walker
T-Bone Walker Biography
Guitarist, Songwriter, Singer (1910–1975)
Blues guitarist and singer-songwriter T-Bone Walker is best known for his hit song “Stormy Monday” and has been called the Charlie Parker of Blues guitar.
Synopsis
T-Bone Walker was born on May 28, 1910, in Linden, Texas. He recorded “Trinity River Blues” and “Witchita Falls Blues” in 1929, then played with
Tiny Grimes
Tiny Grimes Biography
Tiny Grimes was one of the earliest jazz electric guitarists to be influenced by Charlie Christian, and he developed his own swinging style. Early on, he was a drummer and worked as a pianist in Washington. In 1938, he started playing electric guitar, and two years later he was playing