Jazz Guitars


Brass instruments are usually the first instrument that most people think of when they hear the word "jazz." Although the jazz genre has made heavy use of trumpets and trombones, it has also used the guitar to help to establish the melody and rhythm of the songs, as well as to add the sorts of decorative flourishes most often heard from brass instruments. The role of the guitar has changed throughout the history of jazz music, but it has almost always remained a part.

In the 1920s, if a jazz ensemble included a stringed instrument, that instrument was typically a banjo rather than a guitar. It was not until the 1930s, and then only in limited numbers, that guitars began to emerge as a part of a jazz ensemble. When guitar solos were included in a song in this era, they were generally single-string solos, rather than chord based solos. Other jazz groups used the guitar to play melodies, but not solos.

In the 1940s, jazz guitarists started using electric guitars instead of acoustic guitars. In the large ensemble jazz groups of earlier days, the sheer numbers of other instruments usually drowned out the sounds produced by acoustic guitars, which made them less useful in such a setting. There were some attempts to amplify the sound of acoustic jazz guitars, but when an acoustic guitar was included in a band the size of an orchestra, this was a lost cause. With the advent of electric guitars, however, external amplification allowed the guitars to be heard once again, even in a large group. During this era, jazz guitarists continued the use of single-string solos, but also played rhythm guitar.

Later in the 1940s, and into the early 1950s, a number of jazz trios emerged, using guitar, piano, and bass for their musical accompaniment. As the 1950s progressed, however, this format became considerably less popular. Guitar once again came to the forefront of jazz in the early 1960s, as bossa nova became a popular rhythm, requiring an instrument like the guitar to play the melodic parts of this music. In this case, Spanish acoustic guitars were the most popular variety of guitar for this sub-genre of jazz.

While there are many similarities between blues and jazz guitars, particularly in their basic structures and improvisational natures, the two genres of music, and guitar playing, are distinct. While blues guitar will often sound like another voice within a song, jazz guitar often cuts out that vocal quality in favor of more of a harmonized sound. Both styles of guitar playing are centered around the 8-bar or 12-bar structure, which allows for some improvisation in addition to this structure. Depending on the era during which a guitarist was playing jazz guitar, however, they may not have done much improvisational work, while improvisation was much more commonly included in blues guitar.

Jazz guitar and swing guitar are also often grouped together, and the guitars in these two styles of music share many common characteristics. In fact, some people, including musicians, use the terms jazz and swing almost interchangeably, due to the similarities in these two genres of music. Swing initially emerged out of the jazz genre, and the two were interconnected for their earliest years. As time progressed, the two styles became more distinct. Although guitar is used in some swing music, it is almost always in a rhythmic role, rather than as an instrument which is used for solos or decorative flourishes.

In more recent years, there are a number of guitarists who have drawn from and contributed to the concepts of jazz guitar. Carlos Santana's playing style, largely influenced by Latin music, also contains aspects of jazz and some blues. Although much of Frank Zappa's better known music best fits into the category of "comedy," he was a prolific musician and composer who wrote music for jazz ensembles and several other genres, in addition to his rock/comedy music. In 1987, Zappa received a Grammy for his instrumental album, "Jazz from Hell." Both Eric Clapton's and Jimi Hendrix's styles of music can be seen as a combination of aspects of blues, jazz, and rock guitar. Many other guitarists have similarly been influenced by, or experimented with, jazz guitar techniques, either directly or through the influence of one of these famous guitarists.

While jazz today does not receive the popularity it has been afforded in the past, aspects of jazz guitar remain with us in other genres and formats. Although stringed instruments have generally been in the background of jazz, both the banjo and the guitar played a role in the development and perpetuation of jazz music, influencing the jazz of today even when they are not included in the actual music.


Resources:
Although dated, "Jazz Guitars: An Anthology," edited by James Sallis (New York: Quill, 1984; ISBN 0-688-02642-7), presents several articles of interest to those who want to know more about jazz guitar.