Miscellaneous/Articles

Check out! My article on Carl Kress in the september-2019 issue of the Swedish guitar magazine “Guitar & Lute” (#3 /2019). Enjoy!        Link: Complete SGLS article (in swedish)

50´s record covers that was the inspiration to our CD cover:

Biography about the legendary jazz guitar player Billy Bean, published by Midoriyama Publishing, November 2013. One of the top bebop jazz guitar players! The book documents Bean’s professional career with Charlie Ventura, John Pisano, Bud Shank, John Lewis, and Herbie Mann. Additionally, the book explores his personal struggles with alcoholism and changes in the music scene. Buy it – lots of musical analyses, arrangements & compositions!

Carl Kress – LP “Guitar Stylist” (1953) – discography

Back cover liner notes, of the “Guitar Stylist” record (1953)

Eddie Lang Guitar Methods! Buy them as PDF files from Django Books (under Media/Books/ebooks)! Link: django books

        

Eddie Lang biography & discography in British magazine “B(anjo)M(andolin)G(uitar)”, March 1943-March 1945! Lasting for 24 months (=24 issues, 1-2 pages per issue!), making it one of the most thorough and longlasting articles written on any guitarist in any magazine! Here I show only 7 pages!:

Swedish Jazz Magazine “Orkesterjournalen”, no 4 April 1941; Downbeat 1939-05 Lang feature

ALLAN REUSS, ads & articles, 1930´s, 40´s:

Reuss folio 1930-40´s (two of the compositions – “Apartment G” & “Pet Shop” written in 1938), Teagarden/Gibson ad Downbeat 1939, Gibson catalogue 1937

Swedish Jazz Magazine “Estrad”, Oct-1944; Downbeat 1943-05 (Allan Reuss guit solo analyzed)

Article taken from Swedish Jazz Magazine “Orkesterjournalen”, no 11 Nov 1943; Epiphone ad, Metronome 1937 c

Downbeat 1939-10 Gibson ad; Epiphone cataloge 1936

Orkesterjournalen no 5 May 1946 – false Bunn obituary! Teddy Bunn, obituary withdraw, OJ June 1946 – Bunn lived until 1978!

Teddy Bunn article, Swedish Jazz Magazine “Orkesterjournalen”, Feb-1975; obituary OJ Sept-1978.

Link to this Syncopated Times issue – click on picture above!

Kress articles in the english magazine “B.M.G.”(“Banjo, Mandolin, Guitar”, published between 1903-1976): May 1945 – Kress biography and review of the Mottola duet record 1941; Nov 1953 – review of the 1953 “Stylist” record!

Great banjo homepage (“Classic-Banjo.ning.com”) with downloadable and searchable PDF versions of all vintage B.M.G. magazines! Click on picture above/link!

(BMG issues June 1945, Feb 1949, Aug 1950)

For those of you who do not have the time to scrutinize hundreds of pages of articles on banjo, mandolin etc, here are some of the best & “jazziest” issues of BMG! (guitarists not subject to this homepage):

BMG above: Nov 1952, April 1956, July 1958, May 1959, Aug 1959

BMG above: Farlow Dec 1959, Montgomery April 1962, René Thomas May 1965, Dave Goldberg June 1965, Ike Isaacs Feb 1973

New Carl Kress record 2024! (Streaming or downloading only)

The tracks on the Kress record above can be found on an earlier CD produced 2005, named “Adrian Rollini Trio, Quartet and Quintet 1936-1947” (VMP: Vintage Music Productions)! This particular session was recorded as Adrian Rollini Quintet, 1938 (World Transcription Service). One track – “Caressing” is only on the new Kress record! The track “Palesteena” is titled “Untitled” on the Adrian Rollini record!

Hy White – “Guitar Digest”, 1944! A rarity!

Gibson ad, Hy White, Metronome 1944; Gibson ads – Downbeat 1939

Michele Di Filippo, Italian classical guitar player, recently released a CD with the “Complete Works for Guitar, by Albert Harris” (Brilliant Cl., Rome, Italy, 2023). The record consists of 23 tracks, among them Sonatina, Suite, Variations on Haendel theme, Fantastic Dances, written between 1950-1988 in USA. See great home-page, with info on the composer and the different pieces!:

Link: https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/h/harris-complete-works-for-guitar                

The composer’s best-known guitar composition, the “Variations & Fugue on a Theme by Haendel“ is dedicated to the great guitarist Andrés Segovia, who was the first to record it, in 1968!:

Link Segovia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUqVQkqnFp0

Keith Barnhart, American classical guitarist, in 2019 released a recording of works by Harris, being his graduation thesis! 27 tracks, not exactly the same as Filippo´s record: Barnhart has omitted the “Intermezzo”, and the three “Fantastic Dances”, but has included eight “Variations on a theme by Mussorgsky”(the theme being “Pictures at an Exhibition”)! (Available on Spotify)

Notice!: The CD:s above is classical guitar work, not jazz! Jazz guitar records of Albert Harris are from the mid 1930´s, recorded in London! To my knowledge there exists only seven guitar solo recordings with Harris, 1934-35: four duets with Ivor Mairants, one with Bert Thomas, and two recordings with a guitar quintet, including Ivor Mairants.

(Pictures taken from British magazine “B(anjo)M(andolin)G(uitar)”, Dec 1936, photo collage of British top guitar players that year!)

Albert Harris / Ivor Mairants jazz guitar duets, London 1935; the “Rarities” CD:s produced 2003 for IAJRC (International Association of Jazz Record Collectors!)

YouTube link: “Dedication”

YouTube link: “Summer Madness”

YouTube link: “Kaleidoscope”

Review of Harris/Mairants duo in English magazine Gramophone, 1935-08, including comparison with Kress/McDonough!:

Three of the players in the guitar quintet mentioned above – Stutely, Harris, Mairants (picture from British music magazine “Melody Maker”, 1937).

Radio Pictorial, English magazine, 1930´s – pictures of Albert Harris in his first engagement, with Lew Stone, Nov-1934. Close up below:

Epiphone ad, Metronome 1936; Epiphone cataloge 1939

Epiphone ad, Tempo 1938; Epiphone ad, Metronome 1941

Downbeat 1966-07 Albert Harris (Feather autobiography) – Harris is not mentioned in the text, only by photo!

Mairants meets Albert Harris in Hollywood 1970, British magazine “B(anjo)M(andolin)G(uitar”, May 1970)!

IVOR MAIRANTS ads & articles, Melody Maker 1940´s, 50´s:

Melody Maker 1946-11; Melody Maker 1957-10, ad

Melody Maker 1950-03 article; Melody Maker 1949-09, Mairants ad; Melody Maker 1957-01, ad

GEORGE VAN EPS, DICK McDONOUGH ads & articles, 1930´s-1970´s:

Epiphone ads, from Swedish Jazz Magazine “Orkesterjournalen”, no 11 Nov 1938, no 3 March 1937.

Lots of the following pictures (and Epiphone ads above, and on this homepage under chapter “Transcriptions”) are taken from a fantastic homepage with Epiphone ads!: https://wiedler.ch/nyepireg/catalogs.html

Epiphone cataloge 1934; Metronome 1935; Metronome 1937

Epiphone catalogue 1938

Tempo 1939-03 (American music magazine, 30´s), Metronome 1939 (Van Eps Epiphone ads)

Epiphone ad, International Musician 1942; Downbeat 1959-06 (Guitar Issue)

Downbeat 1961-02 Van Eps Epiphone ad; Downbeat 1966-10 Van Eps rec

Mairants in conversation with George Van Eps 1970, British magazine “B(anjo)M(andolin)G(uitar”, Sept 1970)! Van Eps obituary, Swedish Jazz Magazine “Orkesterjournalen”, Jan-1999.

Epiphone ad, Metronome 1934; Epiphone cataloge 1934

Epiphone ad, Metronome 1936

Downbeat 1937-01 Epiphone ad

Epiphone ad Metronome 1935-09; Epiphone cataloge 1936

Epiphone cataloge 1937; Epiphone ad, Metronome 1936

Downbeat 1937-10 Gibson ad

Epiphone ad Metronome 1935-05

Epiphone ad, Melody Maker, UK, 1936; Epiphone ad, Metronome 1936

Epiphone ad, Metronome 1937

Epiphone cataloge 1939

Epiphone ad, Metronome 1937

Epiphone ad, Metronome 1937; Epiphone ad, Tempo 1939

Epiphone ads, Metronome 1940, 1942

Epiphone cataloge 1934; Epiphone ad, Metronome 1949

Jazz Guitar articles in Swedish jazz magazine “Orkesterjournalen” between 1950-1962 (guitarists not subject to this homepage):

Jazz Guitar history: OJ Oct-1955; Billy Bauer: OJ Nov-1950

Charlie Byrd: OJ Dec-1962; Tal Farlow OJ Sept-1952; Chuck Wayne: OJ April-1952

Barney Kessel: OJ April-1953; Kay Guitars ad: OJ Nov-1958

Jimmy Raney: OJ Dec-1954; Johnny Smith ad: OJ Oct-1962

Tal Farlow article, OJ May-1981; Barney Kessel article, OJ March-1989

Swedish Jazz Magazine “ESTRAD”, published 1939-1963! Cover 1953-01 Barney Kessel, 1953-05 Les Paul, 1955-08 Rune Gustafsson

Great homepage!: free internet archive with many vintage Downbeat magazines, years 1937-1961, but unfortunately photo copies of poor quality, link https://archive.org/details/pub_down-beat

Downbeat 1937-06 (McDonough/Kress), 1939-01 (Kress Gibson ad), 1940-07 (Kress guitar beginnings!)

Downbeat 1940-08 (Kress Gibson ad), 1940-12 (Kress recording)

Downbeat 1945-12 (Kress studio directing), 1947-06 (Kress photo study)

Band Leaders magazine 1947-06 (Mottola Gibson ad), Downbeat 1948-12 (Mottola Gibson ad), 1947-05 (Mary Osborne Gibson ad)

Band Leaders (am, jazz magazine, 40´s), Gibson ads

Gibson ads 1930´s, Downbeat: 1937-02 (Smeck), 1937-04 (Cali), 1939-02 (Les Paul, Ryerson)

Downbeat 1939-03 (Barnes discovered!), 1946-08 (Barnes Gibson ad)

CHARLIE CHRISTIAN features in jazz music magazines!:

Downbeat 1939-11, 1st Christian photo; Melody Maker 1956-02, Christian discovered, upper part and lower part of text column 1

Melody Maker 1954-05, Mary Lou Williams reminisces

Downbeat 1969-07, Christian famous roll call 1939; and the original in Downbeat 1939-12!

Downbeat 1942-03 (Charlie Christian obituary)

Melody Maker 1942-04, Christian obituary

Jazz Journal 1959-05 Christian article (English magazine, mostly trad/old jazz)

Downbeat 1966-08 Christian cover and feature

Downbeat cover 1946-07 (Arv Garrison), 1946-11 (Garrison, Kessel recording)

DOWNBEAT JAZZ MAGAZINE, 1950´s: ARTICLES AND ADS RELATED TO JAZZ GUITARISTS (most of them not subject to this homepage)!

CHUCK WAYNE ads & articles, 1940´s, 50´s:

Downbeat 1949-10 (Chuck Wayne article), Downbeat 1950-06 (Chuck Wayne)

Melody Maker 1955-07, Wayne tour in England – 3 issues in July! Continues down here!:

Downbeat 1958-04 (Chuck Wayne article); Downbeat 1964-01 Wayne article

LES PAUL, ads and articles, 1950´s:

Downbeat 1949-10 (Les Paul show, and auto accident!)

Billboard Encyclopedia 1946-47; Billboard 1952-01

Melody Maker 1951-05; Billboard 1955-01

Downbeat 1952-08 (Les Paul article), Downbeat 1953-01 (Capitol Les Paul ad!)

Melody Maker 1952-08; Melody Maker 1957-12

Downbeat 1953-07 cover, back cover (Les Paul)

Melody Maker 1952-09, tour in England

Downbeat 1954-06 (Les Paul on recording)

Melody Maker 1954-09, Les Paul on accident

Downbeat 1952-01 (Les Paul Gibson ad), Downbeat 1952-11 (Gibson Les Paul ad!), Downbeat 1956-11 (Gibson Les Paul ad)!

Metronome Gibson ad, 1955-12; Downbeat 1957 Yearbook, Capitol ad

BILLY BAUER, ads & articles, 1950´s:

Downbeat 1950-01 (Billy Bauer article), Downbeat 1950-02 (Billy Bauer Epiphone ad)

Downbeat 1951-05 (Mary Osborne article) – page 4 upper part, page 4 lower part, file page 5

GEORGE BARNES, ads & articles, 1950´s:

Downbeat 1950-06 (George Barnes Octet)

Downbeat 1952-02 (George Barnes Gibson ad), Downbeat 1957-04 (Barnes Gibson ad)

TAL FARLOW, ads and articles, 1950´s:

Downbeat 1950-08 cover (Tal Farlow), Downbeat 1950-11 (Tal Farlow Gibson ad), Downbeat 1955-10 (Tal Farlow Gibson ad)

Melody Maker 1951-08, Farlow article

Melody Maker 1954-10, Farlow solo

BARNEY KESSEL, ads and articles,1950´s, 60`s:

Downbeat 1953-06 (Kessel article), Downbeat 1958-07 (History of jazz guitar – Kessel)

Downbeat 1959-06 (History of jazz guitar, Kessel on Reinhardt); Jazz Journal 1954-12, Contemporary, Kessel

Downbeat 1954-08 (Kessel Gibson ad), Downbeat 1958 (Kessel Kay ads)

Downbeat 1961-01 Kessel article; Downbeat 1967-04 Kessel book-ad; Book “The Guitar”- a “guide for guitarists”, published 1967 by Windsor Music Co, Hollywood, Calif.

Kessel book “The Guitar” – the inspiring chapters!

DAVE GOLDBERG articles in Melody Maker, Downbeat – 1940´s, 50´s:

Dave Goldberg, ca 1955, photo from Gypsy Jazz UK (Link: Goldberg photo 1955); Melody Maker articles 1948-03, 1948-10

Downbeat 1951-12 (Dave Goldberg article); Melody Maker 1956-09 Guitar issue, Goldberg on guitarists

Melody Maker 1959-11, Goldberg ad

Melody Maker 1959-11, Goldberg ad and article

Dave Goldberg TV appearance 1965, with Benny Golson & British All Star Band! Goldberg solos time 1.50-2.43. YouTube link: Dave Goldberg, TV performance

BMG 1965-06, Goldberg cover story; BMG 1969-10, Goldberg obituary:

HERB ELLIS, ads & articles, 1950´s:

Downbeat 1956-05 (Herb Ellis article), Downbeat 1955-05 (Herb Ellis Gibson ad); Melody Maker 1958-05 article

Downbeat 1956-09 (Thielemans article), Downbeat 1958-07 (History of jazz guitar – Thielemans)

JOHNNY SMITH ads and articles, 1950´s:

Downbeat 1953-07 (Johnny Smith article), Downbeat 1955-01 (Smith Guild ad)

Melody Maker 1955-12, Smith article

Downbeat 1955-01 (Smith Ampeg ad), Downbeat 1956-10 (Smith Ampeg ad)

Melody Maker 1954-02, Smith solo; Melody Maker 1959-08, Smith article

Downbeat 1956-02 (Smith Guild ad), Downbeat 1957-03 (Smith Guild ad), Downbeat 1959-01 (Smith Guild ad), Downbeat 1960´s (Johnny Smith Gibson ad)

Downbeat 1956-10 (Sal Salvador article), Downbeat 1957-11 (Jim Hall article)

Downbeat 1956-09 (Kenny Burrell photo), Downbeat 1956-11 (Hank Garland Gibson ad)

Downbeat 1956-10 (Gibson ad), Downbeat Gibson ad, 1955-04

Downbeat 1958-07 cover (History of jazz guitar), Downbeat 1958-07 (Jazz guitar roundtable)

Downbeat 1959-06 cover (History of jazz guitar), Downbeat 1959-06 (History of jazz guitar – Evolution)

GUILD GUITAR ADS in Downbeat, 1950´s

Downbeat 1956-05 (Jimmy Wyble Guild ad), Downbeat 1956-09 (Kress Guild ad), Downbeat 1958-12 (Hy White Guild ad)

Downbeat 1960´s (Jimmy Wyble Guild ad), Downbeat 1960´s (Barnes Guild ad)

GRETSCH GUITAR ADS in Downbeat, 1950´s

Downbeat 1951-05 (Harry Volpe Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1952-04 (Al Caiola Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1952-11 (Sal Salvador Gretsch ad)

Downbeat 1953-11 (Hank Garland Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1955-02 (Sal Salvador Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1955-04 (Hank Garland Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1955-05 (Mary Osborne Gretsch ad)

Downbeat 1955-09 (Mundell Lowe Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1956-03 (Al Caiola Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1956-07 (Sal Salvador Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1957-10 (Gretsch ad)

Downbeat 1959-02 (Freddie Green Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1959-01 (Sal Salvador Gretsch ad), Downbeat 1960 11 (Gretsch Mary Osborne ad)

GIBSON GUITAR ADS in Downbeat, 1950´s

Downbeat 1957

Downbeat 1958-60

Vintage Downbeat Magazines, years 1937-1999 can be found on the WORLD RADIO HISTORY homepage: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/index.htm. Years 1937-1959 are the same photo copies of poor quality as the archive homepage https://archive.org/details/pub_down-beat, but the later years 1960-1999 are PDF files, color and good quality!
Through the 1960´s Downbeat Magazine had annual GUITAR ISSUES during summer season, some of the articles shown here!: The 1960 guitar issue is the 4th, the 1959 issue (3rd) is shown further up on this site – a “Special Guitar Issue”. Guitar issue no 2, 1958, is also shown on this site – “A History of Jazz Guitar”. However I have not yet figured out which Downbeat Guitar issue is no 1?

Downbeat 1958-07, Downbeat 1959-06; Downbeat Guitar Issue 1960-07, Charlie Byrd article

Downbeat 1961-07 Guitar issue cover; Downbeat 1961-07 Guitar issue Raney (a)

Downbeat 1961-07 Guitar issue Harris (a); Downbeat 1961-07 Guitar issue Montgomery (a)

Downbeat 1962-07 Guitar issue cover; Downbeat 1962-07 Guitar issue Hall a

Downbeat 1962-07 Guitar issue Casey a; Downbeat 1962-07 Guitar issue Green a

Downbeat 1963-08 Guitar issue cover; Downbeat 1963-08 Byrd article a

Downbeat 1963-08 Guitar issue Pass article a; Downbeat 1963-08 Guitar issue Burrell article a

Downbeat 1963-08 Guitar issue nylon jazz a, b

Downbeat 1964-07 Guitar issue, cover; Downbeat 1964-07 Guitar issue Montgomery article a; Downbeat 1964-07 Guitar issue Ellis article a

Downbeat 1964-07 Guitar issue Van Eps a, b

Downbeat 1965-07 Guitar issue, cover; Downbeat 1965-07 Guitar issue Hall a

Downbeat 1965-07 Guitar issue Steve Jordan a; Downbeat 1965-07 Guitar issue Zoller a

Downbeat 1966-07 Guitar issue, cover; Downbeat 1966-07 Guitar issue, Bola Sete a, b

Downbeat 1966-07 Guitar issue, Burrell b; Downbeat 1966-07 Guitar issue, Kessel a; Downbeat 1966-07 Guitar issue, Les Spann article

Downbeat 1966-07 Guitar issue, Reinhardt article a, b, c

Downbeat 1967-06 Guitar issue, cover; Downbeat 1967-06 Guitar issue, Coryell article a

Downbeat 1967-06 Guitar issue, Benson article a, b; Downbeat 1967-06 Guitar issue, Roberts article a

Downbeat 1967-06 Guitar issue. Van Eps concert

Downbeat 1968-06 Guitar issue, cover; Downbeat 1968-06 Guitar issue, Farlow article a

Downbeat 1968-06 Guitar issue, Harris article a; Downbeat 1968-06 Guitar issue, Montgomery article a

Downbeat 1969-06 Guitar issue, cover; Downbeat 1969-06 Guitar issue, Grimes article

GIBSON ads, 1960´s:

Gibson ads – 1965-1966: Mottola, Montgomery, Burrell, Smith

Gibson ads – 1967-1968: Montgomery, Szabo, Kessel, Coryell

GUILD ads, 1960´s:

EPIPHONE ads, 1960´s

Downbeat, 1960´s, articles on guitarists outside of the annual issues:

Downbeat 1963-12 Farlow article

Downbeat 1968-05 Farlow concert; 1968-09 Farlow cover; 1969-05 Kessel, Farlow; 1969-12 Farlow N.J festival

Downbeat 1963-11 Hall article

Downbeat 1969-02 Martino article

Downbeat 1963-06 Pass, Synanon article; Downbeat 1968-03 Pass concert

GRETSCH ads, 1960´s