# The Art of the Solo



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Popular music, jazz, and rock have another thing in common that classical music does not have. That is the concept of the "solo." I use quotation marks because I think it is a misnomer -- often the other instruments still play a supportive role during a solo. Sure, classical music has its concertos and cadenzas and you may think that is the ultimate form of soloing, but there is a vast qualitative difference between the intent of a concerto and a rock guitar solo, as there is usually not a whole lot of wiggle room in classical music for improvisation.

Lately in pop music soloing has become less fashionable, but there are still some great jam bands out there. Also I think there is some interest in retro styles that promote soloing as an art form once again.

So I'd like to hear your picks of some of the most moving, shredding, or memorable recorded solos of all time, whether they are guitar solos, drum solos, keyboard solos, flute solos, kazoo solos, or whatever, in any genre. 

I have a list of favorites I will post later. Some are a bit obscure, so I would like to track down samples first.


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## Wicked_one (Aug 18, 2010)

One of the best drum solo, imo, is the one from Deep Purple. Ian Paice is hitting those drums like there's no tomorrow for like, 7-8 minutes continuous. The whole concert is, probably, one of the best I've ever heard.






As for guitar solos I think there are quite a lot.. Hmm, I'll think about some and post them later


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

- my number one, heee :tiphat:

No, seriously, I think this parody really sums up all those guitar solos in mainstream rock since 70's to present. It's all for wet girls and nerdish metalheads that think they are coneisseurs of music and these solos are peak of musical craft.

I'm sure anyone who listened to rock or metal before getting into classical had situation in which he got back to some piece that he liked back then and had huge laugh of it and himself.

As former Led Zeppelin fan I watched amost all recorded concerts and I must say that Jimmy Page's improvisations with violin bow are silly. Not any better than Nigel's thing.

This one isn't bad though:


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

There are several killer solos in art music ... from Bach to Stockhausen ...


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Aramis said:


> As *former* Led Zeppelin fan


Never forget your roots. Zeppelin rule.:tiphat:

Where to start with solos.

Freebird

Eddie Hazel - Maggot Brain

Paul Gonsalves - Crescendo and Diminuendo in Blue at Newport

Andy Powell and Ted Turner - Phoenix

Tony Iommi - Everything he's done.(Snowblind and Into the Void spring to mind, Planet Caravan, SBS, Lukes Wall at the end of War Pigs etc)

John McLaughlin - Birds of Fire and Lila's Dance

Robert Fripp - Baby's on Fire and St Elmo's Fire

Miles Davis - Right Off

Duane Allman and Dickey Betts - In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

Roger McGuinn - Eight Miles High

Jan Akkerman - Hocus Pocus

Frank Zappa - Willie the Pimp

Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd - Marquee Moon

Elliot Randall - Reelin in the Years

Jeff Baxter - Rikki Don't Lose That Number

Lindsey Buckingham - The Chain

Andy Fraser - Mr Big

Andy Latimer - Lady Fantasy

Manuel Gottsching - E2E4

Neil Young - Like a Hurricane

Martin Barre - Aqualung and We Used to Know

Jimi Hendrix - AAtWT, Machine Gun and Voodoo Chile

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson - YYZ and Working Man

Mick Ronson - Moonage Daydream

Ted Nugent - Stranglehold

Scott Gorham - Dancing in the Moonlight

Rev. Billy Gibbons - Gimme All Your Lovin'

Trevor Rabin - Owner of a Lonely Heart

Dave Davies - You Really Got Me

Dave Gilmour - Everything from Meddle to The Wall was gold

Kirk Hammett - Fade to Black

Joe Walsh - Hotel California (that bit where he repeatedly picks on the down bend is )

Dick Dale - Misirlou

Angus Young - Whole Lotta Rosie

Ray Manzarek - Riders on the Storm

:trp:


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

Besides through composed solos in art music (the best really) ... in an improvised vein ... i tend to avoid guitarists for the most part (bottom of the musical food-chain really); listen to jazz horn players or pianists which are far more advanced & sophisticated musically on all fronts as soloists & general improvisors (lot more going on, broader & more advanced vocabulary)... melodically, color, harmony, rhythm, _development_ etc ... Trane, Jarrett, Brecker, Parker, Rollins, Marsalis, Miles, Monk, Tatum, Gillespie, Corea, Taylor, Evans, Zawinul, Hancock, Konitz, Powell, Tyner etc


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

JMJ said:


> Besides through composed solos in art music (the best really) ... in an improvised vein ... i tend to avoid guitarists for the most part (bottom of the musical food-chain really)


i'm curious to know what you think about those guys


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

An obvious one would be *Jimi Hendrix*. Not being of that generation (he died before I was born) I am not highly familiar with his music, but I did get a cd of some of his stuff recently (for $2 at a bargain shop). I was surprised how bluesy his stuff really is, it seems to have that kind of feel. I think that he was not afraid to let his hair down, and get out of control a bit, a thing which I really like, since I'm into the more contemporary classical music...


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Aramis said:


> - my number one, heee :tiphat:


Hey man -- Nigel is a god! Those Brits really know how to shred. That other guy in the next link, whatshisname, is pretty good too.

*@Argus*. I only know about half the stuff on your list! But of those I do know, I tend to agree with you.

Iommi I think of more as a riffmeister than a solo or lead guitarist. He's done some great solos, but I can't say any stuck in my head even though he's one of my favorites.

Roger McGuinn - Eight Miles High. I confess I never really understood this solo. It doesn't flow for me. I love the song though.

Jan Akkerman - Hocus Pocus. Everything this man does is superb. I have a solo album of his containing a lot of Renaissance music, John Dowland and so forth, and it is quite good.

Frank Zappa - Willie the Pimp. I might have chosen Apostrophe, except Zappa is a bit upstaged by Jack Bruce in that one. Zappa should make some people on these forums happy, having been a Varese inspired classical composer who did the rock thing partly to support his composing habit.

Neil Young - Like a Hurricane. I appreciate Young a lot. He doesn't so much play the guitar as wield it in a barely controlled berserk rage. And he makes aging look cool.

Martin Barre - Aqualung One of my favorite guitarists of all time, and one of the more underrated. For some reason though I think Aqualung is among his weakest efforts - maybe because it is overplayed.

Ted Nugent - Stranglehold. I despise the fact that I am forced to live on the same planet as this Neanderthal, but I have to admit Stanglehold is a great piece.

Ray Manzarek - Riders on the Storm. Now you're talkin'! That solo sounds like rain.

*@Andre*. Yes, Hendrix was very blues and R&B oriented, especially toward the end. You're right about the getting out of control. Maybe that's the quality I see in the solos that can't be found in most classical. JMJ may prefer "more advanced & sophisticated," and more often than not I do too. But the heady experience of seeing and hearing musicians barely corralling the onslaught of their instruments is hard to beat.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

JMJ said:


> Trane, Jarrett, Brecker, Parker, Rollins, Marsalis, Miles, Monk, Tatum, Gillespie, Corea, Taylor, Evans, Zawinul, Hancock, Konitz, Powell, Tyner etc


I like a lot of those guys but could not really pick one or two solos that stood out from the pack. I named Davis on Righ Off from Jack Johnson because that really sticks in my minds as being perfect for the tune, So What too. Coltrane on My Favourite Things takes a great solo but it draws heavily on the original Rogers motif and goes into a trance-like mode. I'm not saying they can't solo or anything ridiculous (unlike your guitarist generalisation), just that I don't enjoy any of their solos in singularity as much as the ones I listed.

Try some Derek Bailey or Sonny Sharrock if you want awesome sophisticated guitar playing.:tiphat:



Andre said:


> An obvious one would be Jimi Hendrix. Not being of that generation (he died before I was born) I am not highly familiar with his music


This is a classical music forum. Most people aren't of the same generation as the composers they listen to.:tiphat: Most of his songs are excellent, with great solos to boot. The Wind Cries Mary and Hey Joe have short solos that fit great. The Little Wing solo is so good that it feels like it could go on a lot longer than it does. Third Stone from the Sun, Castles Made of Sand, 1983 (A Merman I should turn to be) are all top class.



Weston said:


> Iommi I think of more as a riffmeister than a solo or lead guitarist. He's done some great solos, but I can't say any stuck in my head even though he's one of my favorites.


I like fast E minor pentatonic licks with lots of bends into the fifth and unison. He is capable of more variety though, like on Planet Caravan:

(about 2:30 in)







> Frank Zappa - Willie the Pimp. I might have chosen Apostrophe, except Zappa is a bit upstaged by Jack Bruce in that one. Zappa should make some people on these forums happy, having been a Varese inspired classical composer who did the rock thing partly to support his composing habit.


I could have picked Black Napkins or some of his solos on Roxy and Elsewhere, but basically the whole song is a solo.



> Martin Barre - Aqualung One of my favorite guitarists of all time, and one of the more underrated. For some reason though I think Aqualung is among his weakest efforts - maybe because it is overplayed.


I suppose that's the benefit of not listening to much classic rock radio. It sounds great everytime I hear it.:trp:

What's strange is I listen to a fair bit of music with synths, organs and electric pianos and stuff, but I found it really hard to think of any memorable solos featuring them. Yeah, Jimmy Smith, Booker T, Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord all help shape the sound of the music, but I don't think their solos are all great. Actually, I think Wakeman on Sabra Cadabra is pretty good.


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## jurianbai (Nov 23, 2008)

why not try the mainstream guitarist like* Joe Satriani* and* Steve Vai*. In second layer there is *Vinnie Moore *among many neoclassical style guitarist (but the rest is just a copy paste lick from maybe *Yngwie Malmsteen*). Then the progressive *John Petrucci *in his solo album Suspended Animation.

Then the 'standard' American bluesy rock solo like *Andy Timmons *and *Paul Gilbert*. Then another name is like *Marty Friedman*, whom previously Megadeth's thrashmetal axeman turn to New Age influence solo guitarist. Search youtube for a song like Tibet or Mama, which may a _bit_ interest the classical fan.

There are still hundred of able to shred guitarist from metal band, but will only attract criticism rather than appreciation overhere.

For non metal/rock, I admire guitarist like *Tommy Emmanuel* and *Al Di Meola*


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Weston said:


> Sure, classical music has its concertos and cadenzas and you may think that is the ultimate form of soloing, but there is a vast qualitative difference between the intent of a concerto and a rock guitar solo, as there is usually not a whole lot of wiggle room in classical music for improvisation.


Actually, cadenzas were improvised at first


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

Argus said:


> I like a lot of those guys but could not really pick one or two solos that stood out from the pack [...] just that I don't enjoy any of their solos in singularity as much as the ones I listed.
> 
> Try some Derek Bailey or Sonny Sharrock if you want awesome sophisticated guitar playing.:tiphat:


which says more about you as a listener than all else ... and i've heard Bailey & Sharrock; can't stand either .. and they aren't on the level of the art as the improvising soloists i mentioned, same applies to all the other guitarists mentioned in this thread, sure they have some moments, and many of them have their own little voices but it's a much shallower well (musically speaking) and that for me, gets tired quickly.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

JMJ said:


> ame applies to all the other guitarists mentioned in this thread


what a ridicolous statement.


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

norman bates said:


> what a ridicolous statement.


No it's actually not a ridiculous statement ... keep listening.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

JMJ said:


> which says more about you as a listener than all else ... and i've heard Bailey & Sharrock; can't stand either .. and they aren't on the level of the art as the improvising soloists i mentioned, same applies to all the other guitarists mentioned in this thread, sure they have some moments, and many of them have their own little voices but it's a much shallower well (musically speaking) and that for me, gets tired quickly.


Says more about you as a listener than anything else. It's clear your ears can't appreciate the highly sophisticated playing of Sharrock and Bailey. You can't detect the subtle nuances that Angus Young employs on tracks like Thunderstruck and For Those About to Rock, We Salute You. You don't understand the power of the ostinato lick or the unison bend. You fail to grasp Kirk Hammetts unerring control of the wah-wah pedal in every solo. Your mind cannot process the whammy bar dives and controlled feedback of Jimi Hendrix. Dick Dales and Alex Lifesons use of the Phrygian Dominant scale frightens your sensibilities. And forget about Frippertronics, Fred Frith and Lee Ranaldo's prepared guitars, or even Peter Frampton's talk box. They are well beyond your aural capabilities.

Keep listening and maybe your ears and mind will progress to understand these geniuses.:tiphat:


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

JMJ said:


> No it's actually not a ridiculous statement ... keep listening.


maybe you have to listen more guitar. The thruth is that there are not jazz guitarist that are on the same level as composers with the best (ellington, shorter, andrew hill, monk, mingus etc), but maybe is a limitation of the instrument. But when we're talking about solos, if you think that people like lenny breau (a genius, do you know him?), ted greene, jim hall, kenny burrell, barney kessel, ben monder, tisziji munoz (the favorite guitarist of pharoah sanders that make albums with him, rashied ali, ravi and alice coltrane, with lukas ligeti, bob moses, marylin crispell etc), Raoul Björkenheim and many others are not sophisticated musicians you demostrate only that you know little about instrument. 
But clearly is not only a matter of harmonic sophistication, there is blues, rock, there is african guitar and incredible musicians like robert pete williams or d'gary, john fahey, davy graham...


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

I play the guitar myself guys ... so it's not like I'm not familiar or haven't spent time listening to all the guitarists mentioned & so many more. In general the musicianship just isn't on the same level when compared to horn players & pianists ... true fact.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

JMJ said:


> In general the musicianship just isn't on the same level when compared to horn players & pianists ... true fact.


What does musicianship have to do with anything?

Are you unable to enjoy a solo performed by a poor musician? I don't mean played badly, I mean played within the limits of a less technically abled musician. BB King can't play anything like Allan Holdsworth yet I enjoy both their soloing styles.

And what do you mean 'in general'?

We are not talking about all guitarists measured against all pianists or anything like that. We're picking some very accomplished guitarists and saying we like their soloing. You're the one making blanket statements about a certain type of musician.

It's just a shame to let snobbery get in the way of enjoyment.

I was being facetious in my last post, by the way. Parodying your viewpoint:trp:


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

Argus said:


> What does musicianship have to do with anything?


It has everything to with what we're talking about, having more musical depth to explore possibilities with a robust vocabulary & insight when taking a solo and improvising ... try transcribing what jazz horn players & pianists play and attempt to play the music on the guitar & you'll soon discover first hand what I'm talking about. The stuff is way more advanced and it has a lot more interest and listening mileage. And it's easy to hear the vast differences just through careful comparative listening aswell.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

JMJ said:


> It has everything to with what we're talking about, having more musical depth to explore possibilities with a robust vocabulary & insight when taking a solo and improvising ... try transcribing what jazz horn players & pianists play and attempt to play the music on the guitar & you'll soon discover first hand what I'm talking about. The stuff is way more advanced and it has a lot more interest and listening mileage. And it's easy to hear the vast differences just through careful comparative listening aswell.


In general i prefer myself too musicians that are not guitarists, and it's definetely more difficult to make complicated stuff on guitar (at least complicated stuff that sounds coherent and not just messy chords) that on a piano, but guitarists like breau or greene and others in chord melody can equal the most refined voicings of herbie hancock, clare fischer or bill evans. But there is also the rhythm nature of the guitar, an aspect that you seems to understimate and that is different from what the "percussive" piano players (whoever they are, monk, peruchin, cecil taylor, danilo perez etc) can do.


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

norman bates said:


> ... but guitarists like breau or greene and others in chord melody can equal the most refined voicings of herbie hancock, clare fischer or bill evans. But there is also the rhythm nature of the guitar, an aspect that you seems to understimate and that is different from what the "percussive" piano players (whoever they are, monk, peruchin, cecil taylor, danilo perez etc) can do.


rhythms, rhythmic phrasing, turning the rhythm section etc. is much more advanced again with horn players & pianists ... dynamics are also much more interesting, that jazz guitar tone is pretty pale & narrow dynamically in comparison - it's all on one level ... i like some guitarists don't get me wrong (esp. of the jazz-rock variety who try to combine the brains of jazz with the balls & fire of rock) but overall it pales ... just slow down and loop horn lines to rack your brain! Kinda makes ya feel you picked the wrong instrument sometimes ...for a horn player to produce a note that's dead-on pitch-wise requires a constant change in embrochure and if the player can't "hear" what to do in that regard, it will be very obvious to the listener. Imagine if all guitars were fretless.....on second thought.....lol


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

JMJ said:


> rhythms, rhythmic phrasing, turning the rhythm section etc. is much more advanced again with horn players & pianists ... dynamics are also much more interesting, that jazz guitar tone is pretty pale & narrow dynamically in comparison - it's all on one level ... i like some guitarists don't get me wrong (esp. of the jazz-rock variety who try to combine the brains of jazz with the balls & fire of rock) but overall it pales ... just slow down and loop horn lines to rack your brain! Kinda makes ya feel you picked the wrong instrument sometimes ...for a horn player to produce a note that's dead-on pitch-wise requires a constant change in embrochure and if the player can't "hear" what to do in that regard, it will be very obvious to the listener. Imagine if all guitars were fretless.....on second thought.....lol


So you're saying you don't like Chuck Berry?


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I hesitate to post my own favorites for fear they will be ridiculed out of the forum completely. My favorite things in the arts are idiosyncratic, often very cheesy, bombastic, and may rank in the category of guilty pleasures. But that's the thing - they are _pleasures_ and I derive just as much feeling from them as I do _The Art of the Fugue_ for instance. As that work is more intellectual, I probably get more of a physiological response (heart racing, goosebumps, etc.) from my guilty pleasures than from my more refined tastes.

It must be a very lonely sad existence to limit one's self to only the absolute highest of musical refinement. It's like love making. It is exquisite to have a romantic setting, poetry, chocolate, candlelight, to say beautiful things to your partner - but sometimes it's good to just rut like wild animals, scream and holler, and carry on.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

........................edit


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Now finally on to some of my favorite "solos."



Argus said:


> What's strange is I listen to a fair bit of music with synths, organs and electric pianos and stuff, but I found it really hard to think of any memorable solos featuring them. Yeah, Jimmy Smith, Booker T, Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord all help shape the sound of the music, but I don't think their solos are all great. Actually, I think Wakeman on Sabra Cadabra is pretty good.


My favorite synth solo is probably *Rick Wakeman*'s toward the end of Yes' _*The Revealing Science of God*_, starting around the 6:32 mark or shortly after in this link:




It just keeps building and adding weirdness to the timbre, and the band rocks hard in 6/8 (or some other trinary based time). I never understood why this album was so maligned.

Most saxophone solos sound like someone doodling around on a kazoo to me, but *Paul Desmond*'s tone is superb. I enjoy his playing on the many versions of _*Take Five*_: 





Speaking of kazoos, there's a fun kazoo part in the next link at about 1:36, but I am listing Uriah Heep's _*Magician's Birthday*_ for *Mick Box*'s lengthy and likely carcinogenic guitar solo section beginning around 4:16 or 4:20. 




This band has often been maligned as cheesy, incompetent, and of dubious taste by critics and others, but I've got to say Box's simple solo conveys a lot of feeling even though he is not a great technical player. I love all those angry string bending "blue" notes. Back in the day when this was new, my dad walked by my room, heard this solo fuming away and stopped dead in his tracks, intrigued yet frightened. "That sounds like something a stark raving lunatic would be scared to_ imagine_ hearing," he said. (I think he liked it.)

My favorite *Martin Barre* solo is not in one of the best Jethro Tull pieces, but in the late 70's live version of_* A New Day Yesterday*_, starting around 1:36, he does some inhuman sounding things. It is brief but effective, incorporating silence (!) within the solo and then quickly evolving into the staccato lead sound that was the hallmark of Barre in those days. Very nice.





A lot of heavy or hard rock bands went for the sludgy bass timbres after Tony Iommi started tuning his guitar down a couple of steps, but Blue Oyster Cult went with a treble incendiary feeling for their early works. *Buck Dharma*'s solo starting at 1:48 in the original studio version of _*Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll*_ is good way to set your tweeters ablaze: 




Actually there are various brief superheated licks surfacing throughout the song.

I've never been exactly sure if the next piece contains a guitar solo or a Hammond organ solo, or both at the same time. I suppose the guitar dominates as a solo around 1:24, but the whole piece could be considered a dialog between* Mike Allsup and Jimmy Greenspoon* using two great vintage rock instruments. Another "solo" surfaces near the end. Anyone who thinks of Three Dog Night as just a pop vocal group needs to listen to _*Fire Eater*_ in it's entirety. This is Rock with a capital "R." It takes no prisoners and heads right for the jugular.





I will stop there in the interest of not boring people absolutely to tears. This is a classical forum after all, but I'm sure I can think of many more favorite solos.


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## shmotrezoom (Oct 6, 2010)

*good solos*

Hi---fun topic---

Before I start listing, I should say that I play and listen to only harmonically simple stuff---I don't understand bebop or "free" jazz, or Stockhausen. And, you will probably be able to tell that I am---no longer young.

I also can't really list individual solos---just a couple further down the list.

So---

guitar--Django Reinhart and Eric Clapton. Almost anything Reinhart recorded is pretty much my ideal. Intelligent, coherent (by which I mean the notes and phrases make sense next to each other), funky or sweet. In speaking of Clapton I restrict myself to ONLY his single-track stuff, and mostly his blues---and Cream era. The studio solos are mostly little gems of development, with nice unexpected jabs. Most of the live Cream stuff is way too loose, but the live "Sunshine of your Love" (esp. on the Glen Campbell show), and live "Crossroads" are again nicely structured and inspired.

and I've heard many and many a fine solo from Country & Western guitarists whose names I don't know. Same goes for harmonica and fiddle.

A couple single solos---Paul Burleson on Johnny Burnette's "Rock Billy Boogie"---very simple, and very effective. And James Burton on Rick nelson's "Young World".

keyboards---the only rock keyboardist who ever impressed me (in a solo) is Garth Hudson of the Band---see "Chest Fever", nuff said.
jazz piano, I guess there are alot, but Dave McKenna, Teddy Wilson and Dave Brubeck are standing out right now. The 2 Daves especially build sturdy structures.

reeds---I like Paul Desmond, but confess that reeds have not been my focus. But---a single solo from a completely dopey 50's pop record keeps nagging me -- look here:






sax solo just about 1 minute in. Apologies for how dopey this is---but I just realized that Michael Jackson took a little noise from this guy (Frankie Avalon).

violin--Stephane Grappelli---pretty much the touchstone for jazz violinists. Again, built very strong solos.
And, way back in the 60s, there was the "Jim Kweskin Jug Band"---and on one album, "Garden of Joy", there was a fiddler named Richard Greene, who seemed to have absorbed Grappelli. All his solos on this album are completely brilliant.

finally, drummers. Ginger Baker "Toad". Simple, logical. He is surely not that fast, no Buddy Rich. But this solo definitely tells a complete story.

Part of what makes him so easy to follow, and others more difficult, is that his tuning is radically different from others. His toms are tuned so far apart that you can't mistake one for another. His concept of melodic phrasing is also very clear. I spent last evening listening to Buddy Rich. Obviously a virtuoso, a genius. But he could not seem to cut his beats in half---everything had to have as many strokes as possible. A bunch of it made sense---but then, since his toms were not so widely tuned, I missed more, and what I got took more work.

enough maundering.


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## KaerbEmEvig (Dec 15, 2009)

shmotrezoom said:


> Hi---fun topic---
> 
> Before I start listing, I should say that I play and listen to only harmonically simple stuff---I don't understand bebop or "free" jazz, or Stockhausen. And, you will probably be able to tell that I am---no longer young.
> 
> ...


Going to listen to these, thanks.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

shmotrezoom said:


> sax solo just about 1 minute in. Apologies for how dopey this is---but I just realized that Michael Jackson took a little noise from this guy (Frankie Avalon).


Not that dopey. It actually sounds marginally like Frank Zappa at times. Well, okay. Zappa could be pretty dopey too I guess. That sax solo is wild though.

I didn't think to include drum solos, but Toad is nice.


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## shmotrezoom (Oct 6, 2010)

Thanks Weston---I didn't mean the sax was dopey---it's great. I just learned it's Buddy Savitt, a name I don't know.

Anyway, I could have out a lot of Youtube links in, but I was at work,so here's some:

Cream/Glen Campbell 



Cream Crossroads 



Cream Toad 



 the original studio record--plenty other versions on youtube

Reinhart/Grappelli http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=django+reinhardt&aq=0 anything here

Johnny Burnette 




Rick Nelson 




Chest Fever-live-bizarre 




Brubeck, one of many 




McKenna one of many 




Kweskin/Greene---can't find a youtube complete. Here's a fragment, you can hear some fiddle.





For all you fans of rock guitar--thrash, metal, jamband--the 50s is where it all came from.

Thx.


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## KaerbEmEvig (Dec 15, 2009)

I have one from Piotr Banach (Polish guitarist).

Indios Bravos - Peace Blues:


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## dorramide7 (Oct 27, 2010)

which says more about you as a listener than all else ... and i've heard Bailey & Sharrock; can't stand either .. and they aren't on the level of the art as the improvising soloists i mentioned, same applies to all the other guitarists mentioned in this thread, sure they have some moments, and many of them have their own little voices but it's a much shallower well (musically speaking) and that for me, gets tired quickly.
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## newromantic (Nov 24, 2010)




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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

JMJ said:


> I play the guitar myself guys ... so it's not like I'm not familiar or haven't spent time listening to all the guitarists mentioned & so many more. In general the musicianship just isn't on the same level when compared to horn players & pianists ... true fact.


Hmmm. On what evidence are you basing this 'fact'? Exactly how could something like that possibly be scientifically provable?

As far as improv and classical, I think it is a bit of a problem that needs dealing with in the classical world. There is a certain excitement to an off the cuff, one of a kind original solo that I think should be a part of the classical music repertoire. I would like to see future composers try and implement this in a tasteful way.

There are some in the classical world who are trying to do so for example this gentleman, here is an example of one of his improvised pieces.


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