Virtuoso #3

by Peter Saint-Andre

2009-03-27

I've decided that my favorite jazz guitar album is Virtuoso #3 by Joe Pass. All the pieces were written by Pass, and they exude a wondrous economy of notes. With song titles like "Sevenths", "Ninths", "Dissonance #1", "Dissonance #2", "Offbeat", and "Minor Detail", many of these tunes border on etudes for jazz guitar, but more in the fashion of watercolor sketches or the apuntes of Joaquin Sorolla than, say, Chopin's etudes for pianoforte. In line with some of my recent musings, there is a sparse absolutism to much of the music here, which I find quite appealing. The song I like best on this album is his eponymous tribute to Paco de Lucia. Extremely fine music!


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