Joe Pass Virtuoso 3

Joe Pass - Virtuoso #3 (1977) {Pablo OJCCD-684-2 rel 1992}
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© 1977, 1992 Pablo Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-684-2
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Guitar

Solo guitar by Joe Pass – a beautiful little album that's a perfect showcase for the new sensitivity in his music during his years at Pablo records! The Joe Pass heard here is light years away from the guitar player who made a few gimmicky records a decade before – and this album has Joe coming across with a gentle, but sophisticated approach to his instrument that we never would have expected in the past!

The saying that "life begins at 40" is certainly open to debate – especially if you live in a youth-obsessed culture like the United States. But for jazz artists, there can be some truth in that saying; the history of jazz is full of artists who did some of their best work after 40. Joe Pass is a perfect example; Pass turned 40 in 1969, and the '70s were an amazingly productive time for the late guitar icon (who recorded frequently during that decade thanks to Pablo founder Norman Granz). In fact, Pass did so much recording during the '70s that albums of previously unreleased material were still coming out long after his death from cancer in 1994. Virtuoso in New York, for example, is an album of recordings that went unreleased for 29 years; recorded in 1975, these Granz-produced performances didn't see the light of day until 2004.

Joe Pass - Virtuoso #4 (1973) {2CD Set, Pablo PACD-2640-102-2 rel 1993}
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© 1973, 1993 Pablo Records / Fantasy | PACD-2640-102-2
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Guitar

Joe Pass became famous with his unaccompanied guitar showcase on Virtuoso, the beginning of a very notable series. However, this double CD (a reissue of a 1983 double LP plus three new performances) actually preceded the first Virtuoso by a month and differed in that Pass exclusively chose to play acoustic guitar, rather than electric. The relatively little-known set finds the guitarist sounding very much like a self-sufficient orchestra, and although his tone is necessarily softer on acoustic than electric, he swings hard on the uptempo pieces. Among the many highlights are "Indian Summer," "My Shining Hour," "I'll Remember April" and "Limehouse Blues."

Guitarist Joe Pass came to fame 18 years before this recording with Virtuoso, also released on the Pablo label. In 1991, he was still playing occasional unaccompanied concerts, and he had neither run out of ideas nor gone stale despite the often familiar repertoire. This CD (recorded at the now-defunct Vine Street Bar & Grill in Hollywood) finds Pass performing a typical set filled with swing standards (such as "Stompin' at the Savoy," "Love for Sale," and "Indiana"), some more recent material (Ivan Lins' "Daquilo Que Eu Sei" and Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are"), a couple of originals, and "Mack the Knife." Through it all, Pass shows that he is one of the few guitarists who never needed other instrumentalists in order to form a complete group sound.

Guitarist Joe Pass came to fame 18 years before this recording with Virtuoso, also released on the Pablo label. In 1991, he was still playing occasional unaccompanied concerts, and he had neither run out of ideas nor gone stale despite the often familiar repertoire. This CD (recorded at the now-defunct Vine Street Bar & Grill in Hollywood) finds Pass performing a typical set filled with swing standards (such as "Stompin' at the Savoy," "Love for Sale," and "Indiana"), some more recent material (Ivan Lins' "Daquilo Que Eu Sei" and Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are"), a couple of originals, and "Mack the Knife." Through it all, Pass shows that he is one of the few guitarists who never needed other instrumentalists in order to form a complete group sound.

The very first release by the Concord label was a quartet set featuring guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Jake Hanna. Ellis and Pass (the latter was just beginning to be discovered) always made for a perfectly complementary team, constantly challenging each other. The boppish music (which mixes together standards with "originals" based on the blues and a standard) is quite enjoyable with the more memorable tunes including "Look for the Silver Lining," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Georgia," "Good News Blues," and "Bad News Blues." This was a strong start for what would become the definitive mainstream jazz label.

Far from being a casual collection of rejects, there is plenty of mellow gold from Joe Pass on this posthumously released second volume from what must have been a memorable gig at this Oakland, California night spot. The two-guitar quartet format was an optimum showcase for Pass' nimble, melodic bop electric guitar, for the greatly unsung fellow guitarist John Pisano offers inspired harmonic, rhythm or obligato support at all times, giving Pass an extra push from underneath. On "I Remember You" and "What Is This Thing Called Love?," Pisano even gives Pass some solo chases which generate a lot of steam, and the gentle semi-bossa nova treatment of Neal Hefti's "Repetition" also bring out the best in both. Bassist Monty Budwig (subbing for Jim Hughart) and drummer Colin Bailey are also in superb form throughout this can't-miss outing. The sound quality is OK, though hum can be heard in some quiet stretches.

Joe Pass - Virtuoso (1973) {OJC Remasters Complete Series rel 2010 - item 05of33}
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© 1973, 2010 Pablo / Concord | 0888072319905
Jazz / Bop / Guitar

An extension of the popular Original Jazz Classics series (est. 1982), the new OJC Remasters releases reveal the sonic benefits of 24-bit remastering-a technology that didn't exist when these titles were originally issued on compact disc. The addition of newly-written liner notes further enhances the illuminating quality of the OJC Remasters reissues. "Each of the recordings in this series is an all-time jazz classic," says Nick Phillips, Vice President of Jazz and Catalog A&R at Concord Music Group and producer of the series.

Joe Pass - Virtuoso #2 (1976) {Pablo PACD-2310-788-2 rel 1987}
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© 1976, 1987 Pablo Records / Fantasy | PACD-2310-788-2
Jazz / Cool / Mainstream Jazz / Guitar

Virtuoso No. 2, the second of Joe Pass' solo guitar albums for Pablo, finds the remarkable Pass exploring more recent standards than one might expect. In addition to a few warhorses, there is also "Feelings" (which he somehow manages to make tolerable), "If," two Chick Corea songs ("Five Hundred Miles High" and "Windows") and even "Giant Steps." Pass' mastery of the guitar is obvious throughout this enjoyable set.