Circle 'Round the Sun

Jazz chord solos are my favorite kind of guitar music. They require technique, theory, and practice. They push your hands and your mind. My repertoire is small, but it is slowly growing and I haven't given up.


Click and listen:

Autumn Leaves    Written by Joseph Kosma and Johnny Mercer. (1,545KB) Recorded direct to CD-R in December 2002, with just a Strat plugged into a stock Fender Vibroverb. I used an SM67 on one speaker and a C100 on the other speaker.

Yesterdays    A classic by Jerome Kern. (1,030KB)

Acoustic archtops are probably the least common type of guitar. The word archtop refers to a construction technique similar to a violin or a cello, and was first used on the guitar by Orville Gibson in the early 1900’s. Rather than being a flat sheet of wood, the guitar soundboard is carved into an arched shape from a solid piece of wood. They were very popular high end guitars from the ‘20’s through the ‘50’s, but are less common today, partly because of their high prices.

Archtops sound different from flat-top acoustic guitars, and they are a bit of an acquired taste. Here are some of recordings of my archtops.

Click and listen:

The Days of Wine and Roses    By Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. (4,000KB) Played on my new Trenier Excel, using an AKG C391 over the bridge and a C414 over the neck, mixed hard left and right. Recorded February 2012.

Here's That Rainy Day    Music by Jimmy Van Heusen. (2,800KB) My Trenier Magnolia Classic, same setup as above. Recorded February 2012.

Stella By Starlight   By Victor Young, 1944. (4,100KB) This has been one of my favorite pieces for years. Recorded with my Trenier Excel, November 2011.

Misty    A classic written in 1954 by Erroll Garner. (2,700KB) I was trying out a new mic technique, and used a AKG C391 placed high over my right shoulder, and a Blue Woodpecker facing the guitar top. The reverb is just the room sound on the C391. The guitar is my 2009 Trenier Magnolia Classic. Recorded October 2010.

Naima    Written by John Coltrane. (741KB) This is a mono (!) recording, completely dry, of my 1945 Gibson L-5. Recorded in October 2003 with an AKG C414. That’s it, as simple as it gets. I learned this arrangement from my teacher Adam Levy in the early ‘90s.

Don’t Get Around Much Anymore    By Duke Ellington. (1,078KB). My L-5 again, recorded in October of 2004, this time using a mono mix of the C414 over the 15th fret and an AKG C391 over the bridge. Not many people use a bridge microphone, but I find that it adds interesting harmonics and liveliness to the sound and is much closer to the true acoustic sound of the guitar.

My One and Only Love    By Guy Wood and Robert Mellin. (1,037KB) The same guitar and mics as above, same session, but this time with the neck and bridge mic mixed left and right in a stereo spread.

In A Sentimental Mood    Another by The Duke. (921KB) I played my Grimes Montreux into an AKG C414 microphone positioned over the 12th fret, mixed hard left, and a C391 over the bridge, mixed hard right. The mix is perfectly dry. Recorded in June 2001.

But Beautiful    By Jimmy Van Heusen. (4,500KB) Robert Griffith on flugelhorn, me on guitar. Recorded January 2013.

I Could Write a Book  By Richard Rogers. (2,800KB) With Robert on trumpet, same as above.