Customer Reviews

Full Circle - Howard Alden, Jimmy Bruno (includes 2nd disc celebrating Concord Records 25th Anniversary)

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Guitar organ trios are cool, but there's something special in jazz about the two-guitar, bass, and drums combination. This CD presents two top jazz gutarists, Howard Alden and Jimmy Bruno, with Michael Moore on bass and Alan Dawson on drums. This label, Concord Records, released a legendary 2-guitar record, "Jazz/Concord," with Herb Ellis and Joe Pass on guitar, in 1972, and that disc is included for free in this package! The late Carl Jefferson, the moving force behind Concord Jazz Fest and this record label, just decided to give it to the fans. I can't recommend this one highly enough. By the way, accompanying Ellis and Pass are Ray Brown on bass and Jake Hanna on drums. One more interesting thing: both Howard Alden and Jimmy Bruno play seven-string guitars, and it's interesting to listen to both discs and think about whether 14 strings in the '90s is as good as 12 strings in the '70s.

I bought this box set for the Howard Alden and Jimmy Bruno CD. The bonus CD of traditional greats, Herb Ellis and Joe Pass was expected to be a nice addition. However, it is difficult to determine which CD is more exciting than the other. It is interesting to compare the crisp, clean style of the Ellis-Pass recording with the updated, mellower flow of the Alden-Bruno. One might suspect that the former is a bit outdated, but this is not at all the case. If you like guitar jazz at all, or good music of any kind, this set must be part of your collection.

Enjoy the Sumptuous playing of Four legendary Jass guitar greats. The classic Ellis-Pass duo disc works nicely with the more modern Alden-Bruno disc. Both display some of the finest guitar playing ever recorded. Enjoy!