Customer Reviews

Virtuoso 2

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This has to be one the most incredible CDs that I've heard irrespective of genre! Joe, I believe, will be remembered as the best all around jazz guitarist to the extent he was able to play his guitar much like one plays a piano.

On this totally JOE CD, he starts the show with John C's tune, "Giant Steps." These are some odd chordal changes, but Pass played them with ease and much fluidity. He incorporated popular tunes like, "Feelings" which is typically a lounge lizard tune, but Joe turned it into a masterpiece!

Another tune that showcases his posthumously surreal skills and aptitudes on this CD is "On Green Dolphin Street." He must have been in some type of transient state when he blew out this track as the solo(s)--cleverly broken up--were (are) remarkably fast and NOT circuitous in nature. Each run is fresh and this is old news to anyone who has listened to Pass' music for any period of time!

If you are a jazz guitarist and you do not have this CD, this is a MUST GET CD for your collection. If you are a jazz fan and passive listener, this CD will absolutely amaze you. Any jazz musician can listen and learn from this particular solo CD which I feel is the best of all of his "Virtuoso" releases!

This is a collector's item so add it to your collection! You will not be disappointed! We miss ya Joe! Respectfully, Brian G. Jett

"Virtuoso #2" is much mellower than "Virtuoso #1." This is the classic Pass style which combines chord/melody arrangements with single note passages. The momentum is occasionally broken with rubato single note cadenzas, but this occurs less frequently than in "Virtuoso #1." If you want to hear pure chord/melody jazz guitar pick up, "Soliloquy" by George Van Eps.

i really appreciate this album. joe pass grooves, and i have probably listened to this version of giant steps half a million times. very much recomended for guitarists: not sure if you'd enjoy this if you don't play guitar, but hey, give it a shot: they're great arrangements of great tunes.

I currently have the first three albums in the series. Of those three, this album will get the least-frequent play in my iPod. While there are recognized classics like 'Giant Steps' and 'Green Dolphin Street', there are also less-than-classics like '500 Miles High' and some pure dreck like 'Feelings'.

Although Joe does as well as any guitarist might, one feels a bit of pressure to be 'current' with tunes like 'If'. Perhaps my own hearing is tainted by familiarity with the originals, but I can't help but feel Joe was polishing a you-know-what. These performances show too much effort in redeeming tunes that just aren't worth it.

As far as the real jazz on this CD goes, it's great. Perhaps the solution is to uncheck the pieces I've complained about and just to play the good stuff. Works for me.