Customer Reviews

Virtuoso Live

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

 

 

i have about 15 joe pass albums including most of the virtuoso albums. this album was the first joe pass album i ever had and still ranks as my favorite of his solo albums. this was the last of his virtuoso albums, recorded in 1991, nearly twenty years after the first virtuoso album and three years before he passed away. compared to his earlier virtuoso albums, joe pass at this time is much more mellow. his tone is very deep and dark. the first couple of virtuoso albums are mostly his solo renditions of rather fast songs. lots of very fast lines between chordal punctuations. by comparison, the virtuoso live album shows him at a stage where he doesn't need to play super fast all the time. the solos are almost entirely chord solos with far more harmonic complexity than the original virtuoso albums. i would compare this album with bill evans' alone album which also shows a solo performer at a very mature stage of the game (to be compared with bill evans' solo sessions from seven years before alone). this was the album that made me want to pursue jazz guitar. this is probably my favorite album of my favorite jazz guitarist of all time.

if you like joe pass or just great jazz guitar this is a must!!solo standards at their best!!being live adds to the excitement aswell-well recommended