| Author | Message | ||
| jerryme
Member Username: jerryme Post Number: 53 Registered: 1-2008 |
I became engaged in a conversation with one of my students today, about how certain musicians develop their own sound. Carlos Santana said "that your grandmother should know it is you from one note" .... I started running down my list of notable players who have achieved this... Jerry Garcia, Carolos Santana, Mark Knophler, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Michael Houser, Trey Anastasio, Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour/Roger Waters... More to follow. Please add. Edumacation is mighty important. | ||
| crobbins
Intermediate Member Username: crobbins Post Number: 106 Registered: 6-2004 |
Frank Zappa.  | ||
| 3rd_ray
New Username: 3rd_ray Post Number: 2 Registered: 2-2008 |
Here are a few on the bass side... John Patitucci, Percy Jones, Marcus Miller, and Jaco of course. On the guitar side I'd have to add Frank Zappa. | ||
| 3rd_ray
New Username: 3rd_ray Post Number: 3 Registered: 2-2008 |
Glad to see that I'm not the only Zappa fan  | ||
| 811952
Senior Member Username: 811952 Post Number: 1361 Registered: 10-2003 |
Chris Squire, John Entwistle, Paul McCartney, Al DiMeola, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Keith Richards, Allan Holdsworth... | ||
| bsee
Senior Member Username: bsee Post Number: 1912 Registered: 3-2004 |
Billy Gibbons | ||
| darkstar01
Intermediate Member Username: darkstar01 Post Number: 106 Registered: 6-2005 |
i definitely don't agree with trey anastasio. he sounds like the culmination of every other hippie jam guitar player there has been. people that have their own sound? fred frith, nels cline, derek bailey, elliot sharp, mary halvorson, blood ulmer, duane allman, d boone! , kurt rosenwinkel, jonathan kreisberg, JIM HALL, adam rogers, wayne krantz, oz noy, so many more. (Message edited by darkstar01 on March 13, 2008) | ||
| hieronymous
Advanced Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 271 Registered: 1-2005 |
I have to disagree with your disagreement on Trey Anastasio - I haven't been into Phish for almost 15 years, but his playing is still very melodic and special to me when I listen to old shows. To me, his compositions transcend the mere adjective "hippie." I don't have any one to add to the list, so I guess I will just second Jimi Hendrix. | ||
| 5stringho
Advanced Member Username: 5stringho Post Number: 265 Registered: 11-2006 |
Warren Haynes. No matter who he is playing with (Gov't Mule, The Allman Bros. Band, Phil & Friends, etc) you instantly know who is playing guitar. Rock, blues, jazz, he still sounds like Warren. Have fun, Mike, tho | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 1685 Registered: 10-2002 |
I can tell Steve Howe's playing anywhere (and I'm a bassist!). On bass, percy Jones has a pretty distinctive tone as has billy sheehan. Graeme | ||
| jerryme
Member Username: jerryme Post Number: 54 Registered: 1-2008 |
Phish gave hippies a bad name. I really am not too into his music anymore, but his guitar sound is pretty distinctive. I saw lots of mediocre Phish shows, but I saw maybe 12 that were pretty great. Colin | ||
| fmm
Advanced Member Username: fmm Post Number: 216 Registered: 6-2002 |
Bruce Hornsby; Gary Burton; Itzak Perlman | ||
| danny_bryant
Junior Username: danny_bryant Post Number: 43 Registered: 9-2007 |
The minute you hear the first note from that Spyder, you know WHO it is. Same goes for Clarke, McVie, and Mark King. All of these gentelman played Alembic basses but they all had there own sound. | ||
| mcrracer
Junior Username: mcrracer Post Number: 14 Registered: 5-2007 |
Stanley Clarke,Paul Jackson (Herbie Hancock) Victor Wooten BB King, Wah Wah Watson Lee Oskar (harmonica) | ||
| danny_bryant
Junior Username: danny_bryant Post Number: 44 Registered: 9-2007 |
Dont forget about good old Rick Danko. Even though he was not a Alembic player, he had an unmistakeable sound. The same goes for Robbie Robertson. | ||
| crobbins
Intermediate Member Username: crobbins Post Number: 107 Registered: 6-2004 |
Dicky Betts, Duane Allman.. | ||
| olieoliver
Senior Member Username: olieoliver Post Number: 1804 Registered: 2-2006 |
I'm not a huge fan of either but you know its them from hearing their sound right off the bat; Eddie Van Halen and Tom Scholz. Geddy Lee you can be fairly sure its him from his tone but let him sing one note and there is NO Doubt. A few months back I jammed at the house with Mike( from the club) his drummer Pete and my old guitar player. I remember him telling Mike and Pete that he could tell my playing from my sound right away and how no mattter what I played through. Made me feel real good to hear that from Jeff, who happens to be an awesome guitar player. Olie | ||
| gtrguy
Intermediate Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 129 Registered: 9-2004 |
Gotta add the late/great Roy Buchannon (sp?). | ||
| funkyjazzjunky
Member Username: funkyjazzjunky Post Number: 71 Registered: 5-2007 |
Ernie Isley, Vernon Reid, Eddie Hazel on guitar. Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham on bass | ||
| 3rd_ray
New Username: 3rd_ray Post Number: 5 Registered: 2-2008 |
Frank Gambale on guitar, Pino Palladino on bass, Ron Carter on upright bass, how about banjo? - Bela Fleck | ||
| kilowatt
Member Username: kilowatt Post Number: 81 Registered: 12-2004 |
I always thought that George Harrison's slide work was very easy to distinguish from anyone else's style. He was always very underrated as a guitar player and song writer. Regards, Pete | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1118 Registered: 6-2002 |
Robert Cray deserves a mention as does Miles Davis, Augustus Pablo. This subject got me thinking, and forgive me i'm not mad but is it possible to distinguish a dummer's sound from one beat of a drum. I can tell lenny white if he hits that kind of rim shot he does but from one beat of a drum i doubt if I could decifer any other drummer. jazzyvee | ||
| jbybj
Intermediate Member Username: jbybj Post Number: 144 Registered: 6-2006 |
I agree with many listed above, especially Fripp and Zappa, but I would also add Rory Gallagher and Snakefinger. Snakefinger had plenty of solo work, but may be best known ;-) for his work with the Residents. If you have never heard the Residents cover of Satisfaction, you are in for a treat. Simply the worlds greatest guitar solo, EVER. Speaking of Satisfaction covers....... OOps, I almost forgot Gerry Casale (DEVO) | ||
| jbybj
Intermediate Member Username: jbybj Post Number: 145 Registered: 6-2006 |
Andy Partridge. | ||
| jerryme
Member Username: jerryme Post Number: 55 Registered: 1-2008 |
David Byrne | ||
| crobbins
Intermediate Member Username: crobbins Post Number: 109 Registered: 6-2004 |
Rahsaan Roland Kirk  (Message edited by CRobbins on March 13, 2008) | ||
| darkstar01
Intermediate Member Username: darkstar01 Post Number: 107 Registered: 6-2005 |
i thought we were just talking about guitar players, here. i personally think any great musician should have their own distinctive sound. Guys like Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Peter Brotzmann, Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Ornette, Ken Vandermark, Dave Holland, etc. I can't really dig anybody that just sounds like someone else. | ||
| elwoodblue
Advanced Member Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 232 Registered: 6-2002 |
I love the residents take on Elvis...'The king and eye' is a very sublime album. 'My life in a bush of ghosts' (byrne) is a thing of beauty also. Did anyone notice the zappa les paul on ebay uk? | ||
| elwoodblue
Advanced Member Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 233 Registered: 6-2002 |
...and I'm sure we've all heard Howard Roberts whether we know it or not...(gilligans island,brady bunch,...) | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 2984 Registered: 7-2004 |
Yoko Ono. Bill, tgo | ||
| edwin
Advanced Member Username: edwin Post Number: 313 Registered: 5-2002 |
Oh, Bill. Alright, who here remembers the Plastic Ono Mothers? Edwin | ||
| briant
Intermediate Member Username: briant Post Number: 126 Registered: 12-2004 |
There are several players who I can spot from a mile away. Miles Davis John Coltrane Steve Vai Hendrix Jaco Pat Metheny Stevie Wonder Frank Zappa There are others I'm sure but those are the ones that stand firmly in my mind. Zappa especially as a guitar player was just "out there" in the best way. His approach to soloing was so angular and odd but just so "right". He always gets so much (well deserved) credit for his writing but he rarely gets the credit he so well deserved for his guitar playing. The guy had monstrous chops and good solo ideas to spare. | ||
| elwoodblue
Advanced Member Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 235 Registered: 6-2002 |
zappa's goldtop ...while I'm at it I gotta give Curtis Mayfield and his band a very honorable mentioning. | ||
| tom_z
Senior Member Username: tom_z Post Number: 550 Registered: 7-2004 |
Bill Frisell, Alan Holdsworth, Thelonious Monk, Phil Lesh . . . | ||
| paulman
Advanced Member Username: paulman Post Number: 282 Registered: 2-2005 |
Man, what great list. Darkstar01, D Boone was my first guitar hero. Talk about a specific sound! I'd like to add Duke Robillard to the list. A blues man if I ever hoid one | ||
| white_cloud
Advanced Member Username: white_cloud Post Number: 333 Registered: 11-2007 |
I know he has already been mentioned a couple of times but I think Allan Holdsworths sublime sound is on a different level - totally and unmistakably unique to him! One note of Allans playing says more than a thousand notes from most players in my opinion. John Mclaughlin is also easily identifiable from his choice of notes! It is often easier to identify actual models/makes of basses as opposed to bassists these days. Exotic basses tend to sound unique to their creed. for example, it is often easy to identify an Alembic bass on a recording I feel! John. | ||
| benson_murrensun
Junior Username: benson_murrensun Post Number: 30 Registered: 5-2007 |
JOHN W. (JACK) CASADY !!!!! fuggetaboudit! | ||
| georgie_boy
Senior Member Username: georgie_boy Post Number: 439 Registered: 8-2005 |
10 out of 10 for Holdsworth!!!! Just amazing player | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Advanced Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 273 Registered: 10-2006 |
John Cippollina. No one else's sound is even close to his. Peter Gerlach | ||
| jerryme
Member Username: jerryme Post Number: 61 Registered: 1-2008 |
What is some good John Cippollina music? I really only know of his playing throught the many Dead shows he sat in on. He was in Quicksilver Messenger Service correct? And what was the deal with the bat wing's on his SG? | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Advanced Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 274 Registered: 10-2006 |
Yes, John was in QMS. A proper introduction to them would be "Happy Trails", which Mr. Garcia termed "the most pschedelic album ever recorded." John did his own work on his guitar, including wiring it stereo (and building this beast to run it through), some nice inlay, and the famous bat-wing pick-guard. Peter ps - and I misspelled his name in my first post - only 1 p. | ||
| jbybj
Intermediate Member Username: jbybj Post Number: 147 Registered: 6-2006 |
When I worked at New George's in San Rafael in 85' 86', John Cipollina played there a couple of times. I didn't know anything about him then, but I often found myself sitting at the board, forgetting to mix, just lost in a state of wonder. That was a great job............ JBY oh yeah, back to the thread, I'd add Adrian Belew. | ||
| jerryme
Member Username: jerryme Post Number: 62 Registered: 1-2008 |
Working in San Rafael in the mid-1980's.... So it is prolly safe to say that you ran into the boys a few times. | ||
| elwoodblue
Advanced Member Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 244 Registered: 6-2002 |
That Beast is niiiiice...thanks,I haven't been turned on to his music yet and look forward to learning and listening. Belew is a force in nature for sure...He adds alot of soul to all the bands he's been in. on a grace note...zappa's goldtop went for about 130,000 dollars. my curiosity is peaked about that 'modulux' in John's rig. cheers | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Advanced Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 275 Registered: 10-2006 |
I'm not sure, but I think the Modulux was a rotating-speaker simulation device. Peter | ||
| jedisan
New Username: jedisan Post Number: 6 Registered: 3-2008 |
How could we not forget Eric Clapton... others for me, Gary Moore, Eliot Easton, Bob Welch, Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, just to name a few. I could go on. | ||
| jbybj
Intermediate Member Username: jbybj Post Number: 148 Registered: 6-2006 |
"Working in San Rafael in the mid-1980's.... So it is prolly safe to say that you ran into the boys a few times." The boys? you mean Thin Lizzy? Nope, never met them...... ;-) Mickey Hart was the only member of the Dead I remember playing at Georges when I was there. I don't remember the band, some collection of Marin Hippies for sure. When Belew and Zappa shared a stage, that was mind blowing. JBY | ||
| jbybj
Intermediate Member Username: jbybj Post Number: 149 Registered: 6-2006 |
"How could we not forget Eric Clapton" Wait, we didn't not forget him, we forgot him. I think the reason being he sounds just like all the blues players who came after him. :-) JBY | ||
| elwoodblue
Advanced Member Username: elwoodblue Post Number: 249 Registered: 6-2002 |
and Joe Walsh is pretty darn distinctive...thick and ballsy... | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3002 Registered: 7-2004 |
Ain't no one sounds like Tom Waits! Bill, tgo | ||
| hankster
Intermediate Member Username: hankster Post Number: 166 Registered: 6-2004 |
The interesting thing to me about all of this is that we can all identify a distinctive sound when we hear one. For me, I can instantly "feel" the sound of the early to mid 70"s guitar bands, and I can recall, a few years back when there was an anniversary concert for Queen Elizabeth II on the radio, that from the very first note of Brian May of Queen fame playing "God save the Queen", I knew it was him. For those of us who like to listen, the sounds are unmistakeable, and take us to wonderful places when we hear them, even years later. that's the magic of music, for me. | ||
| jerryme
Member Username: jerryme Post Number: 64 Registered: 1-2008 |
Augustus Pablo... king of the melodica! | ||
| rolty
Junior Username: rolty Post Number: 12 Registered: 3-2008 |
jbybj, I dont agree about Eric being typical blues player, you can tell him straight away blindfolded for sure, definitely a top 10 place for him IMHO | ||
| bkbass
Intermediate Member Username: bkbass Post Number: 164 Registered: 11-2003 |
hankster, ya nailed it... Brian May. If there was ever one note for grandma to recognize, he's the man. If she was deaf in one ear maybe she be confused between Brian and Tom Shultz. We are talking one note tone recognition right? Who came on the scene first? The chicken or the egg? |
