Jazz Articles about Joe Pass

Joe Pass: Virtuoso

by C. Michael Bailey
February 9, 2005

Joe Pass was born Joseph Anthony Passalaqua, January 13, 1929 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Pass was born into a blue-collar non-musical family and began to play the guitar when he was 9. The guitarist's father, a steel mill worker, realized early that his son was musically talented and encouraged him to listen to all music and pick out songs by ear. Pass's forward-thinking father also encouraged his son to play pieces not originally written for the guitar and to ...

Joe Pass: Blues For Fred

by David Rickert
November 12, 2004

Joe Pass's Virtuoso (Pablo, 1974) was a milestone: not only was it a terrific CD, it was also the first solo jazz guitar record that was worth listening to all the way through. Pass melded the harmonic virtuosity of Art Tatum to a rock 'n' roll sensibility that appealed to fans of Coltrane and Hendrix alike. Of course, it spawned a series of like-minded recordings from the acknowledged guitar genius.

The 1988 recording Blues For Fred is a ...

Joe Pass: Virtuoso in New York

by Derek Taylor
September 29, 2004

When it comes to bountiful vault holdings, few musicians can compare with the oeuvre established by guitarist Joe Pass. As the Pablo label's plectral staple his tape stacks rival and possibly even surpass those of Norman Granz's other resident factotum, Oscar Peterson. The steady crop of titles (one or two each year) that continue to find their way to circulation on disc gives the illusion that virtually ever note he ever picked in studio or on stage was captured by ...

Joe Pass: Virtuoso

by C. Michael Bailey
January 24, 2003

When considering all the talent that exists in jazz, there exist damn few musicians who can be deemed without peer. Art Tatum and Charlie Parker might be considered as such; Joe Pass might be the definition of a musician without peer. Pass arrived magically on the recording scene in 1962 with The Sound of Synanon (Pacific Jazz 48) named for the famous drug rehabilitation facility whose alumni include Art Pepper, among others.

This was not the true beginning ...

Joe Pass: Meditation: Solo Guitar

by C. Michael Bailey
October 10, 2002

Solo Pass...

I wonder if Norman Granz ever fully appreciated the talent he accumulated beneath the mantle of Pablo Records. Ella, Oscar, Joe, Bill (Basie), Ray, Dizzy, Milt, Jon and the list goes on. Listening to Joe Pass’ Meditation, a previously unissued live set from Yoshi’s recorded in 1992, I can not help but think how Joe Pass is like another Pablo Alum, Art Tatum. Both artists were thoroughly documented by Granz before their deaths; both were exposed in solo ...

Joe Pass: The Joe Pass Trio Live At Donte's

by C. Michael Bailey
April 12, 2002

Urbane virtuosity

Any discussion of Jazz guitar will usually lead with three names: Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, and Joe Pass. A native of New Brunswick, New Jersey, Pass performed in the swing bands of Tony Pastor and Charlie Barnett. He spent time in the army, took ten years off with a nagging heroin addiction and in 1962, emerged from the California-based Synanon to record several albums for Pacific Jazz and World Pacific. Pass stayed under the radar until 1973, when ...

Joe Pass Trio: Live at Donte's

by Derek Taylor
March 1, 2002

There’s a popular, if somewhat misguided tendency amongst critical circles to rank musicians by relating them to those who have come before. Specific attention to the standing each one holds in relation to his or her peers in the areas of prowess, impact and artistic originality are just some of the prime determinants. Norman Granz is guilty of it in his liner notes to this release, where he places Joe Pass atop a pedestal on par with Charlie Christian. Ultimately ...