Jazz Articles about Joe Pass

Joe Pass: Virtuoso

by David Rickert
May 1, 2001

A true virtuoso weds rich artistic sensibility with a mastery of the instrument the artist chooses to express it. Therefore, Art Tatum was a true virtuoso, whereas Miles Davis wasn't, he had artistic expression in spades, but his technique on the instrument was limited. It takes a lot of confidence (or gall) to label yourself a virtuoso; luckily, Joe Pass is able to deliver.

Pass recorded widely in the seventies, which were considered lean years for jazz guitarists. The most ...

Joe Pass: In Hamburg

by Jack Bowers
March 4, 1998

Blues, ballads, bossas, burners--it made no difference to the late Joe Pass, an uncompromising perfectionist who took them all in stride and was, if anything, almost too flawless to arouse in the listener an earnest emotional response. Listening to Pass, one quickly gains the impression that there wasn't anything he couldn't do--an impression that is borne out by his uncanny ability to weave deceptively candid single-note lines into a remarkably poetic tapestry while swinging prodigiously in any context.

Joe Pass: Nuages

by Douglas Payne
July 1, 1997

Nuages is the second volume of material the late Joe Pass and his quartet performed at Yoshi's club in Oakland, California, in 1992. With the exception of bassist Monty Budwig (who died shortly after this recording), this is pretty much the same group that performed on Pass' renowned For Django album in 1963. Listening to the two guitars interacting and supporting one another, it's obvious that Pass enjoyed his music like this. The audience does too.

Nuages ...