Regardless if you’re a beginning student of Jazz Guitar or an established player, we all have at least five albums that we cannot be without! With that said, Jazz Guitar Life has asked Tel Aviv Jazz Guitarist Ron Magril what his five would be (assuming that he knew before hand that he was going to be stuck on a desert island and that said island had electricity and a full component stereo system) 🙂
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Wes Montgomery – Boss Guitar: This is for sure one of my all time favorites – for me it’s just the most perfect guitar playing and it’s just doesn’t get any better than this . As a teenager I would listen to this record everyday almost like “praying”. I used to transcribe every tune and every solo first by singing and then on the guitar. This album gave me endless inspiration and an idea of how Jazz guitar should sound like.
All I wanted those days was to play like Wes and I think those years had a big impact on my learning process – because I believe that you need to learn and copy the masters before you find your own ‘sound’ and ‘feel’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Yzl08yyVw
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Grant Green – Am I Blue: I was always into Blues, Gospel and soul and for me this record is the perfect combination of all the music I like to hear on the same record. The most beautiful songs! The arrangements are perfect and the band is at its best delivering soulful sounds that sooth the heart.
Grant green’s playing is phenomenal (as always) and I believe this is one of the first Joe Henderson recordings, and for me, one of his all time best. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U6GFlZ5UIU&t=8s
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Wynton Kelly Trio – Wynton Kelly!: I always loved piano trio albums and Wynton Kelly is my favorite pianist for sure!
This album features Sam Jones instead of the regular bassist in the trio – Paul Chambers. I really like Sam Jones because his quarter notes always go forward, making the band swing harder.
I’ve learned a lot from Wynton’s playing. He’s just the perfect piano player! Time, feel and taste at its finest! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wy9ApLsAvA
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Dexter Gordon – Doin’ Alright: This album features Dexter with Freddie Hubbard and the Horace Parlan Trio – with one of my favorite and most underrated drummers – in my opinion – the great Al Harewood! I think he deserves much more appreciation than he usually gets these days (he played on so many legendary Blue note albums in the 60’s including Grant Green, Horace Parlan, Dexter Gordon and Stanley Turrentine).
Dexter Gordon and Freddie Hubbard are my favorite horn players and the way they sound together is just insane. I always go back to this record and enjoy it like the first time I heard it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_b0XPaXKh4
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Eddie Harris – The In Sound: Eddie Harris is in my opinion one of the most underrated saxophonists ever ! This album is so swinging, soulful and tasteful that I can’t get enough out of it. This one features Cedar Walton , Ron Carter and Billy Higgins – each at their very best .
Eddie Harris’ playing always touched me because it’s like singing, without any tricks just straight from the heart. It made me realize that I wanna touch people heart’s through my playing. It always stronger to feel rather than show off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0lrmd0N2JU
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