Norm Marier has been a jazz guitar aficionado since he discovered the art as a teenager growing up in Montreal in the nineteen-eighties. He was admitted to Vanier College’s music program as a guitar major in 1982, studied with local jazz guitar veterans and played in small venues. Despite having become a CPA, he remains a lover and student of the art, almost 40 years later.
Jazz Guitar Life would like to thank Jazz Guitarist Norm Marier for sharing his beautiful arch-top with us all! Enjoy 🙂
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My love of jazz guitar and a lifelong journey of amateur study began back in the eighties growing up in
Montreal. Fast forward 30+ years later where I longed for a “unique” great quality solid wood
archtop. I was looking for something that couldn’t be easily found in any retail music store.
After much searching I came across and acquired this “Mr. Wu” archtop.
Mr. Wu was a co-founder of Eastman guitars who later went on to set up his own shop, building custom order archtops.
The instrument was shipped to the original buyer without a pickup. A local Montreal luthier added a
Kent Armstrong floating pickup and has maintained the instrument as the wood ages.
The 18” inch solid wood frame gives it a full warm sound. What struck me the most about this
beautiful instrument is how single lines sound, so full without the slightest “tinny” feeling while the
bottom string notes have a strong bass resonance.
I later realized that the “inspiration” for it came from a John Zielder 18” Deluxe.
As an amateur lifelong jazz guitarist, this beauty will keep me practicing and getting better for years to
come.
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Please consider spreading the word about Norm‘s Jazz Guitar Beauty and Jazz Guitar Life by sharing this interview amongst your social media pals and please feel free to leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you 🙂
If you would like to support all the work I do on Jazz Guitar Life, please consider buying me a coffee or visiting the Jazz Guitar Life sponsors. Thank you and your patronage is greatly appreciated regardless if you buy me a coffee or not 🙂
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