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 Montreal born but now New York City based Jazz Guitarist David Rourke 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) 🙂
…………
As a one-man operation, if you would like to support all the work I do on Jazz Guitar Life, please consider buying me a coffee or two. Your support helps me to focus on Jazz Guitar Life so that I can continue to bring you great interviews, reviews, podcasts and other related Jazz Guitar content. Thank you and your patronage is greatly appreciated regardless if you buy me a coffee or not 🙂 Or if you prefer PayPal – Lyle Robinson
…………
1) Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders: Sonny Rollins, my absolute favourite musician of all time. Those that know me know how I’m always talking about Sonny. It’s so hard to pick just one album of his, but I think this one captures his spirit quite well. It’s a pretty complete album too. It includes all of Sonny’s quirks: selecting old songs not really played by other jazz musicians, pushing a motif to its limits, odd form choices, and other Sonny idiosyncrasies. The album has many different “bands”; from trio with no drums to sextet with vibraphone, guitar and piano… and everyone’s at the top of their game. This album has it all! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjmU5bKGjj8
…
2) Steely Dan – Aja: In many ways, I would consider it to be a “perfect” album. The compositions, musicianship, and production are top notch. Interestingly, Victor Feldman who plays vibraphone on the Sonny Rollins album I just mentioned is featured prominently on this one too (almost 20 years later). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tigLvVwKcKc
…
3) The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds: A pop masterpiece. Brian Wilson is a major influence on my own writing and musical conception. And in keeping with this trend, Barney Kessel who plays on the Sonny Rollins album, plays on this one too! Among other things, he is credited as playing the “mando-guitar” on Wouldn’t It Be Nice which is what introduces the whole album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeN_NytxKEc
…
4) Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies – Leonard Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic: It’s perhaps unfair to put this as one album, seeing as it’s 6 hours of music. If I had to pick one symphony, it would be the Third Symphony, the Eroica. I believe the entire human experience can be heard in Beethoven’s music, and particularly in this symphony. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt-rynpPMY4
…
5) Joy Bryan – Make the Man Love Me: A not often talked about album, which was introduced to me by the great Montreal jazz drummer, pianist and wizard André White. The album features and was arranged by pianist Wynton Kelly, my favourite on his instrument. I love Bryan’s understated singing and the swing of the rhythm section. A lot of this is due to the bass playing of Leroy Vinnegar, my absolute favourite bassist! And unsurprisingly, Vinnegar’s also on Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders. The Sonny album and its musicians have made a big impact on me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfHEkGdnTRw
…
Please consider spreading the word about David and Jazz Guitar Life by sharing these Desert Island Picks 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 if you prefer PayPal. Thank you and your patronage is greatly appreciated regardless if you buy me a coffee or not 🙂
David rourke guitar goat
Agreed!! 🙂
Lyle -aka- Jazz Guitar Life