JAZZGUITARHARDBAL L
JIM BASTIAN
Johnny Smith: Extraordinary Man, Extraordinary Guitar
Johnny Smith once said of himself that he in the nineties. Arguably, the finest JS sig-wasn’t a jazz guitarist, but don’t believe it nature model with the greatest notoriety
for a minute. Ever the humble, reserved is the early sixties Gibson version; Gibson
homebody, Smith did as much as any great contacted three important jazz guitarists in
artist to help define the role and capabil- 1960 – Johnny Smith, Tal Farlow and Barney
ity of the electric archtop as it is used in Kessel – in hopes of creating artist models
jazz performance, especially in regards to and with the goal of breathing new life into
sophistication and refinement of technique. the traditional archtop. See the August ‘07
Jazz Guitar Hardball column for a discussion
on the BK model.
In the fifties, a time still considered early
in the evolution of modern electric jazz
guitar, Smith helped define a new genre of
jazz guitar that was rooted in the reserved,
cool jazz school, but displayed highly
refined, almost classical guitar technique
and virtuosity. The mastery he has displayed
throughout his career is characterized by
clear articulation, close voicings in chord-melody work, virtuosic runs that can cover
the neck and highly compositional improvisations. We could almost call his music
“chamber jazz,” since most of his recordings feature a tightly arranged, emotionally
reserved small group that demonstrates
dazzling technical mastery with healthy
doses of classical references.
Smith’s place within the annals of guitar
history is now well established. His history
is highlighted by many successful small
group recordings, such as the “Moonlight
in Vermont” recording with Stan Getz which
brought him to fame in 1952; the composition “Walk, Don’t Run,” later becoming a hit
for the Ventures; several guitar poll prizes
with Down Beat and Metronome magazines
in the fifties and a slew of signature models
from leading guitar makers. His playing may
lack the edge and grit of a Wes Montgomery
or Grant Green, but he certainly makes up
for that with a unique and instantly recognizable voice that is otherworldly in its sophistication and style. “Johnny Smith style” is now
almost synonymous with smooth virtuosic
technique and the use of a single floating
pickup on an archtop.
One of his greatest contributions to guitar
lore may be found in the Johnny Smith
signature models. During the fifties, Smith
played a D’Angelico, but he also endorsed
a Guild JS model. The fifties Guild JS Award
model was a high-end, 17” archtop that was
brought back by Guild and Bob Benedetto
Unlike the limited role that Barney Kessel
had in developing the BK model, Johnny
Smith was extremely involved in the development of the Johnny Smith model. Smith
insisted that the guitar be one that he
would play full-time before he would associate his name with it. The JS model was to
have a unique scale length of 25” (a Super
400 or L- 5 has a scale length of 25. 5”), a
floating pickup so that the tone was fully
acoustic, a slightly smaller L- 5 body and
a Super 400-sized headstock. Narrower f-holes and Johnny’s name on the L- 5 style
tailpiece elegantly completed the design. In
1961 this guitar, with the Lifton black/yellow
case and canvas case cover, commanded
the princely sum of $795. In 1963, the JS-D,
a two pickup version of the JS, went on the
market, although I have never seen anyone
ever use the bridge pickup! The JS models
were the longest running signature jazz guitars, lasting in the Gibson line until 1989. In
1993 Gibson essentially reintroduced the JS
model, but named it the LeGrand.
The style of the Johnny Smith guitar continued under several names following Gibson.
The Heritage Guitar Company picked up
the torch and briefly made some very fine
Johnny Smith models that were reminiscent of the Gibson JS single pickup model.
However, in 1999, the torch was passed
back to Guild, who made another JS model
under the luthiery of Bob Benedetto, bringing full circle the story of a signature model
that began with Guild, moved to Gibson, to
Heritage and finally back to Guild. We are
indebted to Mr. Smith for both his music
and his guitar.
For a more insightful history and plenty
of warm hearted stories about what we
might call “the Tao of Johnny Smith,”
there are many good web sources:
Colorado Springs Independent – Guitar
Legend Alive and Well
csindy.com/gyrobaseContent?oid=oid
3A3153
Fender Players’ Club – Johnny Smith
fenderplayersclub.com/pdfs/bios/
s mithinterview.pdf
Wikipedia reflects Smith’s colorful
history
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Smith
Jim Bastian
A clinician and jazz educator, Jim Bastian is a ten year
veteran of teaching guitar in higher education. Jim
holds two masters degrees and has published six jazz
studies texts, including the best-selling How to Play
Chordal Bebop Lines, for Guitar (available from Jamey
Aebersold). He actively performs on both guitar and bass
on the East Coast.
An avid collector and trader in the vintage market, you
can visit Jim’s store in Gear Search at
premierguitar.com
(dealer: IslandFunhouse).
