Also, I wasn’t 100 percent sure how I was
going to go about all this either.
jazz album, that’s quite a long time, really. I probably could have used another day, but then you
could end up ruining it. You risk over-thinking it.
Didn’t you do a live one?
A lot of times when the dynamics of the
rhythm tracks pick up and get a little
more intense, the solo does as well. Are
you reacting to the rhythm track when
you are doing the lead?
How long does it take you to record
one of your solo albums?
Yes. I’d like to do another one. The gig tomorrow night is being filmed for the local TV station. If it comes out good, it might be usable.
You use Elixir stings now, right?
Usually, yeah. Sometimes what happened, I
would actually do a section where I was playing with the rhythm guitar and putting the lead
guitar on top, and sometimes I’d play something on the lead guitar that would give me an
idea for the rhythm guitar. So, I’d go back and
change the rhythm guitar. Often, I wouldn’t
keep the original tracks. By the time I’d finished
with them, I’d gone through quite a few changes. It was like doing an oil painting, really.
It varies from two days to about a week. I’ve
actually become more interested lately in
DVDs. A large part of the audience plays the
instrument as well—or likes the idea of playing it—and they want to see you play it.
Yes. They’re perfect for me. Ever since I
started playing guitar, it seems as if I sweat
battery acid. I always thought that it would
be great if they could invent some kind of
When you were choosing the tunes, did
you think that maybe this one would be
done in the style of Joe Pass and Herb
Ellis? Or did that not come into play at all?
No. I don’t think in those terms. I’ve really
only got one way of playing, and one sound.
You mentioned in the liner notes that you
had done a bunch of duos with other gui-
tarists. When did you work with Joe Pass?
I knew him in the seventies, but we didn’t play
together until shortly before he died. In fact,
we were planning to make an album together.
We played a few festivals in Europe. He already
knew he was ill at that time. In a few days I’m
doing a gig with Mundell Lowe. We’ve known
each other for years and years, but we’ve
never recorded together. I think about all the
guitar players—Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd,
Tal Farlow—that I’d worked with so often and I
haven’t got a single recording with them.
How long did it take to record this CD?
I did it in ten days.
Are these all the tracks you did?
There was one I abandoned about halfway
through. I recorded for four days, then I had
to leave for two days for some live dates, then
came back and did another five days. Then I
spent three days in London doing the mix. For a
Playing his 30s era Epiphone Masterbilt Deluxe archtop acoustic
