Guitar in the Early Jazz Age – Rich Simmons

In the dawn of the jazz age, the guitar was not a player. The generally accepted instrumentation in New Orleans in the earliest 20th century was trumpet or coronet, clarinet, trombone, and a rhythm section of banjo, drums, and either bass or tuba. The banjo was favored over guitar due to its loud “attack” and subsequent blend with the other instruments.

As the 1920’s began, band instrumentation became as varied as the players. The King Oliver Band based in Chicago had grown into a rather large ensemble: two clarinets, a saxophone, two trumpets or coronets, a trombone, tuba, banjo, drums, and a piano. This sort of evolution was typical throughout jazz, but as an instrument in an ensemble the guitar had yet to supplant the banjo as the standard stringed rhythm instrument. (Note: This band, by the way, is where Louis Armstrong got his start.)

It was the introduction of the archtop guitar that first allowed guitarists to challenge banjos for their role in jazz ensembles. Still not as loud a banjo, the archtop guitar’s smoother tone and wider harmonic potential appealed to many bandleaders of the era. Perhaps more important, it’s “punch” on the strum allowed it to compare favorably versus the banjo. The more sophisticated compositions of this era may have played a role in the transition as well due to the aforementioned harmonic potential.

By the late 1930s, guitars were commonly finding more prominent roles in jazz. Leading the way were four distinct innovators:

Freddie Green

Freddie Green: Perhaps the first truly great rhythm guitarist, Freddie Green was Count Basie’s guitarist for many years. His impeccable sense of rhythm and steady pulse was the bedrock of many of Basie’s compositions and recordings of the era. His prowess all but sounded the death knell for banjos in jazz. Green eschewed soloing. Rather he favored a rhythmic chord accompaniment that still resounds today.

Lonnie Johnson: A New Orleans born guitarist, Lonnie Johnson is credited as the first guitarist to incorporate single string solos in their playing style. Known most as a blues player, Johnson played a variety of styles and influenced scores of other musicians. Although he never achieved great fame, he was a particularly strong influence on the Charlie Christian.

Charlie Christian: From southwest Texas, Christian’s electric single string soloing in the Benny Goodman Orchestra was as unique and influential as any guitarist of the era. While some critics were slow to proclaim his genius, all of them recognized that jazz would not be the same. Christian’s single-string solos have now found their way into nearly every propular guitar style from country to rock to jazz. Sadly, Christian’s career only lasted a few years, but his innovation changed the guitar forever.

Django Reinhardt: As unique and influential as Christian, Django made his mark primarily from Europe. A Belgian Gypsy with limited movement in his hand due to a fire in a gypsy caravan, he took up guitar playing as physical therapy. Influential for technique, harmonies, and melodies, Reinhardt rarely recorded with a standard jazz group. In fact, he recorded most often either solo or with the unusual Quintet of the Hot Club of France featuring reknowned violinist, Stephane Grapelli. Today Django’s influences are as varied jazzgrass and solo guitar accompaniment.

In the 1940s Les Paul invented the solid-body guitar; that is, a guitar without a resonating chamber. It’s sound is produced solely through string vibrations and magnetic pick-ups. With its long-sustained notes and capacity for producing wailing melodic lines as well as percussive rhythms, it soon became the principal instrument in popular music. The age of amplification paved the way for even more innovation, stylistic changes, and prominence of guitar in jazz.

Music Folk carries a widening selection of archtop guitars including models from Guild and Bourgeois. Be sure to check our vintage instruments pages to see what we currently offer. As of September 2003, we currently have a 1960 Gretsch Chet Atkins 2160.