Music Corner

Jazz and rock, both are popular musical art forms which are created significantly by guitars along with other instruments. Different sub-genres of the traditional jazz and rock music like jazz-rock fusion; or blues-rock happen to be innovated by various guitarists. Following are a few of the greatest jazz and rocks guitarists:

Jimi Hendrix
Johnny Allen Hendrix, popularly known as Jimi Hendrix, born in 1942, would be a famous guitarist, song writer and singer. He gained fame initially in Europe. The year 1967 would be a milestone in the career when he won the hearts of Americans within the Monterey Pop Festival and again in 1969 at the Woodstock Festival. Jimi Hendrix created their own band known as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, whose Are You Experienced and Axis:Bold as Love are the most well-known albums. Jimi Hendrix would be a left handed guitarist and played his Fender Stratocaster upside down. He died at an early age of 28. He would be a person receiving many prestigious awards. He has been included in the Rock ‘n roll Hall of Fame as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame. Jimi Hendrix is the greatest guitarist ever, having influenced a number of other famous guitarists.

Eric Clapton
Born in 1945, Eric Clapton is a famous guitarist, composer, song writer and singer. Young Eric’s life changed when his grandparents gave him his first guitar. He joined this guitar rock band Yardbirds, and was together for 18 months before he formed a band group called Cream. Also called Slowhand, Clapton is definitely an award-winning rock guitarist, associated with a variety of genres like rock, hard rock, blues-rock, etc. Eric Clapton is the only person to become inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thrice; first as a person in Yardbirds, then as a member of Cream and later as a solo performer.

Jimmy Page
Born in 1944, James Page is a famous guitarist and composer. He was the member of the band Yardbirds for just two years, from 1966 to 1968. Later, he was one of the founder members of the famous English band, Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page is the most talented and versatile musician with hard rock, blues-rock and high metal being his genres. Besides the guitar, the musical instruments played by Jimmy Page include dulcimer, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, bass, etc. His famous solo Stairway to Heaven, is among the most greatest guitar solo. He has been contained in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, as member of Yardbirds in addition to a member of the Led Zeppelin band respectively.

Jeff Beck
A famous rock guitarist and songwriter, Geoffrey (Jeff) Beck, was created in the mid 1940s. He was the member of the band Yardbirds, along with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton. Later he formed their own band called the Jeff Beck Group. His genres of music include heavy metal and rock, hard rock, instrumental rock, and jazz fusion. He has won 4 Grammy Awards for the Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and it is inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Joe Satriani
Famous American instrumental rock guitarist, Joseph (Joe) Satriani, was created in 1956. Known for creating a variety of music like instrumental rock, heavy metal, jazz fusion, etc., Satriani has a record of maximum number of Grammy Award nominations. Satriani was chosen as a lead singer for a band tour by Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stone. His famous solo albums include Surfing using the Alien, Flying inside a Blue Dream and The Extremist. Joe Satriani is influenced by all the previously discussed famous guitarists.

Another famous rock and jazz guitarists are Yngwie Malmsteen, Duane Allman, Carlos Santana, Eddie Van Halen, Slash, Angus Young, Keith Richards, Steve Vai, Ritchie Blackmore, Kirk Hammett, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Music is a craze among people of all age ranges, and guitarists occupy an significant position among all musicians, no matter which part of the world they come from.

A music genre that sprang up in the early Twentieth century within the African-American community came into existence known as jazz. The slaves brought from Africa, brought along with them their rich musical culture. In the usa, these slaves learned to experience European instruments like the violin and incorporated them within their type of playing. Many African-Americans played pianos in bars to earn their livelihoods after the abolition of slavery. Places like New Orleans were a hot bed for musicians playing their jazz instruments to produce new sounds. The most common jazz instruments are the saxophone and the piano.

Jazz Instruments List

Jazz music has evolved over the ages and it has seen the inclusion of numerous instruments in this genre of music. There are different styles of playing jazz, and the instruments used depends on the design and style. Jazz music is played with a mix of musical instruments, plus some of these jazz instruments names are:

Trumpet
A brass instrument with three valves, it’s played by blowing air to the mouth piece. The ball player can press the valves to change the pitch. Some of the famous jazz trumpet players include Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong.

Double Bass
A double bass is large stringed instrument, resembling a big violin, with a hollow wooden body with four metal strings. Many bass players make use of a wooden bow threaded with horse hair to play melodies, however, many would rather use their fingers to pluck the strings.

Saxophone
Popularly known as the ‘Sax,’ the saxophone is really a brass instrument that is played by blowing air right into a reed fitted in the mouthpiece. It is extremely similar to the clarinet, and Charlie Parker is one of the most well-known saxophone players of all time.

Drum Set
Drums have been an integral part of African music influence, as well as play a vital role in a Jazz band. In jazz, the percussion is played in a different style and the drum set has got the snare drum, the bass drum, and the cymbal. One of the great exponents of jazz drumming was Arthur Blakey, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Trombone
Known as the descendant of the trumpet, this brass instrument is played by vibrating the lips on the mouthpiece and pushing the slide to create music. A brief history from the trombone can be traced back to the renaissance era in the 16th century. It is usually took part in the bass clef though some accomplished musicians play high notes in the treble clef too.

Clarinet
A member from the woodwind family of musical instruments, the clarinet is really a hollow cylindrical instrument, made from either plastic, ivory, wood, or metal. The reed is made of synthetic material and is connected to the mouthpiece, that the player blows on to make music. There are lots of famous clarinet players, and something of them was Benny Goodman.

Piano
In jazz, the piano is easily the most popular instrument. The piano keyboard’s 188 keys allow it to adapt to variations of playing piano music. It may be played as accompaniment or like a solo instrument. The piano was adopted by African-American jazz musicians to create ragtime. Thelonious Monk was a jazz pianist who was known for his innovative type of playing this instrument.

Even though this is not a conclusive list of jazz instruments, these are the most common jazz instruments used. Traditional jazz ensembles were played while using bass, the brass, and the keyboard instruments, nevertheless the modern style has seen the inclusion of almost all the modern European musical instruments.