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Johnny Smith
Johnny Smith, among the
most important jazz guitarists of the 1950s and 1960s, is also an
accomplished performer on viola, trumpet and violin. He was born in
Birmingham, Alabama on June 25, 1922. A self taught player he mentions
Andres Segovia
and
Django Reinhardt
as his major guitar influences. Johnny
Smith, whose dad was a banjo player and a guitarist, initially developed an
interest in the jazz guitar at the age of five.
In 1935 Johnny Smith's family transferred to Portland,
Maine. By that time Johnny was currently an outstanding jazz guitarist. He
obtained his very first professional training in 1939 playing in a hillbilly
group called "The Fenton Brothers". He led his very own jazz trio in Boston
1940-41 prior to joining the United States Air Force. Throughout World War 2
he played cornet in the Air Force Band.
After leaving the Air Force in 1946 he returned to
Portland and played trumpet and jazz guitar for a regional radio station,
along with playing in clubs at night. Professional opportunities were not
good in Portland, so later that year Johnny Smith transferred to New York
city where he became an NBC staff musician. For the following eight years he
played both trumpet and jazz guitar and wrote and arranged for the network.
Johnny Smith first acquired international
importance as a jazz musician in the 1950s when he put together a quintet
along with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. Their arrangement and record of
"Moonlight In Vermont" came to be a jazz legend epitomizing the term "cool
jazz". Among the finest selling jazz records of 1952, this recording
continues as a milestone in jazz guitar history books. It is differentiated
by Johnny Smith's virtuoso single note improvising as well as the
one-of-a-kind harmonies of his close voicing jazz chords on the guitar.
From 1953-57 Johnny Smith successfully led his own band in East Coast jazz
clubs and made more than twenty record albums for the Royal Roost recording
label. Always curious about jazz guitar design and construction, Smith,
after teaming up with Guild Guitars for a short while in the 1950s, has had
a lengthy collaboration with the Gibson Guitar Company. Their "Johnny Smith
Model" guitar has been among their most renowned jazz guitar archtop models
since its introduction in 1960.
In 1957 after the
unexpected death of his wife, Johnny Smith chose to settle in Colorado
Springs, Colorado along with his four year old little girl. Since the early
1960s he has devoted much of his time to his specialized guitar shop in
Colorado Springs. Johnny Smith continues to be thought of as possibly the
greatest pickstyle jazz guitar player that has ever lived. He has perfect
pitch along with perfect technique and has been called "The John Williams of
the pickstyle jazz guitar".
Jazz guitar giant
Barney Kessel
summed it up perfectly when he said "Nobody plays jazz guitar better
than Johnny Smith". The majority of other famous jazz guitar players would
certainly concur and Johnny Smith's legendary jazz guitar virtuoso status
will most likely remain forever! Johnny Smith died on June 11, 2013 at the
age of 90.
Johnny Smith Plays "East Of The Sun"
Johnny Smith - Chord Melody Solo Arrangements - Sheet Music
This exclusive collection of
78 Johnny Smith jazz guitar chord melody solos
was transcribed note for note by Stacy McKee (Les
Brown & The Band Of Renown) from numerous Johnny Smith
recordings and includes dozens of Johnny's best guitar solos written in block
chord diagram form and/or standard notation and tab for the pickstyle guitarist! These beautiful Johnny Smith chord melody solos can
now be purchased individually, allowing you to "hand-pick" which songs you want to
learn. These are the full-length versions of each song including the single note
improvised solos exactly the way Johnny
played them on his legendary record albums!
Sheet music...................................................................................Price - $3.00 Each
CD - Chord Diagram Format
SN - Standard Notation
T - Tab
0500 Blues - SN
A Foggy Day - CD & SN
Angel Eyes - CD & SN
Autumn In New York - CD
Autumn Nocturne - SN & T
Autumn Leaves - CD & SN
Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair - SN & T
By The Time I Get To Phoenix - CD
Dancing In The Dark - CD
Dancing On the Ceiling - CD
Darn That Dream - CD
Django - CD & SN
Dreamsville - CD
East Of The Sun - CD
Emily - CD
Everything Happens To Me - CD & SN
Exodus Theme - CD & SN
Fools Rush In - CD
Johnny
Smith Plays "Golden Earrings"
Golden Earrings - SN & T
Goodbye - CD
Here's That Rainy Day - CD & SN
I Remember The Cornfields - CD
I Can't Get Started With You - SN
I Could Have Told You - CD & SN
I Didn't Know What Time It Was - CD
I Love You Porgy - SN & T
I'll Remember April - CD
I'll Take Romance - CD
I'll Remember Clifford - CD & SN
I'll Be Around - CD
I'm Old Fashioned - SN & T
Imagination - SN
Isn't It Romantic - CD
It Might As Well Be Spring - CD
Laura - CD
Lil' Darling - CD
Little Girl Blue - SN & T
Lover - CD
Johnny
Smith Plays "Exodus Theme"
Memories Of You - CD & SN
Michelle - SN
Mood Indigo - CD & SN
Moonlight In Vermont - CD
My Funny Valentine - SN & T
My One And Only Love - CD
My Romance - SN & T
Old Folks - SN & T
Our Love Is Here To Stay - CD
People Will Say We're In Love - CD
Polka Dots And Moonbeams - CD & SN
Prelude & Pavanne - SN
Romance De Los Pinos -
SN & T
Round Midnight -
SN & T
Scarborough Fair - CD
Scarlet Ribbons - CD
Send In The Clowns - SN & T
Sentimental Journey - CD & SN
Shenandoah - SN & T
Someone To Watch Over Me - CD
Stars Fell On Alabama - CD
Johnny Smith Plays "I'm Old Fashioned"
Tea For Two - CD
Tenderly - CD
The Boy Next Door - CD & SN
The Girl From Ipanema - CD
The Green Leaves Of Summer - CD
This Guy's In Love In You - CD
The Maid With The Flaxen Hair - SN & T
The Nearness Of You - CD
The Shadow Of Your Smile - CD & SN
Wait Till You See Her - SN & T
Walk, Don't Run - SN
What's New - CD
When I Fall In Love - CD
Willow Weep For Me - CD & SN
Yesterday (Beatles) - SN & T
Yesterdays (Jerome Kern) - CD
You Are Too Beautiful - CD & SN
You Don't Know What Love Is - CD
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To - SN
Johnny
Smith Plays "The Boy Next Boy"
Johnny Smith - Jazz Guitar Virtuoso!
Compiled & Edited By
Steven Herron
Johnny Smith is one of the most amazing jazz guitar players to come
to notability after
Charlie Christian and
Django Reinhardt
made their marks on the jazz guitar music scene. Just as at home with a jazz
music group or a studio orchestra, as a bandleader or an unaccompanied soloist,
in a duet along with a singer or a pop music recording session, he is one of a
small handful of jazz artists whose work achieved terrific public recognition at
the very beginning of his career. Following his initial breakthrough, Johnny
Smith climbed in recognition to turn into one of the world's most visible and
admired jazz
guitarists along with a series of definitive recordings on the Royal Roost
label. By the time he entered into semi-retirement in 1957 and relocated to
Colorado, Johnny Smith had achieved virtuoso standing as a jazz guitarist!
Along with obtaining the accolades of the jazz world, Johnny
Smith's 1952 famous record of "Moonlight in Vermont" along with Stan Getz went
on to turn into one of the largest selling instrumental songs of all time.
Moreover, Johnny Smith is the author of another well known instrumental hit,
"Walk, Don't Run," which has come to be a rock and roll garage band standard and
part of music Americana. Tape recorded by Johnny Smith in its original form in
1954, the appealing classical guitar tinged jazz music piece was ultimately
recorded by his friend Chet Atkins and was eventually made in to a mega-hit by
The Ventures. Such is the transcendent musicianship of the man and the range of
his influence.
Johnny Smith Plays "Wait Till You See Her"
For numerous guitarists, Johnny Smith is the personification of the
"cool jazz" scene. His downplayed virtuosity, cool-toned guitar sound, and
highly individualistic recordings like the experimental "Flower Drum Song"
(which blended a cello along with a jazz music trio) and The New Johnny Smith
Quartet furthered this perception. Taken in the completeness of his work, these
unheard of settings show Johnny to be a diverse artist who resists
classification within the rigid structures of jazz music.
To listen to Johnny Smith tell it, he doesn't belong in the annals
of jazz guitar. Be that as it may, this self-effacing master is one of the most
revered jazz guitarists in the genre. Simply ask modern day jazz guitar virtuosos John Scofield,
Larry Carlton,
John McLaughlin,
George Benson,
Larry Coryell,
Jimmy Bruno, or
Pat Martino. These
players and lots of others hold Johnny Smith as a legendary role model in
jazz guitar, yet the maestro himself isn't so certain. He keeps the "jazz music
guitar player label" for players like Joe Pass,
Wes Montgomery, and
Tal Farlow and
considers his own guitar playing to be something eclectic and divergent. The
semantics battles notwithstanding, the name Johnny Smith is synonymous with jazz guitar excellence. For years, he has been revered by legions of serious
guitarists for his precision technique, progressive harmonic feeling,
and the sheer elegance of his guitar tone!
Johnny
Smith Plays "Round Midnight"
The eclectic Johnny Smith approach is based on the colorful
mixture of his diverse musical passions. He has regularly cited Spanish
classical guitar maestro Andres Segovia and French Gypsy jazz guitar innovator Django
Reinhardt as his main guitar influences. A self-taught guitarist, Johnny Smith
developed his powerful technique as a youth playing along with The Chesterfield
Supper Club Band on the radio. An important aspect in his background is the very early
hillbilly country music he learned to play as a member of The Fenton Brothers --
his first professional band in 1939.
History has it that jazz guitar player Johnny Smith picked up
the guitar at age 5, originally encouraged by his dad who was a five-string
banjo player, and turned out to be accomplished on the viola, trumpet, and
violin in addition to the guitar. He was likewise an expert arranger and was a
very sought after studio guitarist in the 1950s. In 1982, Johnny Smith claimed
George Van Eps
as his all time favorite jazz guitar player but also cited Carl Kress as
important for his chord playing. He also spoke of
Chuck Wayne, Jimmy
Raney, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Pat Martino,
Jim Hall, and Harry Leahey
as single-line jazz guitar players he admired.
Johnny Smith
Plays "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair"
Johnny Smith is one of the original virtuosos of the electric
guitar. From the sweeping three octave runs of "Moonlight in Vermont," "Tea for
Two," and "Easy Living," to the super quick articulate solos that differentiate
"Tabu," "Jaguar," "I'll Remember April," "Un Poco Loco," "Samba," "'S
Wonderful," "Tickle Toe," "Three Little Words," and "Time After Time," Johnny
Smith's intricate yet listenable single note jazz guitar improvised solos are
the stuff of legend in the history of guitar lore - jazz or otherwise.
Exacting precision and technique expertise have long been hallmarks
of the Johnny Smith jazz guitar methodology, nevertheless these factors have
been constantly held in check by his sense of taste and clarity. Jazz
guitar virtuoso Barney Kessel
once summed it up nicely along with his now famous observation: "No one in the
world plays jazz guitar better than Johnny Smith".
Johnny
Smith Plays "Autumn Nocturne"
Johnny Smith is one of the most distinctive jazz guitar chord
melody players in any kind of genre. Envision the jazz chord voicings of
pianists Art Tatum and George Shearing combined with the impressionistic
harmonic colors of Claude Debussy, performed and understood on an electric
guitar and you have an inkling of how Johnny Smith improved the status of the guitar as a
chordal
instrument.
Quintessential jazz guitar chord melody moments in Johnny Smith's
Royal Roost recordings feature "Moonlight in Vermont," "Yesterday," "When I
Fall in Love," "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," "You Don't Know What Love Is,"
"Villa," "I'll Remember Clifford," "My Romance," and "The Lady Is
a Tramp." An early recording of "Autumn Leaves" finds Johnny Smith developing a flamenco
inspired atmosphere with spectacular arabesque, double-timed passage
performances and classically inspired chords on acoustic guitar. And the
unusual chiming harmonics in the theme of "It Never Entered My Mind" make the
recording worth the price of admission alone.
Johnny
Smith Plays "Tenderly"
In retrospect, an incongruous Royal Roost record like "The Man With
The Blue Guitar" appears an obvious example of Johnny Smith's broader musical
pallet. This 1962 recording featured him in a solo guitar context for an
entire album creating his plectrum magical sounds along with an assorted set of
standards, classical, and folk pieces. Here his gorgeous tone, touch, and
technique on the instrument are directed at well known Broadway show tunes by
Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and others, modern day works by Debussy, Scriabin,
and Ravel, and unique arrangements of older folk tunes like "Shenandoah" and
"Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair." Further proof of Johnny Smith's
eclectic nature was displayed on his "Phase 2" album (Verve Records) of the
1960s. This "jazz" record album featured the maestro's take on often neglected
pop tunes like "Exodus," "Don't Sleep In The Subway Darling," "This Guy's In
Love With You," "Sunny," "Light My Fire" and
"Yesterday".
You can own all 78 "Johnny Smith Chord Melody Solo Arrangements" today for only $149.50!
We now accept PayPal - Use
our PayPal email address: chordmelodyguitar@gmail.com when sending money.
Please get in touch with us personally if you have any questions.
Just call 1-843-838-2657 for help or to place your order.
*Every order will receive
a specially selected Stacy McKee jazz guitar chord melody solo arrangement free!
