7/10/2017 Joe Pass - Wikipedia

Joe Pass
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Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua;

January 13, 1929 May 23, 1994) was an American Joe Pass
virtuoso jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. He is generally
considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the
20th century.[1][2] His sophisticated style of chord-melody,
with an outstanding knowledge of chord inversions and
progressions, extensive use of walking basslines, and
melodic counterpoint during improvisation, opened up new
possibilities for the jazz guitar and had a profound influence
on later guitarists.

In addition to his extensive solo work, Pass is remembered

for his long-term partnerships with singer Ella Fitzgerald
Joe Pass in 1975
and pianist Oscar Peterson.
Background information
Birth name Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua
Contents Born January 13, 1929
New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
1 Early life
Origin Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
2 Discovery and subsequent career
3 Legacy Died May 23, 1994 (aged 65)
4 Discography Los Angeles, California, U.S.
5 Selected bibliography
Genres Jazz, bebop
6 References
7 External links Occupation(s) Guitarist, composer
Instruments Guitar
Years active 19431994
Early life Labels Concord, Pablo, Pacific Jazz
Associated acts Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson,
Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey,[3] Joe Pass, the son of
Mariano Passalaqua, a Sicilian-born steel mill worker, was Zack Charette, Niels-Henning
raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He received his first rsted Pedersen
guitar, a Harmony model bought for $17, on his 9th Notable instruments
birthday. Pass' father recognized early that his son had "a
Gibson ES-175D
little something happening" and pushed him constantly to
pick up tunes by ear, play pieces not written specifically for Ibanez JP20 Signature
the instrument, practice scales and not to "leave any spaces" D'Aquisto Custom Model
- that is, to fill in the sonic space between the notes of the Fender Jaguar
melody. Fender Jazzmaster

As early as 14, Pass started getting gigs and was playing

with bands fronted by Tony Pastor and Charlie Barnet, honing his guitar skills and learning the music business.
He began traveling with small jazz groups and eventually moved from Pennsylvania to New York City. In a few
years, he developed a heroin addiction and spent much of the 1950s in prison. Pass managed to emerge from
narcotics addiction through a two-and-a-half-year stay in the Synanon rehabilitation program. During that time
he "didn't do a lot of playing".[4] In 1962 he recorded Sounds of Synanon. It was about this time that Pass
received his trademark Gibson ES-175 guitar as a gift, which he subsequently used for touring and recording
for many years.

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Discovery and subsequent career

Pass recorded a series of albums during the 1960s for the Pacific Jazz
label, including the early classics Catch Me, 12-String Guitar, For
Django, and Simplicity. In 1963, Pass received Downbeat magazine's
"New Star Award." Pass was also featured on Pacific Jazz recordings by
Gerald Wilson, Bud Shank, and Les McCann. Pass toured with George
Shearing in 1965. During the 1960s however, he did mostly TV and
recording session work in Los Angeles.

He was a sideman with Louis Bellson, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan,

Joe Williams, Della Reese, Johnny Mathis, and worked on TV shows
including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin
Show, The Steve Allen Show, and others. In the early 1970s, Pass and
guitarist Herb Ellis were performing together regularly at Donte's jazz
club in Los Angeles. This collaboration led to Pass and Ellis recording
the very first album on the new Concord Jazz label, entitled simply
Jazz/Concord (#CJS-1), along with bassist Ray Brown and drummer
Jake Hanna. In the early 1970s, Pass also collaborated on a series of
music books, and his Joe Pass Guitar Style (written with Bill Thrasher)
Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass, 1974
is considered a leading improvisation textbook for students of jazz.

Norman Granz, the producer of Jazz at the Philharmonic and the founder of Verve Records signed Pass to
Granz's new Pablo Records label in 1970. In 1974, Pass released his landmark solo album Virtuoso on Pablo
Records. Also in 1974, Pablo Records released the album The Trio featuring Pass, Oscar Peterson, and Niels-
Henning rsted Pedersen. He performed with them on many occasions throughout the 1970s and 1980s. At the
Grammy Awards of 1975, The Trio won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Group. As part of
the Pablo Records "stable," Pass also recorded with Benny Carter, Milt Jackson, Herb Ellis, Zoot Sims, Duke
Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and others.

Pass and Ella Fitzgerald recorded six albums together on Pablo Records, toward the end of Fitzgerald's career:
Take Love Easy (1973), Fitzgerald and Pass... Again (1976), "Hamburg Duets - 1976" (1976), "Sophisticated
Lady" (1975, 1983), Speak Love (1983), and Easy Living (1986).

In 1994, Joe Pass died from liver cancer in Los Angeles, California at the age of 65. Prior to his death, he had
recorded an album of instrumental versions of Hank Williams songs with country guitarist Roy Clark.

Speaking about Nuages: Live at Yoshi's, Volume 2, Jim Ferguson wrote:

The follow up to 1993's Joe Pass & Co. Live At Yoshi's, this release was colored by sad
circumstances: both bassist Monty Budwig and Pass were stricken with fatal illnesses.
Nevertheless, all concerned, including drummer Colin Bailey and second guitarist John Pisano,
play up to their usual high levels.... Issued posthumously, this material is hardly sub-standard.
Bristling with energy throughout, it helps document the final stages in the career of a player who,
arguably, was the greatest mainstream guitarist since Wes Montgomery.[5]

Legacy
In addition to his ensemble performances, the jazz community regards Joe Pass as an influential solo guitarist.
New York Magazine said of him, "Joe Pass looks like somebody's uncle and plays guitar like nobody's business.
He's called 'the world's greatest' and often compared to Paganini for his virtuosity. There is a certain purity to
his sound that makes him stand out easily from other first-rate jazz guitarists."[2] His solo style was marked by

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an advanced linear technique, sophisticated harmonic sense,

counterpoint between improvised lead lines, bass figures and chords,
spontaneous modulations, and transitions from fast tempos to rubato
passages. He would regularly add what he called "color tones" to his
compositions, to give what he believed was a more sophisticated and
"funkier" sound. He would often use melodic counterpoint during
improvisation, move lines and chords chromatically or play melodies by
solely shifting chords, and descending augmented arpeggios at the end
of phrases.

Pass' early style (influenced by guitarist Django Reinhardt and

saxophonist Charlie Parker), was marked by fast single-note lines and a
flowing melodic sense. Pass had the unusual lifelong habit of breaking
his guitar picks and playing only with the smaller part. As Pass made
the transition from ensemble to solo guitar performance, he preferred to
abandon the pick altogether, and play fingerstyle. He found this enabled
him to execute his harmonic concepts more effectively. His series of
solo albums, Virtuoso (volumes 1 through 4) are a demonstration of Joe Pass in concert in 1974 playing
Pass' refined technique. his famous Gibson ES-175 guitar

"He weaves his own fast-moving chords and filigree work

so nimbly that it is hard to believe fingers can physically
shift so quickly. Slight moustached, fairly balding, he
frowns over his fretwork like a worried head waiter with
more guests than tables but the sound that comes out could
only be the confident product of years of devotion to the
instrument... But it is when he plays completely solo, which
he does for half of each set, that he comes into his own,
because without hindrance of the rhythm section he can
completely orchestrate each number. Sometimes it is by
contrasting out of tempo sections with fast-moving
interludes, sometimes by switching mood from wistful to
lightly swinging, sometimes by alternating single-note lines
with chords or simultaneous bass line and melody-the
possibilities seem endless. Luckily, there is a new L.P. by
him which captures all this on vinyl, as someone has had
the unusual good sense to record him all alone. It is called
Virtuoso and rightly so." - Miles Kington on Pass in an
October 1974 article in The Times.[6]

Epiphone has produced an edition of the Emperor line of archtop electric-acoustic guitar in his honour.
Previously Ibanez had a Joe Pass model jazz guitar, as they continue to for influential jazz guitarists George
Benson and Pat Metheny.

Discography
Selected bibliography
Mel Bay Presents Joe Pass "Off the Record." Mel Bay, 1993. ISBN 1-56222-687-8
Complete Joe Pass. Mel Bay, 2003. ISBN 0-7866-6747-8
Miyakaku, Takao. Joe Pass. Tokyo: Seiunsha, 2000. ISBN 4-434-00455-7 (photograph collection)

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References
1. Holder, Mitch (16 January 2006). The Jazz Guitar Stylings of Howard Roberts (https://books.google.com/books?id=D9
GRIUU83C8C&pg=PA2). Mel Bay Publications. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-7866-7409-1. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
2. New York Media, LLC (17 September 1979). New York Magazine (https://books.google.com/books?id=--ACAAAAMB
AJ&pg=PA62). New York Media, LLC. p. 62. ISSN 0028-7369 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0028-7369). Retrieved
23 November 2011.
3. "Joe Pass, 65, a Jazz Guitarist Who Performed With the Stars - New York Times" (https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/2
4/obituaries/joe-pass-65-a-jazz-guitarist-who-performed-with-the-stars.html). Nytimes.com. 1994-05-24. Retrieved
2011-09-16.
4. "Joe Pass - Interview" (http://www.gould68.freeserve.co.uk/Joe%20Pass%20Int_view.html). Retrieved 16 August 2014.
5. JazzTimes review of Nuages: Live at Yoshi's, Volume 2 (Joe Pass Quartet) (http://jazztimes.com/articles/10088-nuages-li
ve-at-yoshi-s-volume-2-joe-pass) by Jim Ferguson (retrieved 3 October 2011)
6. Miles Kington. "Joe Pass." The Times (London, England) 18 October 1974: p.14. Retrieved 11 October 2014.

Joe Pass Unedited (http://www.fergusonguitar.com/joepass.html) article by Jim Ferguson

External links
Joe Pass guitar tab (http://www.jazzguitar.be/joe_pass_licks.html)
Joe Pass Memorial Hall (http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~UX5T-OOIS/)
A 1974 interview on his early guitar development (http://www.gould68.freeserve.co.uk/Joe%20Pass%20I
nt_view.html)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Pass&oldid=787495295"

Categories: 20th-century American guitarists Bebop guitarists People from New Brunswick, New Jersey
American jazz guitarists People from Johnstown, Pennsylvania Guitarists from Pennsylvania 1929 births
1994 deaths Grammy Award winners American people of Italian descent
American people of Sicilian descent Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from liver cancer
American jazz musicians ACT Music artists Guitarists from New Jersey American male guitarists

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