PICKIN' MY WAY (1932) by Eddie Lang and Carl Kress

[syncopeter]

This is such a catchy tune, both guys using their guitars to the full potential. I had this on a CD and used to play it over and over. I love it. Lang, McDonough and Kress were three of the best early guitar players ever.

[doubleotwentyone]

Great stuff, have been a huge fan of early jazz guitar for years, that great chordal style. Dick McDonough is my main man, love his playing.

[dizzyisme]

This is great!

[mushroomagical]

Very nice! Thanks for posting!

[gmtdiato]

Thanks for that ,but influence on Django?

[doubleotwentyone]

Lang and Kress...nice duo, tho I think both were overshadowed by the great Dick McDonough.

[gabri3l367]

Chitarrista completo !!!! L'assolo con gli accordi nel finale è fantastico. Grande Eddie Lang !!!!

[dashoos2006]

@HotSteamyNights Best Comment I'd read in a long time. Fully agreed!

[dashoos2006]

Thanks for posting this!

[nexothesmodrastica]

Fantastic.I'd give my right arm to play like this. No, wait...I mean leg!

[1968sliceoflife]

Beautiful, Be You Tea Full ! Thanks. So much jazz to discover... Lang is a precious, crowned jewel amongst the vast hoarding of jazz dragons... I can still feel the heat 80 years later... Hot ! Thanks for the music, Sal (Eddie).

[mike6254]

And this was the first start to an all new role of guitar in Jazz....especially when guitar could first be heard for once! lol

[BilboHalfling]

awesome! i was just introduced to eddie by one of his living relatives...

[CarloQuinto]

It;s wonderful that classic material like this is preserved with easy access. Great performance by two revered icons.

[enigmamelodies]

My dad used to play me this record when I was a kid all the time. How can you not be in awe? This is the happiest most brilliant, delightful blend of two brilliant guitarists. It is stunning.... (Of course, Eddie Lang died too soon and he was indeed the father of this style of guitar but please, don't forget Carl Kress is here too, almost nobody knows his name any more) It is truly wonderful. Thank you.

[Osocooltwo]

Eddie Land died incredibly way too soon....what a wonderful guitarist he was !!!!!!!!!

[wesm65]

This is pure class! Awesome playing!

[chas63]

this shit scares me rotten. which is good. I am a sax player, but bet your ass that I will be listening to this more often.

[temple1962]

Considered by Les Paul to be the greatest ealy guitarist. Les was quoted as saying both he and Django felt Eddie Lang was their inspiration and set the bar.

[SweetJaneofGoth]

@HotSteamyNights TuPac rules

[robchalfen]

completely unreasonable!

[snorkelbda03]

hey check outmy event....

eddielangdayinphiladelphia.blo­gspot.com



[hergreenjacket]

Django definitley listened to Lang you can totally hear it

[theodas]

Excellent information in your comment section.

Though I suspect that you probably know about it, as a benefit to your viewers, may I suggest this site as what might be the best for obtaining info on early jazz.

If you love old jazz and its history it is a must.

redhotjazz

theodas

[szda1]

Almost banjo-like. It's all there:blues and jazz. Thanks!

[Hoopermazing]

@szda1 The reason that it's "almost banjo-like" is because banjo was the original stringed instrument of jazz in its birthplace, New Orleans. But, all of the banjo players abandoned it because the guitar was louder.

[SweetJaneofGoth]

@Hoopermazing ???

[dparks999]

@Hoopermazing - No guitar was loder than a banjo in 1932 Not even a National Resonator. Adding an amp - now you're right.

[Hoopamazing]

@dparks999 I disagree. A large hollow-body acoustic guitar moves much more air than a banjo. Banjos were fine in the kind of small ensembles typical of the very early years of jazz. However, when the large bands came to the fore, banjos got lost in the mix. Of course, you are right that amplification enabled the guitar to transition from a rhythm-only-instrument to a solo instrument... by way of Charlie Christian.

[dparks999]

@Hoopermazing - Well, yes, if you pick it up and wave it around. Banjos did all the recording in the acoustic era because they were louder. In fact they were put furthest away from the recording horn. I played both in our 'thirties band, and never used my guitar without an amp. I was forbidden to amp my banjo!

[beanabus77]

@Hoopamazing I think you need to bear in mind the changes in the rhythm section. The banjo occupies the same sonic space as the hi-hat, whereas the guitar has a midrange niche. Due to the primitive recording tech, we'll never really know how live jazz of the 1920's actually sounded. It might be that recording caught up with live performance practice, or maybe there was a change in rhythm style.... However, as the drum set was in its infancy in the 1920's I would suspect a combination of the two.

[dparks999]

@Hoopermazing - No guitar was louder than a banjo in 1932 Not even a National Resonator. Adding an amp - now you're right.

[muchomoustache]

@szda1 Having played both guitar and banjo with period-style jazz bands, a banjo is much louder than even the loudest acoustic guitar, and a banjo cuts through the mix in a way that a guitar does not.

As for the banjo being the original stringed instrument of New Orleans jazz, that seems debatable. A lot of the photographs of early NO bands show flattop guitar players. I also read in a couple places that guitars where originally predominant, but where replaced by banjos for more volume.

[beanabus77]

@muchomoustache That's an interesting one, I hear you on that. I can and do play my guitar in a similar sort of band, and it can work really nicely (I played acoustically the other night for a function - it was a very nice room though). You need to use rest stroke picking for lead lines (I can hear Eddie using this technique) and it just about cuts through. It's a subtle sound... The drummer needs to play in the right way too. Banjo and Guitar is apparently quite common in New Orleans.

[beanabus77]

@muchomoustache The funny thing is that people are so used to guitar loud, they still expect it to be loud, and play as if it should be!

[TheDunums]

This video deserves a lot more views..

[n64wilbert]

@TheDunums Rebecca Black is at 8,687,642 views this world is so arrogant!!!

[paa83]

eddie lang what a player

[robibm2003]

Getting to hear stuff like this is another reason why You Tube has been such a boon to music fans. The playing here is just monstrously good.

[slugworth99]

@robibm2003 - Totally. I might never have found Django without YouTube. The horror- the horror!