Jazz had reached its second ‘golden age’ in the late fifties, but less than a decade later, the popularity of jazz was fading quickly.

Of course, the British Invasion had a lot to do with the sudden change (and a lot of jazz performers resented the Beatles for that specific reason), but the direction of jazz music should also be blamed for its decline.

The modal formula of playing jazz (as opposed to chord-based progressions) seemed like it would bring new life to the genre, but what it really did was push jazz much further in the direction of cranial theory, and the only people who could relate to it were those with a master’s degree in theory.

At this time, it was primarily the guitarists who remained grounded in melody, and this show features four amazingly talented players who managed to retain popularity with the public at large.

Featured tracks include:

Liza – Paul Whiteman w/ Art Ryerson

Angelitos Negros – Eartha Kitt (w/ Art Ryerson)

Crazy Man Crazy – Bill Haley w/ Art Ryerson

Sait on Jamais Ou Va un Femme Quand Elle Vous Quitte* – Serge Gainsbourg w/ Elek Bacsik

  *You Never Know Where a Woman Goes When She Leaves You

Conception – Elek Bacsik

Willow Weep for Me – Elek Bacsik

Round Midnight – Wes Montgomery

Polka Dots and Moonbeams – Wes Montgomery

Windy- Wes Montgomery

C.E.D. – Joe Pass

For Django – Joe Pass

Jeannine – Richard “Groove” Holmes w/ Joe Pass