Month: April 2017

A thousand years ago (or so it seems) in 1977, I heard Derek Bailey for the first time. I was living in a condemned tenement building in the west end of Dundee, my home town. Fellow squatters included Gerry Mitchell, Tam McGibbon, and a few others whose names are fading from my memory. Gerry and… Continue reading Homage To Derek Bailey →

Although oft-associated with jazz, the archtop guitar has of course been used in a multitude of genres since the 1920s. Eddie Lang was the first great virtuoso to embrace the Gibson L5, and we are lucky that many of his recordings survive. Take in his April Kisses - wonderful Italian-rooted popular jazz from 1927: https://youtu.be/hc1zuJ3VjLI… Continue reading From Mabel Carter to Derek Bailey →