Author: Rob MacKillop

Hy White is another of those great players from the late 30s through 50s who should be much better known to today's jazz aficionados. He played with the Woody Herman Orchestra (with whom he recorded River Bed Blues - see below), recorded with Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, pop singers Doris Day, Bing Crosby, Frank… Continue reading Hy White – the 5th Beatle (not quite) →

The quality of recordings of music for the 1930s-era acoustic archtop guitar has taken a sudden leap forward with the appearance of Jonathan Stout's "Pick It And Play." Not only is this a beautifully played album by one of the few leaders in the field, but it is also beautifully recorded too. That quality is… Continue reading Album Review: Jonathan Stout – “Pick It And Play” →

Mel Bay have just brought out my edition of 24 Pieces For Guitar by Gilbert Isbin, which I am absolutely delighted with. The 24 pieces were conceived for plectrum/pick technique on an acoustic archtop guitar, but can also be played pick or fingerstyle on a regular steel-string, or even classical style on a nylon-strung guitar.… Continue reading New Publication! →

Okay, this is a tough one. With a nod to Charlie Parker's "Blues for Alice", though sounding nothing remotely like it, here is my "Blues for Alice McShannon". She was my mother, who died when I was still a teenager. My memories of her are all intense and personal. I was at a poetry reading,… Continue reading Blues For Alice McShannon →

Here's a new piece, FormA, dedicated to me by the Swedish composer, Mårten Falk. It uses an unusual tuning: Eb Ab D G Bb E (bass to treble). I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did to play...Your comments welcome. https://youtu.be/HMceXAEqw6U

https://youtu.be/JoQa4RfIg3g Roy Smeck (1900-94) was one of the great vaudeville artists, a master of many instruments, especially ukulele, banjo and both standard and Hawaiian-steel guitar. I was given the following hard-to-find 1928 publication, "Blues For Plectrum Guitar", by someone who studied with Roy. It contains four items, and I present the first two, which I… Continue reading Roy Smeck – Wizard Of The Strings →

I purchased the score for Louis Gallo's beautiful tribute to Eddie Lang on eBay, in a collection of "various guitar scores". Most of the pile I got was utter rubbish, but this gem was included, so my money wasn't wasted! I recorded it this morning (Sunday, 11 March, 2018) and after uploading it did a… Continue reading Louis Gallo – Tribute to Eddie Lang →

I first came across Arthur Black when I found his Practical Plectrum Banjo Method of 1919. Here is a video of a dance from this method, played on a plectrum banjo - hopefully the video will start 2'30" in... https://youtu.be/IUYrCvYtm5Y?t=2m3s He also published in 1917 a Practical Method for Tenor Banjo In Actual Notation, but… Continue reading Arthur Black’s Modern Method 1933 →

Regarding the history of the archtop guitar, I was loosely aware that Orville Gibson created the arch, and Lloyd Loar (as a Gibson employee) added the f-shaped sound holes. It tuns out that was not at all the full story. And neither is the following, but hopefully it will give you pause for thought. One… Continue reading Earliest Non-Gibson Archtop Guitars →

Wm. C. Stahl's Popular Selections for Plectrum Guitar [1931] Stahl 1931 Plectrum Guitar - pdf of the whole book. Although the publisher's name appears on the front, the entire contents are by one Tony Nivello, which I suspect is a pseudonym. The contents - fourteen solos - are tuneful, pop pieces from 1930/31, which often sound… Continue reading Stahl’s Popular Selections for Plectrum Guitar →