Guitar / Guitar

Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd — two peas in a jazz guitarist's pod if there ever was one — recorded this date in 1963 and proved how compatible their styles were. Though Ellis emphasized the amplified electric model and Byrd stuck to nylon-string acoustic, the balance of their instruments and their occasional role reversals are heard during this program of standards, blues, Brazilian tunes, and a small handful of originals. This is not a duet album, as a rhythm section with bassist Keter Betts and drummer Buddy Deppenschmidt is present, but not accounted for in the credits of the reissued CD version. Stereo separation segregates the two players, and considering the recording technology of the time, it does sound somewhat dated in a quaint, bachelor pad sort of way. None of the selections are long-winded, with Duke Ellington's "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" the most stretched in a beautiful unison swing. The two brilliantly swap overlapping lines on the waltz "Three Quarter Blues," load up on languid chords for the nostalgic ballad "A Hundred Years from Today," and lope along the backwoods trail of "Carolina in the Morning." Blues is a big factor in their playing, most prevalent during the Texas-styled swinger "Take Care of Yourself," the slowed "Lady Be Good," and the toothy "Bluesette," due to their staccato riffs digging into a deft reharmonization. The Brazilian numbers are standard fare, refined in later years by their continued association, but here they take "St. Louis Blues" to Rio in bossa nova trim, while "Jazz 'n' Samba" is fairly straitlaced. The guitarists also do a funky, contemporary number, "Chung King," which is slightly off-color for them considering the primordial soul-jazz time period. This recording is more important for what these two would do as follow-ups rather than the basic music presented here. It's not essential as a standalone CD, but good to hear for what it foreshadowed down the line. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi