Larry Coryell: Prime Picks- The Virtuoso Guitar Of

Larry Coryell, guitar; with John Hicks, Buster Williams, Ronnie Mathews, Mark Sherman and others

Inner Urge • Spiral Staircase • Something • Compulsion • Star Eyes • Limehouse Blues • New High • Bumpin’ on Sunset • Tonk • Good Citizen Swallow

Larry Coryell, along with colleague John McLaughlin, nearly single-handedly redefined the technique and sound of jazz guitar. He brought what amounted to a nearly alien sensibility to jazz electric guitar playing in the 1960s, a hard-edged, cutting tone, phrasing and note-bending that owed as much to blues, rock and even country as it did to earlier, smoother bop influences. Yet as a true eclectic, armed with a brilliant technique, he is comfortable in nearly every style, covering almost every base from the most decibel-heavy, distortion-laden electric work to the most delicate, soothing, intricate lines on acoustic guitar. On this best-of anthology, Coryell's crackling up-tempo bursts and engagingly rough-hewn energy give this music a vividness and infectious enthusiasm that should appeal to a wide spectrum of the guitarist’s jazz and fusion fans.

Price: $20.98