Virtuoso (album)
Encyclopedia
Virtuoso is an album by jazz guitarist Joe Pass
, released in 1973. Despite only having one original composition ("Blues for Alican"), it is widely considered to be his best album, as well as one of the best jazz guitar
albums. All About Jazz described it as "...the recording to announce that Joe Pass had arrived", and said that he had "...accomplished, using standard guitar performance techniques, to play lead melody lines, chords, and bass rhythm simultaneously and at tempo, giving the listener the impression that multiple guitars were being played".
The remaster uses 20-bit K2 Super Coding System technology and also includes liner notes by Benny Green
.
Virtuoso outsold nearly every other release in the Pablo catalog and established Pass as the premier mainstream jazz guitarist of the time.
Joe Pass
Joe Pass was an Italian-American jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century...
, released in 1973. Despite only having one original composition ("Blues for Alican"), it is widely considered to be his best album, as well as one of the best jazz guitar
Jazz guitar
The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...
albums. All About Jazz described it as "...the recording to announce that Joe Pass had arrived", and said that he had "...accomplished, using standard guitar performance techniques, to play lead melody lines, chords, and bass rhythm simultaneously and at tempo, giving the listener the impression that multiple guitars were being played".
The remaster uses 20-bit K2 Super Coding System technology and also includes liner notes by Benny Green
Benny Green
Benny Green was a British jazz saxophonist, who was best known by the public for his radio shows and books.- Early life :...
.
Virtuoso outsold nearly every other release in the Pablo catalog and established Pass as the premier mainstream jazz guitarist of the time.
Track listing
- "Night and DayNight and Day (song)"Night and Day" is a popular song by Cole Porter. It was written for the 1932 musical play Gay Divorce. It is perhaps Porter's most popular contribution to the Great American Songbook and has been recorded by dozens of artists....
" (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) - 3:32 - "Stella by StarlightStella By Starlight"Stella by Starlight" is a jazz standard written by Victor Young and featured in The Uninvited, a 1944 film released by Paramount Pictures. Originally played in the film as an instrumental theme song without lyrics, it was turned over to Ned Washington, who wrote the lyrics for it in 1946...
" (Ned WashingtonNed WashingtonNed Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
, Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
) - 5:10 - "Here's That Rainy DayHere's That Rainy Day"Here's That Rainy Day" is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke, published in 1953. It was introduced by Dolores Gray in the Broadway musical Carnival in Flanders...
" (Sonny BurkeSonny BurkeSonny Burke was a big band leader. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke Ambassadors....
, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 3:36 - "My Old Flame" (Sam CoslowSam CoslowSam Coslow was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher, and market analyst. Coslow was born in New York City. He began writing songs as a teenager...
, Arthur JohnstonArthur Johnston (composer)Arthur Johnston was a composer known for such works as “Mandy, Make Up Your Mind,” "Pennies From Heaven," and many others...
) 5:17 - "How High the MoonHow High the Moon"How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock....
" (Nancy HamiltonNancy HamiltonNancy Hamilton was an American actress, playwright, lyricist, director and producer. She worked in the New York theater from 1932-1954. She wrote sketches and lyrics for the revues New Faces of 1934 , One for the Money , Two for the Show and Three to Make Ready...
, Morgan LewisMorgan Lewis (songwriter)Morgan 'Buddy' Lewis was a writer of jazz songs, some of which were also recorded in the pop music genre.-External links:...
) - 4:59 - "Cherokee" (Ray NobleRay Noble (musician)Ray Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day...
) - 3:37 - "Sweet LorraineSweet Lorraine"Sweet Lorraine" is a song by the band Uriah Heep, first released on the album The Magician's Birthday. It was written by Mick Box, Gary Thain and David Byron. Sweet Lorraine reached #91 in the US. It is one of the better known songs by the band, famous, in part, for its Moog synthesizer solo,...
" (Cliff BurwellCliff BurwellClifford R. Burwell was an American pianist and songwriter. His composition, "Sweet Lorraine" was popularized in 1928 by Rudy Vallee and made famous by Teddy Wilson and Nat King Cole in the 1930s and 1940s.-References:...
, Mitchell ParishMitchell ParishMitchell Parish was an American lyricist.-Early life:Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky to a Jewish family in Lithuania. His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 on the SS Dresden when he was less than a year old...
) - 4:09 - "Have You Met Miss Jones?Have You Met Miss Jones?"Have You Met Miss Jones?" is a popular song that was written for the musical comedy, I'd Rather Be Right. The music was written by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Lorenz Hart. The song was published in 1937....
" (Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
) - 4:42 - "'Round Midnight'Round Midnight (song)Round Midnight" is a 1944 jazz standard by pianist Thelonious Monk. Jazz artists Cootie Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Pepper, and Miles Davis have further embellished the song, with songwriter Bernie Hanighen adding lyrics...
" (Bernie HanighenBernie HanighenBernard D. Hanighen was an American songwriter best known for co-writing "'Round Midnight" and "When a Woman Loves a Man"...
, Thelonious MonkThelonious MonkThelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, Cootie WilliamsCootie WilliamsCharles Melvin "Cootie" Williams was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.-Biography:...
) - 3:38 - "All the Things You AreAll the Things You Are"All the Things You Are" is a song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II.It was written for the musical Very Warm for May , where it was introduced by Hiram Sherman, Frances Mercer, Hollace Shaw, and Ralph Stuart...
" (Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
, Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
) - 4:01 - "Blues for Alican" (Joe PassJoe PassJoe Pass was an Italian-American jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century...
) - 5:29 - "The Song Is YouThe Song Is You (song)"The Song Is You" is a popular song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was written for their musical Music in the Air and sung in that show by Tullio Carminati. In later years the song became often associated with Frank Sinatra."The Song Is You" is the recurring...
" (Hammerstein, Kern) - 4:34
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Billboard Jazz Albums | 16 |