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GT HAS MANY Bluesbreakers fans among its readers. There’s a lot of love for Clapton and Green, and huge respect for Mick Taylor who had the unenviable task of following both Eric and Peter into the band at just 18. These guys were the UK’s first generation of electric blues guitarists; they all learnt from the acknowledged electric masters – all the usual suspects – but Green was also directly influenced by Clapton; and Taylor, in turn, by them both. In this special feature, Jon Bishop looks at the playing styles of these three British guitar institutions, all of whom went on to either form or join the biggest bands in the world: Clapton with Cream, Green with Fleetwood Mac and Taylor, of course, with the Stones. In this article it’s interesting to spot their mutual connections, plot the differences and also hear how Clapton’s specific approach wormed its way into the others’ playing. I hope you have fun with this fine piece.
Most guitarists, whether they’ve listened to him or not, know of Pat Metheny. He’s a modern jazz legend. A non-stop student of guitar and of music in general and he has a musical fluency that transcends the physical limitations of our quirky instrument. We’ve wanted to tab a Metheny track for a long time, and this month Jon Bishop has done us proud with Have You Heard. In the original, the guitar melody is slightly buried in the other instruments, but for our version Jon has lifted it slightly so it’s more audible. It’s not fast, but it might be tricky if you’re not used to these jazzy phrases. The solo, on the other hand, is a blinder – it’s blisteringly quick, but Jon totally snails it. If you fancy trying some jazz and want a challenge for those long winter months, then this could be it. See you next month!