Arv Garrison’s Sonny Side Up

Tutor: Chris Corcoran | Gear used: Framus Broadway archtop (with flatwound strings) through a Honeyboy 5 amp

Arv GArrison was a jazz guitarist, born in Toledo, Ohio in 1922. A prodigious talent, he was already playing guitar at local dances aged 12, having begun his musical journey on the ukulele three years previously. Moving to New York in the early 1940s, he formed his own trio with his bass-playing wife Vivien, releasing a single album, and in 1946 went on to record with jazz legends Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis in LA.

But here, we’re looking at Arv’s work with pianist Sonny Thompson, in particular his guitar playing on the tune Long Gone, which was a hit in the R&B charts upon it release in 1948. A medium tempo riff-based blues, Long Gone Pts I & II is typical of the bluesy jazz of the day, when be-bop was quickly beginning to dominate the scene. Arv provides a slinky solo and, as with last issue’s column where we looked at Barney Kessel’s licks, Chris details how you can take an idea and adapt it to your own music and playing style, especially if that style happens to be jump blues!