Bireli Lagrene At Age 12 | Early Footage

My last post on young virtuoso Andreas Varady reminded me of this clip of Bireli Lagrene at age 12 -- already a monster player, but somehow seemingly unaware of the depth of his talent.  Growing up in an isolated mountainous region where almost everyone is an amazing guitar player will do that to you..

Larry Coryell had this to say about his first encounter with the young Bireli Lagrene in 1978, at about the time of this video clip.

"Before the gig they brought this kid in. He was awkward-looking and kind of homely - this was before he had his teeth fixed.  And he was real small, really dwarfed by the guitar. His dad was there -- I remember he was drunk. But Bireli took out his Django-style guitar and started to play, and I couldn't believe it. He sounded exactly like Django Reinhardt. It was incredible. I was traumatized."

12-Year Old Guitar Prodigy Andreas Varady!

Born in Slovakia, Andreas Varady is of Gypsy descent and sounds like he's been playing guitar for 25 years -- except that he is only 12 years old!  No repetitive pentatonic noodling or SRV-style posturing for this kid.   

I think it would be safe to say that we haven't seen talent of this caliber at this age since 1978, when a 12-year old Bireli Lagrene emerged on the scene with a fully-formed technique in the Django Reinhardt tradition.

And like Bireli, Andreas also started playing the guitar at the age of four, under the tutelage of his father.

Now residing in Ireland, Andreas Varady is just getting known outside of his adoptive country, and it's just a matter of time before he gets onto the international music festival circuit.  This kid is well on his way to a busy musical life. 

Andreas has a bunch of clips on YouTube, and I am checking out each and every one.

Talk about an old soul.

Birthday Salute and Quintessential Solo #5 | Martin Taylor OBE

Born 20th October 1956 in Essex, England, Martin Taylor was a child prodigy who was gigging professionally as a jazz guitarist by the time he was 12.

In 1979 at age 23, Taylor had landed a dream gig with jazz violin legend Stephane Grappelli. Grapelli was co-leader of Le Quintet du Hot Club de France in the 30's and 40's with none other than Django Reinhardt.

Playing with Grappelli exposed Taylor to an international audience as they played every major jazz festival around the world, helping to establish him as an artist in his own right.
In this vid Taylor pulls off a moving rendition of Hoagy Carmichael's Georgia On My Mind -- a quintessential solo in the truest sense.

Playing a Yamaha AEX1500 -- Taylor has been a Yamaha endorsee for several years now -- Taylor creates a very pianistic sound with his fingerstyle technique, tastefully reharmonizing the changes as they move along. (Notice, also, his pinky planted firmly on the pickguard -- something which he personally advises students not to do!)

In 2002, Martin Taylor was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for Services to Jazz Music -- the first jazz guitarist to receive the honor.


See More Of Martin Taylor's CDs and DVDs Here!

Five Notes.. And You'll Know Who It Is

This is something you have to be born with, I think.

It is the ability to play three, four or five notes and be instantly recognizable. And it doesn't matter whether the player who posseses this rare gift is historically famous or a complete unknown.

For the rarest of this breed, one can even define eras by their influence on generations of guitarists, for example pre-Van Halen and post-Van Halen, or pre-Charlie Christian and post-Charlie Christian.

For most of us music mortals, a style is created by fusing several influences. And if one has listened widely, those influences can still be clearly picked out.

The unique innovator, on the other hand, has taken the amalgam of his influences and distilled them into a recognizable signature sound and style.


And then there is the true innovator.

The true innovator takes what has come before him, throws most of it out the window and re-invents the instrument. While sometimes influencing generations of players. You'll usually know who they are after just four or five notes.


This is a partial list of who I feel are the true innovators of the guitar world, past and present:

Robert Johnson
Charlie Christian
Freddie Green
Django Reinhardt
BB King
Wes Montgomery
Grant Green
George Van Eps
Joe Pass
George Benson
Jimi Hendrix
Carlos Santana
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Pat Martino
Eddie Van Halen
Yngwie Malmsteen
Jeff Beck
Al DiMeola
John McLaughlin
Pat Metheny
Chet Atkins
Allan Holdsworth