Guitar Melody Transcriptions

Born Charles Jagelka, New Yorker Chuck Wayne was a jazz guitarist, composer and arranger noted for distinctive bebop style and legato technique. He became an expert in the banjo, mandolin and balalaika as a child, focusing on swing. He was heavily influenced by classical music in addition to jazz. He became prominent in the early 1940s on NYC's 52nd Street and in Greenwich Village where he made the transition to bebop. Influenced by Oscar Moore and Charlie Christian, and horn players of the day like Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker, Chuck made his way into Woody Herman's big band and later worked with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, spreading the bebop revolution with recordings like Groovin' High and Blue 'n' Boogie.

Groove, impeccable taste, a shimmering tone and a deep feeling for the blues define Grant Green’s musicianship. Whether playing in soulful organ groups, hard bop ensembles or leading a funk band, Green’s guitar sound is instantly recognizable. While Charlie Christian and Jimmy Raney are certainly influences of his on the guitar, Green claimed to listen primarily to horn players, particularly Charlie Parker.

Jimmy Raney was one of the most fluent and deft bebop players of all time, having assimilated the language of musicians such as Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie in such a thorough manner that pianist Barry Harris, one of the world’s foremost bebop masters, once remarked that “Man this cat (Jimmy Raney) plays like Yard (Charlie Parker)!”’

Jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein has been a part of the jazz scene in New York and abroad since 1989. During that time he has participated in over 80 recordings and numerous festival, concert and club performances with musicians from all generations.