In the late 50s and early 60s, a number of jazz artists such as Art Blakey, Herbie Hancock, Wes Montgomery (to name just a few) started to produce music with a strong blues and soul influence and a very cool, jazzy groove. This stellar track from jazz-guitar maestro Kenny Burrell is a great example of the cool, jazzy – and also very bluesy – sound we will draw inspiration from. Kenny is one of my guitar heroes and his playing here is a masterclass in how to blend jazz and blues.
Martin Smith 