Search - Adam Rafferty :: Blood, Sweat & Bebop

One of America's Best Jazz Guitarists

Kevin | LA, CA USA | 01/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a fellow jazz guitarist I can say that, with few exceptions, most jazz guitarists sound "limited" in one way or another. The important areas are swing, sound, technique and taste. Wes Montgomery has them all, without question. Benson is only lacking in the taste department at times. Pat Martino is great, but has a lot of just plain strange albums. Joe Pass is another favorite, but he never paralleled his mammoth acheivements on the "For Django" album. The list goes on. Of course, I don't consider Metheny or Scofield and the like to be "jazz" players, because they do not swing. Nor do they try to. Then there is Adam Rafferty. This guy has it all! Now, he's not Wes just yet, but all three of his albums demonstrate that he is a solid, inspiring player on all fronts: harmonically and from the standpoint of swinging. He plays the guitar with authority, and does not let the challenges of playing with a pick limit his swinging uptempo lines one iota. Rafferty isn't afraid to play complex material either. He's the only guitarist I know who has recorded Giant Steps and Countdown (in 5/4 time!)by Coltrane. And he tears it up on those tunes. Jazz guitarists everywhere take notice: Adam Rafferty is a terrific player."