Joe Pass
| Joe Pass | |
|---|---|
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Joe Pass in 1975
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalacqua |
| Born |
January 13, 1929 New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Origin | Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 23, 1994 (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, bebop |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist, composer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1943–1994 |
| Labels | Concord, Pablo, Pacific Jazz |
| Associated acts | Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Zack Charette, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen |
| Notable instruments | |
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Gibson ES-175D Ibanez JP20 Signature D'Aquisto Custom Model Fender Jaguar Fender Jazzmaster |
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Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalacqua, January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American virtuoso jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century. His sophisticated style of chord-melody, with an outstanding knowledge of chord inversions and progressions, extensive use of walking basslines, and melodic counterpoint during improvisation, opened up new possibilities for the jazz guitar and had a profound influence on later guitarists.
In addition to his extensive solo work, Pass is remembered for his long-term partnerships with singer Ella Fitzgerald and pianist Oscar Peterson.
Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Joe Pass, the son of Mariano Passalacqua, a Sicilian-born steel mill worker, was raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He received his first guitar, a Harmony model bought for $17, on his 9th birthday. Pass' father recognized early that his son had "a little something happening" and pushed him constantly to pick up tunes by ear, play pieces not written specifically for the instrument, practice scales and not to "leave any spaces" - that is, to fill in the sonic space between the notes of the melody.
As early as 14, Pass started getting gigs and was playing with bands fronted by Tony Pastor and Charlie Barnet, honing his guitar skills and learning the music business. He began traveling with small jazz groups and eventually moved from Pennsylvania to New York City. In a few years, he developed a heroin addiction and spent much of the 1950s in prison. Pass managed to emerge from narcotics addiction through a two-and-a-half-year stay in the Synanon rehabilitation program. During that time he "didn't do a lot of playing". In 1962 he recorded Sounds of Synanon. It was about this time that Pass received his trademark Gibson ES-175 guitar as a gift, which he subsequently used for touring and recording for many years.
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Wikipedia