Just found this. What a great sound they achieve. I was lucky enough to see Ed Bickert play a solo show at George’s Spaghetti House in 83 or 84. He joined us for a smoke and a drink in between sets. I didn’t realize then how lucky I was.
I came here via Tim Lerch. Never heard of this guy before. How cool was he!. What a player. A lovely light touch with just the right number of notes. A great jazz guitarist. 👍🍷
Damn-- if I had known he was playing a Humbucker Tele 50 years ago it would have saved me thousands in archtops 😀 He is surely one of the truly greats-- even with that gear I wouldn't get his sound!
Bickert was so tasteful in his playing. Just the right amount of notes and never overplaying. I love that he played a solid body Fender Telecaster instead of one of the hollow jazz boxes. It's kind of interesting how his right hand technique is very similar to that of Jim Hall. He also had such a unique personal style. If you ran into him on the street or in a bookstore you'd expect he was an English professor, not a musician. A total class act in every way.
Apparently Ed Bickert played this same Fender Telecaster most of his career, beginning on a Gibson ES-175. The "12th Fret" worked on his guitar, and said he had it refretted at least 4-5 times there over the years. He used regular light gauge 10-46 strings, and the humbucker is a PAF reissue. Maestro Bickert would have sounded wonderful playing anything, but obviously he bonded with this guitar. That is how it should be, nowadays players have dozens of guitars, even more pedals, while the greats in the past just had one main guitar and plugged straight into their amp. The tone he gets is wonderful, and he has complete mastery of his instrument, a true Maestro!
The family put Ed’s guitar up for sale a couple of years ago , there is a video of the long time guitar tech who worked on Ed’s guitar talking about it and some stories about Ed over the many years he worked on his 65 tele ,
Notice the neck pick up is screwed down almost level with body. That's a jazzer set up for humbuckers on solid bodies. It warms up the sound by reducing the magnetic hall effect just a tad.
What you guys are describing is common to all improvisational jazz. These guys are fantastic players, but listening to each other and staying out of each other’s way is not something special and unique to them that all other jazz musicians don’t do as well.
@@darwinsaye of course. but from a guitarist perspective, bickert is particularly good at it…as was jim hall. but yes, all great jazz players are good at it.
Great jazz guitar is all in the mind and fingers- great melody, great timing, and great harmony. Chewing gum and having a beatup Telecaster adds to the uniqueness of Ed. You are listening to Canada's gift to the world of jazz.
Ed was a stone cold killer. Taste, tone , feel , musicianship deluxe. All in service of the tune. He doesn't get name checked nearly enough in any discussion of jazz guitar. He didn't dip into the American fusion thing with the sizzling histrionics on one chord vamps or the metallic shredding over progressive changes . Ed played jazz in his own style and played the instrument as well as any master has played their instrument, and as beautifully as anyone has been blessed to be able to play.
Ed will always be one of my favorite players. Often. Copied but never Duplicated. He set the standard for extremely virtuosic, tasteful execution and he was Canadian!
Ed's story about trying to accompany Kenny Wheeler on a bunch of Wheeler originals during a Bourbon Street club gig some time in the late 70s-early 80s is funny. It's in a video his son posted on V i meo. Wheeler wasn't shredding fusion, but he was still modern enough to be a bit outside Ed's comfort zone of pop standards and the odd bebop or hard bop tune. Ed was a bit like Jimmy Rowles in that he knew a lot of pretty old tunes from the 1920s and 1930s that never became jam session standards, and recorded a few on his own records.
What jazz guitar is and should be for my ear anyway. What a talent. Tele covers every genre imaginable. Remarkable simplistic guitar but nothing without the man behind it.
learned about Ed randomly by searching "telecaster jazz guitarists" online, since i've been playing a telly for ages now. No one ever talks about him! such a great player, thanks for sharing.
@@icecreamforcrowhurst : Yes! Both Bickert and Greene are among the most important guitarists. Ted Greene’s “Chord Chemistry” is absolutely essential for every serious guitar player.
Here's a story from bassist Steve Wallace's blog about an American who discovered Bickert early on: * * * "Mid-70’s I was a rocker, playing full time in Northern Vermont. On a break one night, Ed’s trio version of When Sunny Gets Blue came on the PA. I was transfixed. I was just starting on the road to jazz, and everything changed in that moment. I sought out the LP and realized I had a friend in Yorkville, who I immediately contacted. He was musical, but not into jazz….and I demanded he go find Mr. Bickert gigging and lemme know how it was. Turned out he neighbored the Barlows and asked if they knew Ed, who had totally flipped out his Vermont buddy. Word came back to me that Ed was flattered, had said if I was ever in Toronto I should look him up….and INCLUDED HIS PHONE NUMBER. Unbelievable. On my next days off I got in my funky little VW, with the rotted bottom and dryer hose running from the heater box into my pants (it was 40 below F) and drove the 10 hours to Tronna. Next day Ed welcomed me, offered me a cup of his endless supply of great coffee invited me to join him in the basement with his tele and the old Standel (he had to pound it on the side to get it running) and proceeded to give me a 4-hour lesson. I was so completely intimidated that I could only manage Girl From Ipanema….which we played the whole time. He was incredibly supportive and endlessly patient. I went back for 2 more visits over the next 3 years, finally able to relax enough to actually play. I will never, never forget his kindness, and the incredible lesson of being in the presence of his intense, understated mastery. It changed my life. Just as I could feel the beautiful bond he and Madeline shared, so it was with his depth and kindness to me as a fellow guitarist. And, by the way, once I asked if I could try his guitar. He allowed me the privilege, and in my hands it sounded way trebly…like it belonged on a bad country gig. All I did was turn up the volume. That was a lesson, too. RIP, old friend. I will always love you."
I saw Ed play with Moe Koffman and Don Thompson at George’s Spaghetti House on Dundas St. in Toronto in 1974. I never knew this was possible, till then. Brilliant!
Yes, I saw him play there with Moe and Don as well, but later, in the late 1980s. I think it may have been Barry Elmes on drums as well. I can remember getting a big plate of pasta and sitting six feet from Ed, staring at his fingers all night -- all for a few bucks.
Just look at him. Cool, personified. Players who were smart enough to read Guitar Player and other periodicals before the Internet absolutely knew who this man was, and the acclaim he rightfully achieved. If memory serves, he was the only big player in Jazz at the time that depended on the Telecaster as his number 1 -- adding to the storied history of perhaps the most adaptable guitar model of the 20th century.
Assuming this was filmed in 1997 as the title says, this was the twilight of Bickert's career, though you wouldn't guess it from this video. He'd broken bones in both his arms in 1995 after falling on some ice, and he told a newspaper reporter in 2012 that around the time he retired (in 2000), he was starting to having issues with arthritis. Saxophonist Mike Murley was prescient enough during these years to form a trio around Bickert and record what became Bickert's final two albums in 1999. It would be great if more of these television and radio performances could be excavated and released in some form to the world. The album Ed made with Sonny Greenwich in 1979 was apparently recorded for radio broadcast only, and then decades later, was turned into a CD release.
That bass player is Don Thompson, one of the most outstanding musicians Canada has ever produced. This guy plays piano, upright bass, and vibes at the highest level. Ridiculously talented.
@@icecreamforcrowhurst played bass for years with George Shearing. All three guys are the nicest guys, unassuming and supportive young, up and coming musicians.
Wow Ed is killing it!! Came here because I heard his solo on the Just Squeeze Me record with Paul Desmond. Ed was great!!! Surprised I never really heard about him
who ever said can't play jazz on a solid body and a tele was dead wrong . one of the alll time great players. "windy" with paul desmond is just near perfect in my opinion.
I never heard of Ed Bickert until today! He reminds me of two of my favorite jazz guitarist.....Kenny Burrell and Grant Green. Great solo work, excellent tone.
Cm'on pepper williams, you must not be able to hear too well, to be comparing Ed Bickert to either of those guys. Ed stands in a class all by himself. I hope you are not saying it because of racist innuendo. Yourself and the 2 guys mentioned being from the same race and Ed being from the other race, because a lot of black folks are afraid to give the white man credit when it is due. Thinking it is going to make him greater than he already is. That is wrong. I am a black jazz aficionado.
@@jeffbrown3051 Wow! Not sure what you were thinking? Your remarks certainly borders on racism, if not racist itself. I quote you, "Yourself and 2 other guys mentioned being from the same race....". What exactly does that statement mean? Same race???You implied that we are both BLACK, because you said Ed being from the "other race". That sir, was a racist remark! First of all, me and Kenny Burrell are both from Detroit, Michigan and are both bi-racial (white and black parents). So, WHAT RACE ARE WE? Are we white or black? Here is what I said, "I never heard of Ed Bickert until today! He reminds me of two of my favorite jazz guitarist.....Kenny Burrell and Grant Green. Great solo work, excellent tone." Where in this remark of me mentioning RACE? Here's another one of YOUR remarks: "a lot of black folks are afraid to give the white man credit when it is due."THAT ENTIRE SENTENCE IS RACIST! And further more, my hearing is excellent, and opinions are subjective. Not that I need to defend myself in anyway to you, but I also like: Joe Pass, Jim Hall, Pat Martino, Pat Metheny and Django Reinhardt. These are all WHITE jazz guitarist.
Agreed...incredible player. I'd heard his name but hadn't listened to him til a week or so ago--shame to have missed out while he was still with us. These days I mostly find the younger (i.e., living) players online, youtube. Oh well, changing world!
I agree he and Burrell share a lot in common--a bluesy sensibility, the ability to make their playing sound like its floating and almost effortless, harmonic sophistication, and grace. Burrell and Bickert don't get mentioned together that often, in my experience. Jim Hall is more often cited when Bickert is mentioned in publications, and Bickert does acknowledge Hall as an influence, but also felt he and Hall took different paths when it came to comping in particular. I hear less Grant Green, but Bickert and Green are both never far from the blues.
that tele has split a lot of fire wood in it's life..i wonder where it is now? this brings back the memories of watching on cbc in black and white. the clean cut normal looking dude impressed me even at 10 years old. needless to say, my tele never did make those noises( no talent). what can one do but listen and dream...thnx for the upload
@@jeremyversusjazz A Canadian musician is all we know: www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-canadian-jazz-great-ed-bickers-guitar-sold-to-anonymous-buyer-for/#:~:text=Canadian%20jazz%20great%20Ed%20Bickert's%20guitar%20sold%20to%20anonymous%20buyer%20for%20US%2432%2C500,-Brad%20Wheeler&text=The%20guitar%20long%20owned%20and,US%2432%2C500%20and%20many%20questions.
@@Kilgore40 thnx! glad a musician bought it. presumably a jazzer. i was lucky to find most of ed’s OOP cd’s/albums in the early days of music downloading from various “nefarious" sites since none of it was available to purchase at that time--most still awol, actually. Shame. and so i actually own 320k rips/downloads of most if not all of the recorded output under his name as well as the desmond and other concord stuff et al…the streaming choices are slim..tho happy to see the record with lorne lofsky in lossless on apple music. Anyhow-easily one of THE single most under-appreciated jazz musician on the planet.
Какая интересная публика в зале.Умные лица,внимательно слушают.Интересно, а сейчас в Канаде наберется полный зал таких красивых людей, которые так внимательно будут слушать эту музыку?
It's such a shame he wasn't better known outside of Canada. In my opinion, he's one of the greatest jazz guitarists who ever lived. His sense of harmonic movement is absolutely stunning.
@@Kilgore40 Tout à fait d'accord avec vous, Garry. Sa science harmonique rappelle beaucoup celle de Jim Hall et si sa musique était moins aventureuse que celle de Hall, elle n'en était pas moins belle (sorry, easier in french).
don is such a monster. When I was watching this I imagined Ed being transported in time and Miles add him as a guitar player on Kind Of Blue. Blue in Green is my favourite jazz piece ever recorded. Bill was such a freaking genius.
Tele with a humbucker near neck and rosewood fingerboard, as opposed to single coil and maple definitely help get a great jazz tone. It also helps that Ed Bickert is playing. Nice!
Imo he could have had the exact same sound with a single coil ( and had) and a maple slab ny adjust one of the 50 variables that go into tone. Its his fingers and a dried out tele and his hands.
@@golds04 Yeah, I have them on my Jag and it's at best a subtle difference (love the feel though). Let's face it, his tone is in his hands! Such a wonderful player!
8:46 has similar changes to "Up Jumped Spring," and Ed quotes that tune, but it is actually Hoagy Carmichael's "One Morning in May." You can find it on Ed's album with Don Thompson, At the Garden Party.
@@Kilgore40Thanks! I was having trouble placing it, asked a jazz guitar forum, but got the wrong answer. Great little tune...at first I was thinking it had to be Rodgers and Hammerstein, because it has that sweet folk quality. I've got the Garden Party version, and versions by Bucky Pizzarelli and Carol Sloane. Maybe now it will stick in my brain.
@@zenobardot I initially thought it was "Up Jumped Spring" as well. Freddie Hubbard must have based his tune on "One Morning In May," turning it into a 3/4.
@@Kilgore40 I'm guessing Don Thompson might be responsible for the waltz arrangement of One Morning in May. Jim Hall and Don record basically the same arrangement on Hall's "Commitment" album in 1977. All the recordings I have of "One Morning" that don't feature Don are 4/4...the tune works great as a waltz, so kudos to whoever came up with the arrangement. Interestingly, Don also recorded "Up Jumped Spring" with vocalist Diana Panton (whose music career he helped get off the ground) in 2017.
Ed was an inspiring and truly one-of-a-kind musician. His beautiful, warm sound on guitar was not unlike Bill Evans' on piano. And Ed achieved that without finger-stretching chordal gymnastics as is evident in any videos of him playing. I think he discovered a polyrhythmic approach between chord and melody that elicited a strong overtone response on his guitar. So that a 2, 3, 4 or 5 single note melodic phrase is firstly picked. Then it has a reincarnation as an echo produced by an overtone of a sympathetically-vibrating chord that immediately proceeds and harmonically and rhythmically supports that phrase. This may explain how he gets such a big, rich, close-voicing sound with just easy 3 or 4 note jazz guitar chord fingerings. And his chords in turn enhance the tone of further single notes passages he undertakes and so forth. But returning to my previous, and some would say apples and oranges, comparison, I much preferred Ed's trio to Bill's. I could easily tap my foot and joyfully feel the groove listening to the Ed Bickert Trio. Whilst with the Bill Evans Trio, the groove is lost to over-complex, disjointed bass, drum and piano interplay. This I think just shows Ed Bickert's more balanced approach to music making. How wonderful that a 'mere' guitarist could have a jazz trio that is at the very least equal to the very best piano trios.
He is definitely not as well known outside of Canada as he should be. Most of his playing was in Canada, and most often as a sideman. His recordings as a leader, though great, were on smaller labels and not widely distributed, I believe. If people outside of Canada know him, it's often only from his recordings with Paul Desmond. Such a shame. He was such a relaxed and masterful player with an amazing harmonic sense unlike any other. I was so fortunate to see him live many times.
I think it's a Polytone Mini-Brute. Ed used solid-state amps since the 1970s, most famously a Roland Cube. He also famously hated Fender tube amps for some reason. medias.audiofanzine.com/images/normal/polytone-mini-brute-ii-740660.jpg
Anyone know what he is using for a neck pickup? It looks like a Gibson-style humbucker with the pole pieces individually adjusted for a particular sound
I believe there's a video online of Bickert playing this Tele before the stock neck pickup was replaced by the humbucker, and the tone is still remarkably close to the warm, round tone for which he is famous.
@Evan Hodge 2:00 - You telling me those don't look like a heavy gauge with stiff action? It's not a criticism or smart-assed remark. Some people are actually interested in this stuff.
Not with the Tele (he played an ES-175 early in his career). Somewhere, I have a list of his string gauges, which changed over time. I tried using them on my own Tele but, strangely, I didn't sound like Ed. 😉
@@Kilgore40 Do you know where Ed's telecaster ended up? It was sold through consignment at 12th fret in Toronto. There is video of Grant M talking about the guitar.
Just found this. What a great sound they achieve. I was lucky enough to see Ed Bickert play a solo show at George’s Spaghetti House in 83 or 84. He joined us for a smoke and a drink in between sets. I didn’t realize then how lucky I was.
I came here via Tim Lerch. Never heard of this guy before. How cool was he!. What a player. A lovely light touch with just the right number of notes. A great jazz guitarist. 👍🍷
Damn-- if I had known he was playing a Humbucker Tele 50 years ago it would have saved me thousands in archtops 😀 He is surely one of the truly greats-- even with that gear I wouldn't get his sound!
Bickert was so tasteful in his playing. Just the right amount of notes and never overplaying. I love that he played a solid body Fender Telecaster instead of one of the hollow jazz boxes. It's kind of interesting how his right hand technique is very similar to that of Jim Hall. He also had such a unique personal style. If you ran into him on the street or in a bookstore you'd expect he was an English professor, not a musician. A total class act in every way.
True in everything ! And haha, the English professor description is absolutely exact, I had that feeling too 😅👍
Jonathon Stout the same - he too looks like a professor or scientist or something!
Apparently Ed Bickert played this same Fender Telecaster most of his career, beginning on a Gibson ES-175. The "12th Fret" worked on his guitar, and said he had it refretted at least 4-5 times there over the years. He used regular light gauge 10-46 strings, and the humbucker is a PAF reissue. Maestro Bickert would have sounded wonderful playing anything, but obviously he bonded with this guitar. That is how it should be, nowadays players have dozens of guitars, even more pedals, while the greats in the past just had one main guitar and plugged straight into their amp. The tone he gets is wonderful, and he has complete mastery of his instrument, a true Maestro!
The family put Ed’s guitar up for sale a couple of years ago , there is a video of the long time guitar tech who worked on Ed’s guitar talking about it and some stories about Ed over the many years he worked on his 65 tele ,
Notice the neck pick up is screwed down almost level with body. That's a jazzer set up for humbuckers on solid bodies. It warms up the sound by reducing the magnetic hall effect just a tad.
The way bickert stays out of the bass players sonic territory is masterful. What a monster player. Jim Hall, ed bickert and everyone else imo.
That's right he leaves space and they all listen to what the others are playing. Less is more in Music.
What you guys are describing is common to all improvisational jazz. These guys are fantastic players, but listening to each other and staying out of each other’s way is not something special and unique to them that all other jazz musicians don’t do as well.
@@darwinsaye of course. but from a guitarist perspective, bickert is particularly good at it…as was jim hall. but yes, all great jazz players are good at it.
Great jazz guitar is all in the mind and fingers- great melody, great timing, and great harmony. Chewing gum and having a beatup Telecaster adds to the uniqueness of Ed. You are listening to Canada's gift to the world of jazz.
Music timing or to 'swing' is also a body feel.
That telecaster is beat up like helll and so is the chewing gum 👺🔥
Let’s not forget about Oscar Peterson…. Canada has certainly produced its share of world-class artists.
Absolutely @@StephenWhite55 Imgaine a concert with both Canadians - Ed and Oscar ! I have not found a TH-cam video but they did play together I think?
Beautiful playing by these 3 musicians. This is the music I want to hear for eternity if I ever make it to heaven.
I’ll be spending a lot of time with you in the jazz club up in heaven.
Magic. Ed Bickert. Genius.
Don Thompson never ceases to make my jaw drop. What a trio.
Chet Atkins is my life long hero but Ed Bicker and Danny Gatton are why I play Telecasters .
Ed was a stone cold killer. Taste, tone , feel , musicianship deluxe. All in service of the tune. He doesn't get name checked nearly enough in any discussion of jazz guitar. He didn't dip into the American fusion thing with the sizzling histrionics on one chord vamps or the metallic shredding over progressive changes . Ed played jazz in his own style and played the instrument as well as any master has played their instrument, and as beautifully as anyone has been blessed to be able to play.
Well put. I agree 100%.
Ed will always be one of my favorite players. Often. Copied but never
Duplicated. He set the standard for extremely virtuosic, tasteful execution and he was Canadian!
Ed's story about trying to accompany Kenny Wheeler on a bunch of Wheeler originals during a Bourbon Street club gig some time in the late 70s-early 80s is funny. It's in a video his son posted on V i meo. Wheeler wasn't shredding fusion, but he was still modern enough to be a bit outside Ed's comfort zone of pop standards and the odd bebop or hard bop tune. Ed was a bit like Jimmy Rowles in that he knew a lot of pretty old tunes from the 1920s and 1930s that never became jam session standards, and recorded a few on his own records.
What jazz guitar is and should be for my ear anyway. What a talent. Tele covers every genre imaginable. Remarkable simplistic guitar but nothing without the man behind it.
Like they say "It's all in the hands" but that Tele has what looks like a humbucker in the neck position. The hands.
@@12babyapes59Yes, a Gibson humbucker… the guitar went on sale in October of 2022.
learned about Ed randomly by searching "telecaster jazz guitarists" online, since i've been playing a telly for ages now. No one ever talks about him! such a great player, thanks for sharing.
Agreed. He's better known in Canada, but tended to stick fairly close to home. I was fortunate to see him live several times.
Ever heard the Pure Desmond album? My fav
If you search ‘telecaster jazz guitarists’ you inevitably encounter Ed Bickert and Ted Greene.
Yes, do check out his playing with Paul Desmond. That’s where I discovered him decades ago.
@@icecreamforcrowhurst : Yes! Both Bickert and Greene are among the most important guitarists.
Ted Greene’s “Chord Chemistry” is absolutely essential for every serious guitar player.
TH-cam just threw this at me. Never heard of him before but its obvious straight away this dude is a master
He was better known in Canada, and he was indeed a master. So relaxed, and his harmony is mind-blowing.
Should have been more widely known in the U.S. Beautiful tone and chord voicings and exceptionally musical improvisations.
but the ones that knew, knew his genius when it comes to jazz guitar.I'm thankful. for that!
Here's a story from bassist Steve Wallace's blog about an American who discovered Bickert early on:
* * *
"Mid-70’s I was a rocker, playing full time in Northern Vermont. On a break one night, Ed’s trio version of When Sunny Gets Blue came on the PA. I was transfixed. I was just starting on the road to jazz, and everything changed in that moment. I sought out the LP and realized I had a friend in Yorkville, who I immediately contacted. He was musical, but not into jazz….and I demanded he go find Mr. Bickert gigging and lemme know how it was. Turned out he neighbored the Barlows and asked if they knew Ed, who had totally flipped out his Vermont buddy. Word came back to me that Ed was flattered, had said if I was ever in Toronto I should look him up….and INCLUDED HIS PHONE NUMBER. Unbelievable. On my next days off I got in my funky little VW, with the rotted bottom and dryer hose running from the heater box into my pants (it was 40 below F) and drove the 10 hours to Tronna. Next day Ed welcomed me, offered me a cup of his endless supply of great coffee invited me to join him in the basement with his tele and the old Standel (he had to pound it on the side to get it running) and proceeded to give me a 4-hour lesson. I was so completely intimidated that I could only manage Girl From Ipanema….which we played the whole time. He was incredibly supportive and endlessly patient. I went back for 2 more visits over the next 3 years, finally able to relax enough to actually play. I will never, never forget his kindness, and the incredible lesson of being in the presence of his intense, understated mastery. It changed my life. Just as I could feel the beautiful bond he and Madeline shared, so it was with his depth and kindness to me as a fellow guitarist. And, by the way, once I asked if I could try his guitar. He allowed me the privilege, and in my hands it sounded way trebly…like it belonged on a bad country gig. All I did was turn up the volume. That was a lesson, too. RIP, old friend. I will always love you."
Pristine chorus by Don Thomson. Ed Bickert elegance shines all along his playing...
I saw Ed play with Moe Koffman and Don Thompson at George’s Spaghetti House on Dundas St. in Toronto in 1974. I never knew this was possible, till then. Brilliant!
Yes, I saw him play there with Moe and Don as well, but later, in the late 1980s. I think it may have been Barry Elmes on drums as well. I can remember getting a big plate of pasta and sitting six feet from Ed, staring at his fingers all night -- all for a few bucks.
Just look at him. Cool, personified. Players who were smart enough to read Guitar Player and other periodicals before the Internet absolutely knew who this man was, and the acclaim he rightfully achieved. If memory serves, he was the only big player in Jazz at the time that depended on the Telecaster as his number 1 -- adding to the storied history of perhaps the most adaptable guitar model of the 20th century.
Ed was a giant. Ted Greene was another jazz player who favoured the telecaster.
Ed is best of the best. Superb in all ways ....talks and sings through the guitar.
Swings!!! Don Thompson up front in the mix, nice! Ed Bickert is playing one of those new fangled “relic’ed” Tele’s.
Yeah I think he’s playing a road-worn vintera in this video
Ed Bickert comes up with such OUTLANDISH voicings comping on that first “simple” blues number!
Assuming this was filmed in 1997 as the title says, this was the twilight of Bickert's career, though you wouldn't guess it from this video. He'd broken bones in both his arms in 1995 after falling on some ice, and he told a newspaper reporter in 2012 that around the time he retired (in 2000), he was starting to having issues with arthritis. Saxophonist Mike Murley was prescient enough during these years to form a trio around Bickert and record what became Bickert's final two albums in 1999. It would be great if more of these television and radio performances could be excavated and released in some form to the world. The album Ed made with Sonny Greenwich in 1979 was apparently recorded for radio broadcast only, and then decades later, was turned into a CD release.
The Greenwich album is not my favourite, but Live at the Senator with Murley is stunning.
No love for the bass player? That was an amazing bass solo, words I don't say often!
Don Thompson is amazing. He's also a masterful pianist and vibraphonist.
That bass player is Don Thompson, one of the most outstanding musicians Canada has ever produced. This guy plays piano, upright bass, and vibes at the highest level. Ridiculously talented.
@@icecreamforcrowhurst played bass for years with George Shearing. All three guys are the nicest guys, unassuming and supportive young, up and coming musicians.
Check out his album circles if you can find it
とてもいいプレーヤーですよ
素晴らしいです
Jazz on a tele and it sounds wonderful
Thank you very much for uploading this video! When it comes to Jazz guitar, Ed Bickert is - for me - number one.
You're welcome. He's number one for me too.
I only discovers Ed a year ago but he’s become firm favourite, mr cool on a télé
This is Bickert's longest video in youtube... only 15 minutes of that magic! Gracias
Sadly, I also had a VHS tape of a full TV special with Bickert playing for a vocalist (Ranee Lee, I think), but someone accidentally taped over it.
@@Kilgore40 la puta madre..! (As we curse in Argentina) 💔😞
Fabulous music
Wow Ed is killing it!! Came here because I heard his solo on the Just Squeeze Me record with Paul Desmond. Ed was great!!! Surprised I never really heard about him
who ever said can't play jazz on a solid body and a tele was dead wrong . one of the alll time great players. "windy" with paul desmond is just near perfect in my opinion.
Merveilleux
I never heard of Ed Bickert until today! He reminds me of two of my favorite jazz guitarist.....Kenny Burrell and Grant Green. Great solo work, excellent tone.
Cm'on pepper williams, you must not be able to hear too well, to be comparing Ed Bickert to either of those guys. Ed stands in a class all by himself. I hope you are not saying it because of racist innuendo. Yourself and the 2 guys mentioned being from the same race and Ed being from the other race, because a lot of black folks are afraid to give the white man credit when it is due. Thinking it is going to make him greater than he already is. That is wrong. I am a black jazz aficionado.
@@jeffbrown3051 Wow! Not sure what you were thinking? Your remarks certainly borders on racism, if not racist itself. I quote you, "Yourself and 2 other guys mentioned being from the same race....". What exactly does that statement mean? Same race???You implied that we are both BLACK, because you said Ed being from the "other race". That sir, was a racist remark! First of all, me and Kenny Burrell are both from Detroit, Michigan and are both bi-racial (white and black parents). So, WHAT RACE ARE WE? Are we white or black? Here is what I said, "I never heard of Ed Bickert until today! He reminds me of two of my favorite jazz guitarist.....Kenny Burrell and Grant Green. Great solo work, excellent tone." Where in this remark of me mentioning RACE? Here's another one of YOUR remarks: "a lot of black folks are afraid to give the white man credit when it is due."THAT ENTIRE SENTENCE IS RACIST! And further more, my hearing is excellent, and opinions are subjective. Not that I need to defend myself in anyway to you, but I also like: Joe Pass, Jim Hall, Pat Martino, Pat Metheny and Django Reinhardt. These are all WHITE jazz guitarist.
@@jeffbrown3051wtf is this comment lmao
Agreed...incredible player. I'd heard his name but hadn't listened to him til a week or so ago--shame to have missed out while he was still with us.
These days I mostly find the younger (i.e., living) players online, youtube. Oh well, changing world!
I agree he and Burrell share a lot in common--a bluesy sensibility, the ability to make their playing sound like its floating and almost effortless, harmonic sophistication, and grace. Burrell and Bickert don't get mentioned together that often, in my experience. Jim Hall is more often cited when Bickert is mentioned in publications, and Bickert does acknowledge Hall as an influence, but also felt he and Hall took different paths when it came to comping in particular. I hear less Grant Green, but Bickert and Green are both never far from the blues.
Amazing telecaster's jazz player! The best.
This is fantastic, thank you for sharing, Bickert is my favourite guitarist!
It seems too obvious, but I think we have to give credit to the camera work on this video. This is everything I want to see, very nicely done.
Bassist is a BEAST!
Ed's album "At the Garden Party" with Don Thompson is one of my all time favorites. Great to see them in action. Thanks for posting video.
Ed was cool! I bought some of his records decades ago. RIP
Outstanding, and often overlooked player.
Superb. Three masters.
Wow! Only just discovered this player😳where have I been???👌👌👌
Yes, it's a shame he wasn't better known outside of Canada. Check out his other work. You're in for a treat.
@@Kilgore40 thanks Gary .. I will!
Cheers, Ray
Tell me about it. I just got on board today
that tele has split a lot of fire wood in it's life..i wonder where it is now? this brings back the memories of watching on cbc in black and white. the clean cut normal looking dude impressed me even at 10 years old. needless to say, my tele never did make those noises( no talent). what can one do but listen and dream...thnx for the upload
It was put on the market and sold recently by the Twelfth Fret in Toronto.
@@Kilgore40 do we know who owns it?
@@jeremyversusjazz A Canadian musician is all we know: www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-canadian-jazz-great-ed-bickers-guitar-sold-to-anonymous-buyer-for/#:~:text=Canadian%20jazz%20great%20Ed%20Bickert's%20guitar%20sold%20to%20anonymous%20buyer%20for%20US%2432%2C500,-Brad%20Wheeler&text=The%20guitar%20long%20owned%20and,US%2432%2C500%20and%20many%20questions.
@@Kilgore40 thnx! glad a musician bought it. presumably a jazzer. i was lucky to find most of ed’s OOP cd’s/albums in the early days of music downloading from various “nefarious" sites since none of it was available to purchase at that time--most still awol, actually. Shame. and so i actually own 320k rips/downloads of most if not all of the recorded output under his name as well as the desmond and other concord stuff et al…the streaming choices are slim..tho happy to see the record with lorne lofsky in lossless on apple music. Anyhow-easily one of THE single most under-appreciated jazz musician on the planet.
Ed Bickert, a master!!!
First heard way back in the 60s just an awesome musician.
Thanks so much for sharing this.
Ed Bickert playing Mobley! It doesn’t get much better than that. Terrific, thanks for uploading.
Ed Bickert- Captain Chill
It's so nice how Mister Bickert sound like... Right and easy😅. Greatest Master!
Magnificent !
These guys are cooooolllll!!!
Какая интересная публика в зале.Умные лица,внимательно слушают.Интересно, а сейчас в Канаде наберется полный зал таких красивых людей, которые так внимательно будут слушать эту музыку?
Beautiful! What a master!
It's such a shame he wasn't better known outside of Canada. In my opinion, he's one of the greatest jazz guitarists who ever lived. His sense of harmonic movement is absolutely stunning.
@@Kilgore40 Tout à fait d'accord avec vous, Garry. Sa science harmonique rappelle beaucoup celle de Jim Hall et si sa musique était moins aventureuse que celle de Hall, elle n'en était pas moins belle (sorry, easier in french).
@@paul-henriroux7400 Exactement.
Just love a real bass player..Masterful...
Thanks for sharing this!!
Brilliant trio
Maestro !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a great introduction. That lady knows what’s up.
Imagine if Don had gotten to play with Bill evans. I wonder what that would be like with him on bass but also with him on vibes or piano or drums
I imagine Don playing with Jim Hall is as close as we'll get to that.
don is such a monster. When I was watching this I imagined Ed being transported in time and Miles add him as a guitar player on Kind Of Blue. Blue in Green is my favourite jazz piece ever recorded. Bill was such a freaking genius.
Don Thompson: fantastic as always...
He's a monster on bass, vibes, and piano.
Dug him for years, glad to see some of his work resurfacing.
Verry cool, verry sophisticated !!!
Marvelous Band
Ahh, I think maybe Julian Lage must have taken a leaf out of Ed’s book, and not just preferring the Telecaster, but that sensitive dynamic tonal range
He looks like Peter Graves from mission impossible. I wonder if he he ever played the theme song of that series...
In the moment so beautiful present
너무 늦게 알아 버렸지만 가장 좋아하는 뮤지션이 되었다
내 것도.
Increíble ! 👏👏👏
Tele with a humbucker near neck and rosewood fingerboard, as opposed to single coil and maple definitely help get a great jazz tone. It also helps that Ed Bickert is playing. Nice!
Imo he could have had the exact same sound with a single coil ( and had) and a maple slab ny adjust one of the 50 variables that go into tone. Its his fingers and a dried out tele and his hands.
Looks like flatwounds too maybe? That helps!
@@blayneb7290 makes at best minimal difference. Have had both on my 66. Only difference was how the strings felt on my left hand.
@@golds04 Yeah, I have them on my Jag and it's at best a subtle difference (love the feel though). Let's face it, his tone is in his hands! Such a wonderful player!
@@golds04 in fact there's videos of him playing that tele with single coils, same sound
Incredible
The host has a beautiful speaking voice 😊
Beautiful melodic bass solo at approx 5:00!
So much mood in his playing, and i had no idea the tele could be so Jazzy.
@Evan Hodge I whole heartedly agree, but also I find tone to be the mood stimulator then the selected notes played take you on the journey.
@Evan Hodge : You can play most styles on a Telecaster, not even slightly-true of a hollow-body archtop guitar.
Deserves more public attention & acclaim.
Agreed. One of the greatest, in my opinion. I was fortunate to see him live several times.
So good!
One word.....COOL !
Non avevo mai sentito ancoraqudto gruppo
Thanks for sharing!
1:26 Funk in Deep Freeze (Hank Mobley, 1957)
8:46 One Morning in May (Hoagy Carmichael, 1933)
8:46 has similar changes to "Up Jumped Spring," and Ed quotes that tune, but it is actually Hoagy Carmichael's "One Morning in May." You can find it on Ed's album with Don Thompson, At the Garden Party.
@@Kilgore40Thanks! I was having trouble placing it, asked a jazz guitar forum, but got the wrong answer. Great little tune...at first I was thinking it had to be Rodgers and Hammerstein, because it has that sweet folk quality. I've got the Garden Party version, and versions by Bucky Pizzarelli and Carol Sloane. Maybe now it will stick in my brain.
@@zenobardot I initially thought it was "Up Jumped Spring" as well. Freddie Hubbard must have based his tune on "One Morning In May," turning it into a 3/4.
@@Kilgore40 I'm guessing Don Thompson might be responsible for the waltz arrangement of One Morning in May. Jim Hall and Don record basically the same arrangement on Hall's "Commitment" album in 1977. All the recordings I have of "One Morning" that don't feature Don are 4/4...the tune works great as a waltz, so kudos to whoever came up with the arrangement.
Interestingly, Don also recorded "Up Jumped Spring" with vocalist Diana Panton (whose music career he helped get off the ground) in 2017.
@@zenobardot I bet you're right.
Excelentes...
Listen to WAVE...Ed Bickert and Paul Desmond
New Ed!! Ty!!!
Most Awesome
Ed would of made a great James Bond. Certainly the coolest
Ed was an inspiring and truly one-of-a-kind musician. His beautiful, warm sound on guitar was not unlike Bill Evans' on piano. And Ed achieved that without finger-stretching chordal gymnastics as is evident in any videos of him playing. I think he discovered a polyrhythmic approach between chord and melody that elicited a strong overtone response on his guitar. So that a 2, 3, 4 or 5 single note melodic phrase is firstly picked. Then it has a reincarnation as an echo produced by an overtone of a sympathetically-vibrating chord that immediately proceeds and harmonically and rhythmically supports that phrase. This may explain how he gets such a big, rich, close-voicing sound with just easy 3 or 4 note jazz guitar chord fingerings. And his chords in turn enhance the tone of further single notes passages he undertakes and so forth. But returning to my previous, and some would say apples and oranges, comparison, I much preferred Ed's trio to Bill's. I could easily tap my foot and joyfully feel the groove listening to the Ed Bickert Trio. Whilst with the Bill Evans Trio, the groove is lost to over-complex, disjointed bass, drum and piano interplay. This I think just shows Ed Bickert's more balanced approach to music making. How wonderful that a 'mere' guitarist could have a jazz trio that is at the very least equal to the very best piano trios.
Sooo cool a jazz guy only played a tele!!
Damn 1997 and Paul had been in heaven already for like 20 years.
Why do most people that commented in here said they never heard of Ed Bickert before..?
He is definitely not as well known outside of Canada as he should be. Most of his playing was in Canada, and most often as a sideman. His recordings as a leader, though great, were on smaller labels and not widely distributed, I believe. If people outside of Canada know him, it's often only from his recordings with Paul Desmond. Such a shame. He was such a relaxed and masterful player with an amazing harmonic sense unlike any other. I was so fortunate to see him live many times.
Pause at (2:01). Ed certainly didn't baby his Telecaster.
What type of amp os he using?
Outstanding trio.
Ed is the bomb!!!!!!!!
I think it's a Polytone Mini-Brute. Ed used solid-state amps since the 1970s, most famously a Roland Cube. He also famously hated Fender tube amps for some reason. medias.audiofanzine.com/images/normal/polytone-mini-brute-ii-740660.jpg
Is that Ed hitting a clam at 1:46? First time I've ever heard that from the master.
Nope.
Was more about the music than the actual guitar.
I play a Artist tele with humbuckers but for some reason it doesn't play jazz it must be the wrong colour or something . 💓🎸. Beautiful playing., 👍.
Anyone know what he is using for a neck pickup? It looks like a Gibson-style humbucker with the pole pieces individually adjusted for a particular sound
I believe it is a Gibson Classic 57. Here's more info on the guitar: www.12fret.com/instruments/ed-bickerts-blonde-fender-telecaster-1965/
🔥
Interesting, uncommon tone/voice for a telecaster. But, then again, the right specific amp settings and proper "chops" can do anything, right?
I believe there's a video online of Bickert playing this Tele before the stock neck pickup was replaced by the humbucker, and the tone is still remarkably close to the warm, round tone for which he is famous.
Hey, guys! Someone nows how is the strings ' number, who he is using in The guitar?
There's a discussion of it here: groups.google.com/g/rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz/c/fCizjQoagqI?pli=1
Where is Don Thompson? Is Don still playing bass (upright or electric) ?
Not sure, but he's in his early '80s and I think he has retired.
Looks like Ed had thicker strings than usual that night or it’d been a while since the Tele was set up!
@Evan Hodge 2:00 - You telling me those don't look like a heavy gauge with stiff action? It's not a criticism or smart-assed remark. Some people are actually interested in this stuff.
Did Ed use flat wound strings?
Not with the Tele (he played an ES-175 early in his career). Somewhere, I have a list of his string gauges, which changed over time. I tried using them on my own Tele but, strangely, I didn't sound like Ed. 😉
@@Kilgore40 Do you know where Ed's telecaster ended up? It was sold through consignment at 12th fret in Toronto. There is video of Grant M talking about the guitar.
@@skippyhandleman1625 Reportedly purchased by a Canadian musician who intends to ensure that it is played. That's all I know.
Archetypal jazz player ; no surprise the lady of the beginning was a bit "emoustillée (French stuff, don't look for the meaning).