Pedal Steel in Jazz

Duncan Wood · Post by **Duncan Wood** » 1 Feb 2023 10:33 am

Hello! I have a recording session coming up for a somewhat traditional jazz record. I'm fairly familiar with jazz history overall, but I don't have much direction on the contribution of pedal steel to more mainstream jazz. I know about the Buddy Emmons album, and Reece Anderson's Steel With Brass. These are more pedal steel focused, as a feature. Instead, I'm hoping to find some more "straight ahead" records with pedal steel as a part of the arrangements. Do any experts here have good recommendations to study the role of PSG in comping or filling in jazz arrangements? The best examples I've found are in various Bill Frisell records, e.g. Greg Leisz on the album Good Dog, Happy Man, although they aren't exactly "straight ahead" either.

Any ideas are welcome!

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 1 Feb 2023 11:18 am

Listen to Jim Cohen, Mike Neer , Rick Schmidt,

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 2 Feb 2023 10:54 am

Check out the Buddy Emmons and Ray Pennington stuff.

Dave Easley is a strong post bop player.

Bill Cunningham · Post by **Bill Cunningham** » 2 Feb 2023 8:51 pm

If you can find an album called Potpourri/Contrasts In Jazz it includes Maurice. It is a post bop quintet with extended solos of 4-6 choruses where the soloists stretch out. I have it digitized and can send a couple of cuts. It was recorded in the early 1970’s. It’s the kind of modal jazz that’s hard to hum, at least for me.

Douglas Schuch · Post by **Douglas Schuch** » 3 Feb 2023 4:12 am

I'd suggest starting with Daniel Jones' playing with his band Standard Deviations. He mostly plays the leads, but does play behind his guitar player at times. "Samba For Orpheus" is a good one to start with as the guitar takes a fairly long lead at about 1:18 -

https://youtu.be/48EQ3JS0wDY

John Heinrich, much like Daniel Jones, tends to play the leads, but in "Lady Bird" he comps some behind the piano solo:

https://youtu.be/WfTrjo6fUKo

"Eastern Swing" by Buck Reid has a bit more steel guitar comping than the ones above, and a very cool and unusual approach, I think:

https://youtu.be/X9PaTnTdgKg

As already mentioned, Jim Cohen is a good one to on his "Pedal Steel Jazz" album.

Those are the best examples I know of.

Gary Spaeth · Post by **Gary Spaeth** » 3 Feb 2023 4:48 am

Doug Jernigan has jazz albums and instruction at digndoug.com

Duncan Wood · Post by **Duncan Wood** » 6 Feb 2023 11:38 am

Thanks for these suggestions y'all - I'm working through them! Really enjoyed Dave Easley.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 6 Feb 2023 3:05 pm

Duncan, you might also enjoy rummaging around www.steelguitarjazz.com, a website I created years ago but has changed hands a few times since then. Lotsa videos to watch and listen to. Enjoy.
Jim

Ron Funk · Post by **Ron Funk** » 11 Feb 2023 12:03 am

Like Gary Spaeth indicated above, Doug Jernigan has released some great jazz oriented CDs.

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 13 Feb 2023 6:37 am

Douglas Schuch wrote:I'd suggest starting with Daniel Jones' playing with his band Standard Deviations. He mostly plays the leads, but does play behind his guitar player at times. "Samba For Orpheus" is a good one to start with as the guitar takes a fairly long lead at about 1:18 -

https://youtu.be/48EQ3JS0wDY

John Heinrich, much like Daniel Jones, tends to play the leads, but in "Lady Bird" he comps some behind the piano solo:

https://youtu.be/WfTrjo6fUKo

"Eastern Swing" by Buck Reid has a bit more steel guitar comping than the ones above, and a very cool and unusual approach, I think:

https://youtu.be/X9PaTnTdgKg

As already mentioned, Jim Cohen is a good one to on his "Pedal Steel Jazz" album.

Those are the best examples I know of.

Dan/Daniel Jones is probably one of the most “current” and up to date interpretation of non-Country and even non-Swing influenced Jazz consolidation of what has been done in Jazz on Steel Guitar, so much that it is difficult to point to a clear steel guitar influence in particular. It would SEEM that just like Buddy Emmons, he derives more ideas and approaches from Jazz and Bebop Greats on Sax and other instruments, which in my opinion is the right way to “move on”.

So, to answer the OP, while historically steel guitarsts seem to have developped their styles off the discoveries proposed by BE in his early years of success, I would suggest NOT looking over my shoulders so much for steel guitarist’s influences, but to the founders of Jazz and Bebop on their instruments, like Winds, Guitars and even Keys, like BE did.

… JD.
… JD