Hank Garland/Jimmy Bryant Unsung Heroes

Dave A. Burley · Post by **Dave A. Burley** » 21 Jun 2003 12:48 am

The thread about 'which guitar player influenced you most' had only a few mentions of the great Hank Garland and the great Jimmy Bryant.
In Dallas, Tx. when we recorded the Cavalcade Of Guitars,I questioned the jazz guitarists about which musicians in the country field that they admired.
Of course, Chet was at the top of the list followed. Buddy Emmons, Jimmy Bryant and Hank Garland were also unanimous choices.
Howard Roberts also talked about Thumbs Carlisle. It seems that he had jammed with Thumbs at some time or another.
I have mentioned before and I will mention again that most of the steel players that did the jamfest/seminars we had back in the seventies did them because they wanted to pick the brain of Jimmy Bryant.
If you ever had the chance to listen to Jimmy in person, you could hear him compose licks that the steel guitar players would pick up on.
What a fabulous guitar player.
Am I wrong in saying that much of the jazz world from the fifties and sixties considered Hank Garland the best ever?
Dave Burley

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 21 Jun 2003 12:53 am

Yup. Try "Guitar Take-off" with JB and Speedy West.

Jeeeezus....

Bob Watson · Post by **Bob Watson** » 25 Jun 2003 8:18 pm

It seems that I have heard that Hank Garland was a major influence on George Benson. I also remember reading that the album he recorded in N.Y.C. blew everyone away at the time. He was truly the cream of the crop, right up there with Johnny Smith, Herb Ellis etc.

Reece Anderson · Post by **Reece Anderson** » 26 Jun 2003 3:13 am

Dave B....I agree with you in that Hank Garland and Jimmy Bryant had a tremendous musical impact. I had the priviledge of playing with Jimmy, and I will be forever grateful for having had that opportunity.

Not long ago I listened to Hank Garlands "Jazz Winds From A New Direction", and in my opinion its one of the greatest jazz guitar recordings of all time.

Dr. Hugh Jeffreys · Post by **Dr. Hugh Jeffreys** » 26 Jun 2003 4:56 am

As George Benson said on Larry King in the recent past: Tal Farlow was his major influence. Dave Brubeck has said that Hank was one of the best. HJ

Dave A. Burley · Post by **Dave A. Burley** » 26 Jun 2003 11:51 pm

Reece...If you read this....I don't have your personal email address.
I need pictures from the Cavalcade Of Guitars recording that we did in Dallas in 1976.
What I really would like is a picture of all the musicians on stage at the same time during the two different recording segments of the night.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave A. Burley

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 27 Jun 2003 2:35 am

I see or talk to Hank from time to time, as he lives about an hour away from me. He is still doing fine and loves to talk music, although his memory lets him down occasionally. To me, he was the greatest. And, Hugh, I read once a long time ago (I don't remember where) that George Benson said Hank was a great inspirarion to him.

Pat Dawson · Post by **Pat Dawson** » 27 Jun 2003 11:57 am

My brother turned me on to some Jimmy Bryant with Speedy West music and it is unbelievable. And I thought electric guitar playing belonged to the 60's and 70's. Ha! I've been researching country music and found Hank Garland and his Sugar Footers. I understand he almost lost his life in a car wreck in 1961. Had to learn to play all over again. I haven't heard his music yet, but I will.

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 27 Jun 2003 2:18 pm

Jimmy and Speedy, together or seperate were one of a kind! Glad Speedy is still with us. I was lucky one day while buying tickets for a Com. Cody show at the Palomino Club, to see an older fellow sitting by the stage with his tele which he then started to play the most beautiful and exciting guitar playing possible, not wild, just awesome. The workers stopped working and the few of us there enjoyed about 15 min. of music we all no doubt still remember. When he stopped, most of us gave a little ovation, to which he replyed with a smile, "oh, never ya'll mind". While I didn't know it was Jimmy, I later found a post card with the same man standing next to the famous Vox Mobile and my heart nearly stopped. Now with a name to match the face, I started an endless search for Bryant's material, which lead to Speedy and the world has never been the same for me since. Sadly, I didn't make it back that nite to see Jimmy play, and he was soon gone for good, but those 15 min. will live forever in my mind. And it sure feels good to hear that Hank is hanging in there too. Thanx for bringing it all up Dave, these guys need to be remembered for the trails they blazed and making our ears so happy!

Jim Eaton · Post by **Jim Eaton** » 27 Jun 2003 2:29 pm

Ron, I was there that day at the Palamino and your right, it was just the best 15 min's of great playing I'd heard in a long time. And until right now, I didn't have a clue who that was!!!!!!
JE:-)>

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 27 Jun 2003 5:39 pm

Jim, I'd give anything to still have Jimmy and the Palomino around, those were pretty much the last of the REAL good old days. Hard to find anything close now. At least the ol' Commander is still givin us some fun! Yeehaw!

Dave A. Burley · Post by **Dave A. Burley** » 27 Jun 2003 11:15 pm

You know, Jimmys real talent was never captured by the recording machines, that I know of.
Most of the stuff we hear by him is the lightning fast, blow your mind, country style picking.
Jimmy was a great chord stylist but it was lost in the Speedy and Jimmy recordings.
Jimmy really showed his stuff when we did the jamfests with Maurice, Buddy, Doug and Julian.
No doubt, Jimmy made his name with the recordings of him and Speedy, but, I keep wondering if there is anything out there by Jimmy that is totally in the field of jazz.
I do have the recordings we made in the mid-seventies that really shows Jimmy off, but, did he do anything besides the few chicken picking type albums?
Thanks,
Dave Burley

Reece Anderson · Post by **Reece Anderson** » 28 Jun 2003 4:37 am

Dave B....Let me know on this thread if you don't receive my personal email.

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 28 Jun 2003 5:17 am

Dave,
Jimmy did a couple of solo albums,sad to say, I didn't get any of them,also he did a few singles on fiddle.The man was also a super killer fiddle player.
What would he have done to PSG had he taken to it?

Bill

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Bill Ford[This message was edited by Bill Ford on 28 June 2003 at 06:19 AM.]

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 28 Jun 2003 7:17 am

Bryant hardly got any product out under his name after 1967.
His Las Vegas home studio sides from the late 1960s, unissued, the 1974 reunion session of Jimmy and Speedy sat in the can until 1990.

I don't think he ever forgave the record buying public for not buying his albums and the critics for not loving him.
To be fair, most of his 1966-67 recordings suffer from lack of ideas, but never poor playing, sure there's plenty of breakneck stuff, some pretty good jazz stuff (but mostly lame standards), and of course wild chicken-pickin, but some of the ideas were so lame. The album he cut with Red Rhodes was barely okay, and I'm a fan of both of these guys. (as a side note, the Palomino Club band backed them on that 1967 album).

I personally dig the West & Bryant material and prefer it over the Texas Troubs any ol' day. A matter of taste of course, I'd never say one was better than the other.

Sadly most of Jimmy's late 1960s projects and early 1970s stuff remained in the can, basically a '73 single with Noel Boggs and the superjam style albums that he appeared on.
Most people insist there's heaps of cool stuff sitting in vaults, and they'd be folks who were actually attending or recording, so they'd know better than me.
There is talk of Bryant's son issuing a 1973 jam on CD, and Sundazed are releasing a three CD box set of his 1960s recordings.
That would be an actual US based label, not German, British or otherwise.
Bryant was also featured with and without Speedy West on at least two volumes of a West Coast country series about five years ago and over the last decade and a half Bryant and West have been featured on at least four single CD comps and a box set.
That would be a Tennesse Ernie Ford and a Cliffie Stone set on Jasmine, a Speedy West set on Jasmine, and two Razor & Tie CDs dedicated to West & Bryant. I forget who put out the West & Bryant box set though.

There's currently a bio out on Jimmy (via his sis, so beware it's a little skimpy on the career) and possibly a far better one in the works.

And his 1949 recordings(well, two sides) for the Modern label have surfaced this month on the various artists 'Swingbillies' comp from Ace Records out of the UK.

If that's obscurity, I'll have some thanks.

Smiley Roberts · Post by **Smiley Roberts** » 28 Jun 2003 1:05 pm

Rose Drake has the last album they recorded together in the late 70's with Pete Drake producing entitled "For The Last Time." They wrote nine of the ten songs on this album which was originally released on Step One Records. Rose has this available on CD for $12.98 or Cassette for $10.98 plus $2.00 shipping. It can be ordered from Drake Music Group, P.O. Box 40945, Nashville Tn. 37204.

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Rich Paton · Post by **Rich Paton** » 29 Jun 2003 8:04 am

Rhino had (has?) a Cd called "LEGENDS of GUITAR-Country Vol.2", with a great Bryant cut of "Little Rock Getaway". A lot of other great tunes also on the CD. Rhino # R2 70723, ca. 1991[This message was edited by Rich Paton on 29 June 2003 at 09:06 AM.]

Lee Jeffriess · Post by **Lee Jeffriess** » 29 Jun 2003 8:47 pm

I once heard a tape of jimmy giving Herb ellis, a run for his money.
It was a 10 min version of steel gtr rag.
Herbs playing was great, jimmys was staggering.
The source was John bryant, who is a great guy, and understandibly very proud of his dad.
But check this out, a buddy of Jouquins, Jerry compton, told me that there was a Murhpey and Bryant combo, that played around socal for about a year.
As you can imagine that sent my head spinning, jerry said they did the speedy and jimmy stuff, and pop jazz standards.
A couple of years after being told that, Dick allen the luthier told me he had seen them on occasion.
Also Mitch drum, who i think is a member, shows me a promo pic of the band.
I asked Murph about the band, but he kind of down played it, i guess jimmy had the guys fly out to Georgia for some big money shows that didnt happen, and that was the end of it.
You know some nights i loose sleep thinking about what those guys sounded like.
Lee

Dave A. Burley · Post by **Dave A. Burley** » 3 Jul 2003 10:16 pm

There is one regret that I have concerning the Cavalcade Of Guitars. Jimmy Bryant and Thumbs Carlisle should both have been included.
Thumbs wanted to do it but his manager at the time insisted that I take care of, not only Thumbs, but the managers expenses which included airfare and motel accomodations.
There wasn't any money in the budget for it. In fact.....I didn't even have a budget. I just winged it from day to day.
At the time of that concert and recording, for some reason Jimmy was not able to make the concert and he really wanted to. What a great time that would have been to expose the great jazz guitar players to the great Jimmy Bryant.
Thanks,
Dave A. Burley

Boomer · Post by **Boomer** » 7 Jul 2003 10:32 am

Speedy told me a story about the time when he and Jimmy were in Washington, D.C. (just before Jimmy passed away). They went to a jazz club to hear a piano, bass, drums trio. The piano player saw them come in and invited Jimmy up to play a set ON THE PIANO.
In the thirty-five or forty some odd years Speedy had known Jimmy, the only time Speedy had heard Jimmy touch a piano was to either get an E to tune his guitar or an A for his fiddle. But that night Jimmy Bryant proceeded to get up on stage and play the darnest jazz piano Speedy had ever heard. Somehow I'm not surprised. Best, Boomer

Wayne Baker · Post by **Wayne Baker** » 8 Jul 2003 6:16 pm

I saw Jimmy Bryant's sister today in a music store in Valdosta Ga. She had one of his old guitars. She was getting it fixed. It had fallen at a hall of fame in Atlanta and sufferd some damage. She has written a book about Jimmy Bryant's life. I backed her up on my steel not to long ago at the Hahira Methodest Church. It was a great experience. This is her website. www.lorenebryantepps.com/jimmy.htm

Thanks,
Wayne Baker

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 24 Jul 2003 1:41 am

Has anyone checked out Fenders new Artist Series guitar?
2003 Jimmy Bryant Telecaster

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 24 Jul 2003 1:53 pm

It always disappointed me that Jimmy Bryant wasn't recognized as much as I felt he should have been. IMHO, he was clearly the best player of his era. His execution, timing, and speed were about as flawless as you could get.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 26 Jul 2003 6:30 pm

The new bio on Jimmy by his sister is okay from an early years view, but I know a couple of people who have read it, we've compared notes and there's a lot of mistakes and simplifications over Bryant's career.

I'm sure a lot of love went into the book, but Jimmy didn't play with the Sons Of The Pioneers as a members as claimed and there's no details of who played on his solo albums.
Not a mention of how it came about that Bryant cut a '67 album with guitarist Glenn Keener, lots of stuff is omitted and a lot of heresay is reprinted again and again.
A fellow I know who's a Bryant historian compared notes after reading the book, and it got a less than favourable review.