Guitars

I had a different opening for this blog post planned 20 minutes ago. That was before I found out that Les Paul had passed away. An inventor and true revolutionary who changed music forever.

I had the great fortune to hear Les Paul play live two years ago this month at his standing and standing room only Monday night Iridium Jazz Club set in NYC. Still a virtuoso in his 90s. Afterwards, I stood in the long line of fans to meet him and he spent several minutes talking to me, to the ire of everyone else. But he didn't care; he would have time for everyone. We talked music and life, and he was marvelous. I will cherish that moment forever. Check out the wonderful American Masters documentary, Les Paul: Chasing Sound, and celebrate the original electric guitar legend.

Which brings me, oddly enough, to what I had started to write about anyway: electric guitar legends. I attended a screening of the new documentary opening tomorrow, It Might Get Loud, at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. Director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) assembles three of the finest electric guitar masters from different musical generations - Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White - for interviews and an intimate joint conversation on their careers and lives with their guitars. It is a great treat to take this journey with them. I walked away with an admiration for all, and in particular, a greater appreciation for Jack White. My favorite scene is the opening moment when he builds a makeshift guitar before our eyes. I am definitely going to check out more music from this extraordinary talent.

Rest in peace, Les Paul, and thank you for making the world a lot more electric.