Joe Pass Biography

Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Passalaqua, January 13, 1929, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, died May 23, 1994, Los Angeles, California, USA), was a jazz guitar player and virtuoso.

One of the greatest solo jazz artists of all time, Joe Pass ranks as one of the best guitar players of all time not only for his knowledge of the instrument and technical ability, but his ability to compose and improvise.

His early days were spent playing with bands fronted by greats such as Tony Pastor and Charlie Barnet, honing his guitar skills and learning the music business. Unfortunately, Pass picked up some bad habits from the other jazz musicians, and quickly fell victim to a long stint of drug abuse.

Most of the 1950s for Pass were spent in relative obscurity trying to support his drug habit. After his stay at a since discredited drug rehabilitation program, Synanon healing, Pass quickly proved himself as an undisputable genius on the guitar. He then spent the next 3 decades playing with all-time jazz greats such as vocal monster Ella Fitzgerald and often played with piano great Oscar Peterson, thanks to Norman Granz, the keen producer of Verve records.

Although Pass is often overlooked by the mainstream public, the jazz community embraces his genius and he is now recognized as one of the most influential and greatest all-time jazz guitar players. His solo album "Virtuoso" is a must-have for any serious jazz collector, and all his works will continue to gain notoriety as jazz moves into the 21st century.


Discography:

Solo album titles

Two For The Road
Joy Spring
Virtuoso #3
Tudo Bem!
What Is There To Say: Joe Pass Solo Guitar
Virtuoso
Resonance
Eximious
Northsea Lights
For Django
Unforgettable
Joe's Blues
CheckMate
Blues Dues-Live At Long Beach City College
Joe Pass In Hamburg
Guitar Virtuoso [Box]
Six-String Santa
At The Montreux Jazz Festival 1975
Nuages (Live At Yoshi's, Vol. 2)
Better Days
The Best Of Joe Pass
We'll Be Together Again
Duets
Ira, George, And Joe
Songs For Ellen
Joe Pass Quartet Live At Yoshi's
My Song
Chops
Virtuoso Live!
Virtuoso #4
Finally: Live In Stockholm
Best Of Joe Pass
Appassionato
I Remember Charlie Parker
Quadrant
Summer Nights
Montreux '77
Blues For Fred
One For My Baby
University Of Akron Concert
Portraits Of Duke Ellington
Virtuoso #2
Whitestone
Joe Pass almost didn't make it as a musician due to his early battle with drug addiction. But following a successful rehab at Synanon and a recording session with fellow recovered musicians entitled Sounds of Synanon, the guitarist was signed by Dick Bock to the Pacific Jazz label. Pass made several albums as a leader and sideman for Bock, though work started drying up in the late 1960s as rock dominated the music marketplace.

But it was when Joe Pass met impressario Norman Granz that the guitarist's career took off. Granz signed him to his new Pablo label in the early 1970s and recorded him extensively, as a soloist (especially the oustanding Virtuoso series), in duos, trios and as a part of many studio and concert jam sessions. By this time Pass had developed such a virtuoso technique on his instrument that he was considered the “Art Tatum of the guitar” by many critics. Pass especially excelled in his many recordings with piano great Oscar Peterson, as the two men were energized by the stimulation of playing with a fellow master, often at a ridiculous tempo.

Strangely, Joe Pass was rarely happy with his recordings, telling liner note writer Ken Dryden that “I always feel like I could have done better.” Following a single session as a leader for Telarc, Pass made one final CD with Roy Clark (of Hee Haw fame): Roy Clark & Joe Pass Play Hank Williams, though a number of previously unissued collections of his recordings would appear after his passing. Joe Pass died of liver cancer on May 23, 1994 in Los Angeles.