There are so many guitarists I love and so many styles or guitar, it’s impossible for me to pick a top ten let alone a single player. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen so many of the great ones in this thread play live (SRV, Clapton, Gilmore solo and with Floyd, Paco when he played with Al Dimiola and John McLaughlin, Steve Morse with the Dregs and opening for the Al Dimiola show, classical great Christopher Parkening, Buddy Guy, BB King, Kenny Wayne Sheppard when he opened for BB, and I’ve been to at least a dozen Blues Fests in my hometown of Chicago, Mark Knopfler solo and Dire Straits, EVH, Larry Carlton, Carlos Montoya, Pete and The Who, Angus Young, Paul Gilbert, Jake E Lee, and so many more. Unlike sports, I can’t rank musicians/artists.
In recent years I’ve become a bit obsessed with Gypsy Jazz which means I’m a huge Django fan of course. One of my favorite players is Jimmy Rosenberg. Jimmy is a gypsy from The Netherlands, a former child prodigy who is a master of improvising. In the video clip, he breaks a string and is having trouble with a guitar he borrowed for the show. He switches to his electric and lays down some beautiful melodic stuff played in Jimmy’s 1000 mile and hour style. Please note, in gypsy guitar there are only down strokes on single note playing. Watch his right hand, it makes the playing even more mind boggling. I love the little two note chords he throws in like Django. Jimmy has suffered from mental health and substance problems on and off for the past fifteen years but he is a special player if you like gypsy music. There is a documentary about him that is free on YouTube and is worth watching. Some great playing in the doc but it also explains the tragic up and down career he has had. This clip is pure Jimmy.
One more of Jimmy showing off with Frank Vignolo in a hotel in NYC after his Carnegie hall performance. Impromptu playing with drummer using the yellow pages as a snare.
