A most enigmatic guitar player


This is a puzzle to me. I am talking about REGGIE LUCAS, who performed with Miles Davis in his (to me one of the best) album "Pengaea". To me, his solo on "Godwana" (and also on "Zimbabwe"  - the album consists of these two long tracks) is the most exciting, amazing and mysterious solo guitar session in a jazz performance - if this album can be called jazz at all, but I would gladly count it as a jazz album. John McLaughlin and Mike Stern, one of my favorite (jazz)  guitarists, also played with Miles Davis. I love how they played with Miles (Mike Stern's solo on Jean Pierre is excellent and motivating). I also love the solo albums of these two guys. But very curiously, I consider REGGIE LUCAS solos on Pengaea far more superior. But wait, Lucas has no distinguished solo albums (to the best of my knowledge) and (it is not a joke) he played with Madonna! I am confused, how this guy played so amazingly on Pengaea (perhaps, only Miles and  Reggie could have explained - none of them alive...)? 

niodari

@jmalen123 , ​I meant enigmatic not that in the sense of what they play but how they are as musicians. Zappa's improvisations are enjoyable indeed, I think Back is a more popular standard player. 

 

@stuartk , I consider Luca's solos superior as they "touch" my soul deeper (subjectively). The other guitar players I mentioned in my post are more "analytic" (one may not agree that John Mclaughlin is analytic, but still (except his Mahavishnu years)  he relies on traditional roots. Miles created something completely new. 

If Lucas, as a guitar player was not that outstanding,  was Miles playing on the guitar with Lucas hands? I wonder how Jimi Page or Hendrix would play these sessions instead of Lucas (perhaps, not better). The mystery comes from Miles. For me, he is the best (jazz) musician. I would not like to say that traditional jazz is superficial, but the music created by Miles in his electric years, to me, is still deeper. It is not just the music, something wider. I hate when Miles Davis is compared with Coltrain, they existed in different dimensions. Coltrain is nice, sometimes spiritual, Davis is enormously wide and enigmatic. He created music during more  than 40 years and also generations of outstanding musicians! Bill Evans  lasted for less than 15 years, Jimi Hendrix was so creative but for only 2-3 years! Unfortunately, these guys, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and many others  are not alive.  Thank God, Jimi Page, Robert Plant and others still motivate us with their existence (at least)...  

Quentin Warren: rhythm guitarist with Jimmy Smith. Only Freddie Green did it better.

Grant Green: when clean, he was a genius.

Pangaea is an album you listen to in complete darkness after you smoked a good joint. 

@onhwy61 , thanks for the link.

@tkhill , Jimmy Smith used to play with Kenny Barrel, both my favorite jazz musicians (together with Milk Jackson). 

@audphile1 , you may listen to it in a complete darkness but not necessarily so, and  listening to it may substitute "smoking joint" (a similar effect without harming your health (:). I particularly like this album because it is not a traditional jazz album neither it is a standard rock. And the solo guitar session with Lucas is especially exiting for me because the way how a rock guitar is naturally and ingeneously is  included into a jazz performance. 

@tkhill , Grant Green was outstanding, also Wes Montgomery. And you can also consider the next generation including Joe Pass and Jim Hall.