Chet Atkins was fabulous, I learned of him a few years ago. I'm 66. How I would like to have seen and listened to him live. He seems like he was a nice man. Which is wonderful.
What a monster! The fact that he was humble enough to explore all the various styles to make himself a better guitarist makes him one of the greatest in my book. Seeing him go from shredding it on classical then moving to a rag was just great. Nice post!
This is about as good as it gets. Chet's touch, tone and dynamics make this a flawless performance. This really showcases how great a guitarist he was.
Chet was a guitar player's guitar player. He played the way every guitar player wanted to play, if only they could. A genius with an unsurpassed, God-given talent. A salt of the earth human being - Many careers were created by this kindly, gentleman's gentleman. He was a mentor to scores of artists - not enough space to mention them here.
Excellente, extraordinaire, magnifiqique -- there is no excess of superlatives to describe this. Chet (god rest his soul) is STILL an inspiration to as many aspiring guitarists as anyone who's ever graced the guitar field.
Thats a beautiful arrangement!! You gotta listen to all 1400 of Chet's tunes and try to play them yourself to get a real understanding of how talented he really was.
@ernlay Sorry mate, this is the best version of Autumn Leaves I have ever heard. I literally brought a tear to my eye. Each to his own, and everyone has a right to an opinion, but honestly I can't see what's not to like here.
@ernlay every song is for everybody! in best case you do a song in your own way. mr. atikins did that! so it's good he played it, otherwise nobody had ever play it like that!
@MrCarlHaynes I must admit, If I had heard this rendition years ago and had not heard other versions, I would would have thought this was the best, even now. That said, I still prefer other versions that not quite so bouncy.
Can't think of any all guitar arrangements right now. But I like the arrangements behind Nat King Cole and also Eva Cassidy's. Anyway, it's just opinion.
@micmacnz I listened to it again. I had forgotten about my comment, and some of the flack I received because of it. But, I will stick to my words. He may have played it for all his life. I still do not care for his rendition of this song. However, I do know that he was one of the best guitarists.
I may be in the minority here---but how I wish Chet played the entire piece flamenco style. That first minute is just so beautiful--I get such chills when I hear those flamenco passages!! When he transitions to a more "country" style it's a letdown for me. That's not saying the "country" part is bad, not at all!! It's just that the flamenco is so breathtaking that I didn't want it to end!! (I don't even know if Joe Pass ever played a passage that beautifully---and boy THAT is saying something!!)
interesting observation... I've always thought Travis picking had much more in common with stride piano than it did with traditional country music. at any rate I Like it and think it swings way harder than any traditional "jazz" version I've heard...
The answer may be 5 years late, but maybe someone might wanna know. This song is on "Solo Flights", but it's not the same version, it's missing the flamenco intro on the disc. But it's a great disc, you might want to check it out.
Chet atkins is a personal hero, but see if you can find Joe Pass doing his version on youtube. It is the gold standard. Chets's arrangement is OK but it is certainly "countried up." Stanley Jordan and others also cover this one nicely.
while the one complaint about chet atkins i have is that he played that same bass line for most of his work. this is one exception that is still brilliant to say the least.
