Thanks for posting! I’ve been listening to Joe since 1960. I’m 81 now and still live his sound, though I use only fingers, no picks. Enjoyed this session! Thanks again!
I studied under a former student of Vince Bredice named Jorge Garcia in South Florida in the early 90s. Jorge was the finest guitar player I had ever encountered. We studied several Joe Diorios’ solos. I didn’t get them that much at the time but having come back to serious playing many years later, I started incorporating some of the Diorio licks in my soloing tool box. Very innovative and unique sounds. Those practice sessions were a real workout but so many of the phrases are indelible in my memory.
I went to the LA GIT in 1978 when I was 18 and met Howard Roberts although I had met him at a seminar when I was 12. I also went to a club to see Joe Diiorio and some other guy play for no one. I never went to GIT but years later I took lessons from one of Joe's roommates, Don Neary. Those were the days! I never became a great Jazz player but did play Red Lions and Holiday Inns a few years and develop some professional level chops. I learned to play pretty well thanks to Don, many other instructors and a few years of 5 sets a night back when nightclubs were full at least three days a week and still open with live music the other 3! At the time I didn't know how lucky I was playing music 6 nights a week! Compare to now we were SO lucky.
I think Joe played very light and at the same time used all the techniques which we are still learning today, like sweep picking, hybrid picking, pick slanting and left hand roll overs.
Like most guitarists, Joe played several guitars. He indeed played an L4CES, but it’s clearly an ES175 in the video clip. The neck pickup butts right up against the end of the fingerboard on an L4, whereby there is around an inch or so between the neck pickup and the fingerboard on a 175.
Joe played an L-4CES for a while (the thumbnail has that picture) however he actually played his 1968 ES-175 for most of his career, including the years I studied with him
I first heard Joe in 1976 when I bought an LP by Ira Sullivan. Joe was criminally underrated musician with a unique harmonic take on the guitar. His solo guitar work is inventive but accessible. A musician who influenced many through his recordings and especially his work at GIT. If you want get your fingers on some of Joe's solo output you can check out Francois LeDuc's transcription RU-vid channel.
