Page 120 - Classics Issue

Making its frst appearance in 1949, the Gibson ES175 presented itself as being a versatile acoustic piece. Favored by Jazz players it quickly became an icon, being one of the frst to sport the Florentine cut away, its gorgeous mahogany body is surprising narrow when played. Unplugged or hooked up to an amp the ES175 sings a beautiful note that resonated with every item in the room, no matter what the acoustics may be. Famous ES175 players include the likes of jazz musicians Joe Pass and Pat Metheny and on the other end of the spectrum, Steve Howe and even Keith Richards were able to cultivate the guitars sound for rock and roll. Like many, it hadn‘t been too long since I’d been to see the Oscar Award winning La La Land. My girlfriend and I went to see a late night showing and we were so moved we could barely speak as we cruised home in my MGB. She, being an aspiring actress herself and I being a musician of my own ends really saw ourselves in the characters, and their bitter sweet lives but most importantly, La La Land opened my eyes to jazz. So when I was next around Soho in London, I took a wander over to Gibson Brands and coincidently they handed me this 2017 ES175, a guitar from the genre that frankly I knew nothing about. When they popped open the case I was suddenly in awe of what I could see. This guitar didn‘t look factory fresh, instead, it had a patina, a character even, nostalgic vibes resonated from its warm tobacco burst; I fipped the case shut and packed it up for home. The moment I got home, just after midnight, I opened up the case and there she was, waiting, as I lifted this piece of art out of the case I had this feeling I’ve experienced only twice; the frst, was in Denmark street London where I met my frst true guitar love, a Gretch Duo Jet, or as I know her - Alice; the Second, was at the 2016 Gibson Memphis launch, where I came into contact with an almost satin red ES335 and fell for its smooth comfortable neck and curves and once again the patina of its fnish. This guitar didn‘t feel like an instrument I’d been lent to test, it instantly felt like an extension of myself. I started to practice jazz scales and learnt a few common chords, but what felt so natural on this guitar, was an adaption of Johnny Mathis’s Misty. The 175’s tone gave a whole new dimension to the song, with La La Land in mind I walked from Misty into City of Stars - which to me at least, was one of the movies most enchanting soundtracks, especially, when adapted to the guitar. A few days went by and I found myself unable to simply play a song, pause and play another, for some reason, my exploration of jazz playing gave me the desire to just merge every song I played into the next. I would never consider myself to be an outstanding guitarist, I had a few lessons in classical guitar as a boy but at the age of 11, who the hell wants to play classical? I eventually gave up lessons and learnt to play by ear, I learnt to improvise, teaching myself by playing mostly punk songs and rock n roll. This guitar brought back all the memories of me exploring new sounds, exploring percussive playing, discovering the blues… And here I was playing what to me, was jazz, something I never, ever, even contemplated playing before. Now I just can’t get enough. Quoting Sebastian in La La Land “You could just write your own rules… write something that‘s as interesting as you are.” Similarly to blues, Jazz never sounds the same twice, you shouldn‘t listen to jazz, you should feel it, you should witness it, and when you play it, you shouldn‘t recite it, you should compose it, you should become it. I may not have an orthodox knowledge of the intimate history of jazz, but I don‘t think you need it; Why stare into the past, when Jazz is about the emotion of the present. My Experience with the Memphis ES175 will forever be in my heart never before have I found such enjoyment in playing for only myself to hear.The Gibson Memphis ES 175 sends Ethan Blake-Jones in a new musical direction.IT‘S A JAZZ THING...Words & Image Ethan Blake-Jones120