Jack Wilkins

Chord/ Melody Solos for Jazz Guitar. Cherry Lane Music
Arranged by Paul Pappas

Some very nice tunes in this Paul Pappas chord solo book. 15 fairly well know standards including Misty, Here’s That Rainy Day, Fly Me to the Moon, etc.
The arrangements are pretty much straight forward with some good moving lines and effective voicings. I would think that the book is geared to intermediate to advanced players. On occasion the voicings are pretty stretched out and other times they are very simple. Playing thru them, I wasn’t sure if the arrangements are meant to be played with a pick or fingers or a combination of both. The other point I felt was it would have been an asset to have a simple explanation of how Paul Pappas was thinking of the arrangements. For example in “Fly Me to the Moon”, there are so many substitute passing chords that one name won’t really explain it. What’s written is fine and very pleasing but a little talk would have worked well.
Aside from a few misspellings, this is a book that would be handy to have in your library. Also, the price is very agreeable.

Jack Wilkins 2005