Who is it? Eddie Hazel from Funkadelic? Ernie Isley from the Isley Brothers? Prince? Jessie? Dez? Michael Hampton from Funkadelic? Vernon Reid from Living Colour? Drac from Slave? Spacey T from Total Eclipse? Me? I vote 4 myself and u would 2, but u just don't know it yet. {smile} So, who's your choice?

Even though this comes up often, It's still hard to pick one,
but I guess I'd have to say Eddie Hazel


Now after that? ( I know nobody asked, but...)Can't say best, but favorites, in this order:

Jean Paul Bourelly

Ernie Isley

Jimi Hazel (24-7 Spyz)

Prince

Michael Hampton

Spacey T

Ronnie Drayton( Family Stand, Defunkt, Sakamoto, etc.)

Nile Rodgers

Dez Dickerson

Hiram Bullock

Sonny Sharrock (RIP)
[This message was edited Mon Jun 21 23:55:28 2004 by paligap]

paligap said:

paligap said:

4 me, I can't pick just one because I love Eddie Hazel and Ernie Isley equally. They have both been huge influences on my playing along with Prince. But Hazel and Isley I say would tie for 1st place. I love Nile Rodgers and Dez. Some 1 who I didn't mention and should have is Roger Troutman. Check out Zapp's "Itchin'for your twitch" and "Heartbreaker" as far as leads go. U can't get with Jessie huh? I think Jessie is very underated. Jean Paul is good. Can't get with Jimi Hazel though. I think his name has something 2 with it. Come up with your own shit. That's some shit Andre 3000 would do.

blackguitaristz said:

Oh, I can definitely get with Jesse...And you're right - he IS very underrated. But these are my top /favorites - Bourelly is my current all around favorite( Check out " Rock the Cathartic Spirits" and " Blackadelic Blu" ) and , all though I agree, it's a horrible choice for a name, Jimi Hazel is a bad MF....Jesse would probably come after Sharrock on my list...

The Only One I'm Not feelin' is Vernon Reid...Don't know why..I know he's supposed to be the man, an' all...He just doesn't knock me out... ...maybe I'm missing something...
[This message was edited Mon Jun 21 13:42:29 2004 by paligap]

paligap said:

I'VE NEVER BEEN CRAZY ABOUT VERNON'S PLAYING EITHER. "BLACKADELIC BLU" IS COLDBLOODED. I MET BLACKBIRD A FEW TIMES. REALLY, BESIDES EDDIE HAZEL, I THINK HE'S THE BEST OUT OF P-FUNK. STILL CAN'T GET WITH JIMI HAZEL. I HAVE A COUPLE OF 24-7 SPIES ALBUMS. NOPE!

...Oh, and you're right about Ernie Isley.. Actually I think He's someone who's VERY underrated!!..he never seems to make the top guitarists' lists , but he can go toe to toe with any of 'em ...I keep thinking about the Hall of Fame jam a few years back, when Carlos Santana came up to Ernie after a Hendrix Jam, slapped him on the back and said "Hey man - Great Playing!!" I keep thinking, man, it's about time somebody besides just Isley Brothers fans gave this dude some recognition!
[This message was edited Mon Jun 21 13:52:11 2004 by paligap]

paligap said:

IN GUITAR WORLD FROM AROUND 94 I THINK, THEY HAD AN ARTICLE ON THE 70'S. GUITAR PLAYERS, GUITARS, PEDALS, ETC. THEY MENTIONED HAZEL AND ISLEY, WHICH BLEW MY MIND. I WAS SURPRISED THAT THEY DID THAT. I WAS GLAD AS WELL. BUT YEAH, ISLEY IS VERY UNDERRATED. I THINK PEOPLE THOUGHT HE WAS THE SHIT THERE 4 AWILE IN THE 70'S BECAUSE OF "SUMMER BREEZE". PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS HENDRIX ON THAT CUT.

Hey guys, don't forget Eric Gales. Back in the early nineties, he was the s**t. Even appeared on Arsenio Hall a couple of times. He was only around 16 at the time. Santana even called him his favorite new guitarist on the scene. I saw him in NYC in 2001, when he was promoting his solo album - he was awesome live!

I also saw Roger Troutman in '96 at the World Trade Center - they used to have r&b Fridays' midday concerts. I wished he would've played more guitar - still, the brutha was BAAAAD!!!

Ernie Isley is the man - "Hope you feel better, love" is one of my favorite "Ernie moments".

Jesse and Dezz are awesome, too

Greg Howe hands down.

1) Prince
2) Vernon Reid
3) Eddie Hazel

JesseDezz said:

Yeah, Eric's a bad boy !!




It's funny-- Roger came along at a time in Pop culture when keyboards/synths were dominating the music scene. I wonder if he had come out earlier(like the mid seventies) if his guitar playing would have been featured a lot more than it was...




Also MY favorite Ernie Moment!!

manray10 said:

True!! Even before P-funk!! I remember Blackbird Mcknight going way back to Herbie Hancock's Thrust Album in 1974

Definitely a Monster player!!

Another Player I used to dig was Kendall Jones of Fishbone, at least, until he flipped out, joined a cult and dissappeared-- I know that they eventually replaced him with John Bigham, Then Spacey T...anybody have any idea what happened to "Special K"?
[This message was edited Mon Jun 21 23:52:38 2004 by paligap]

BlaqueKnight said:

You just made me think of this guy!! (Tony Macalpine)

Man, how many shredders did the 80's produce?

I am curious to what he's doing now, the boy had some skillz. I sure his licks are a bit more on point since that all of that shredding went out of style.

You know, I can't even answer this question. What's up with separating guitarist by color? Style and genre I understand but color????

paligap said:[quote] Another Player I used to dig was Kendall Jones of Fishbone, at least, until he flipped out, joined a cult and dissappeared-- I know that they eventually replaced him with John Bigham, Then Spacey T...anybody have any idea what happened to "Special K"?

Kendall didn't knock me out as a guitarist, but he was hell of a songwriter!! Him and Chris Dowd!! When they left that was the begining of Bone's decline.

sinisterpentatonic said:

It's Not so Much separating them; it's a chance to discuss the guys that rarely get mentioned-- I think it's just that Black rock/funk guitarists , outside of Hendrix and Prince, rarely get discussed or even heard,-- and, outside of Blues guitarists like BB King and Buddy Guy, They are rarely, if ever, mentioned in The guitar magazines and polls--on the other hand, they are CERTAINLY never talked about in Black Music publications and definitely won't get on "Urban" Radio--they are stuck in a kind of No Man's Land --They've been historically unwelcome in the "White" Rock establishment, and at the same time largely ignored in the Black music community, where the guitar is usually seen as intrusive unless it's of the George Benson/Norman Brown, smoothed out Jazz style--no offense to George or Norm, by the way; It's just that anything louder than that gets historically shunned or ignored in Black Radio/Media(the exeptions on R&B stations seem to be Prince's records and Ernie Isley on "Voyage to Atlantis")--but it's that old stereotype: Too "Black" for the so -called "White" music world , too Rock for the so-called "Black" music world...instead of stradling both, they get accepted by neither...

I got a chance to talk to Jean Paul Bourelly, who's from Chicago , but usually records and tours throughout Europe and Japan, and asked him if he would ever do more shows here in the US. He said, laughing, "What Can I say, Man? A brother playin' this kinda guitar can't get no love in America..."

I hope that isn't always the case...


"Who says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock?..." - Funkadelic

[This message was edited Tue Jun 22 11:20:54 2004 by paligap]

JesseDezz said:

u know, when I was writing this thread, I tried my best 2 remember Eric Gales's name, because I did think of him. I saw him on Arsenio's also. He's cool. I did mention Roger.

paligap said:

Man, that's so beautifully put. Excellent quote. I've experienced this ever since I started playing guitar, and when my time comes, hopefully I can put some of this "too black, too white" stuff out in the ocean, and instead of denying that I 'm influenced by Hendrix and all the other brothers {Hazel. Isley, etc} I'll hip others who don't even know who these cats are and break down some of these HUGE sterotypes that people need 2 have.

blackguitaristz said:




That Definitely NEEDS to Happen!! School 'em!!

sinisterpentatonic said:

Greg Howe is far more than a shredder. Neo-clasical guitarist, like Tony for sure, but he has gone more in the direction of jazz fusion. His lastest CD is "Extraction". Vic Wooten on bass, Dennis Chambers on drums...its on FIRE! Tony is a badass, too. He's great on keys, bass and guitar too. Tony is a great all around musician. Last project I know with Tony was when he played guitar on tour with Steve Vai.
Greg's versatility on guitar is amazing and his new record shows a lot of that.

BlaqueKnight said:

YEAH, A GIRL I KNOW SAW STEVE VAI IN CONCERT IN VEGAS. SHE WAS TELLING ME ABOUT TONY AND ASKED IF I KNEW ABOUT HIM. I SAID OF COURSE. NEVER SEEN TONY LIVE THOUGH. GONNA HAVE 2 CHECK OUT THAT GREG HOWE CD. DENNIS CHAMBERS IS COLDBLOODED ON DRUMS.

blackguitaristz said:

In this order:

1.Ernie Isley
2.Prince

silentflute said:

Prince isn't even in the same league as the guys we're speaking on. Ernie is one of my favorites, but Greg has him beat.

Carlos Alomar.

(c'mon, you KNEW i was gonna say that. )

blackguitaristz said:

Check out Steve Vai Live at the Astoria London on DVD. Tony is killing! Steve is too, though. You also get to see Tony on keys a lot during that show. He shows how bad he really is. He's almost as good of a pianist as a guitar player. Brotha shows the meaning of the term "world class musician". Its a damn good show to view. You should be able to rent it, but I guarentee you'll end up wanting to buy it!
[This message was edited Tue Jun 22 13:04:31 2004 by BlaqueKnight]

BlaqueKnight said:

I'LL CHECK IT OUT. THANX.

I will have to agree with Ernie Isley, his lead work on Summer Breeze, Voyage To Atlantis, That Lady, Ohio/Machine Gun, Make Me Say It Again, among others is simply amazing. Moreover his acoustic and rhythm work on Brown Eyed Girl, Footsteps In The Dark, Harvest For The World, Lay Lady Lay and Fire and Rain is outstanding as well. I would also like to add Bobby Womack to this list. Womack was a preeminent soul/funk/rock guitarist in the 60's and 1970's. A legendary session musician who worked with the likes of Sly Stone and Janis Joplin. His work on Stone's There's A Riot Goin On is legendary and his rhythm work on his own tracks Across 110th Street, Thats The Way I Feel About Cha', Medley/Close To You,etc. is some of the more impassioned guitar work every laid to tape. Womack has a distinctive style that has been emulated in all genres of music. Unfortunately, he rarely gets recognized for his talent. I highly recommend his Communication album. Honorable mention, the Late Great Roger Troutman, I saw that brotha rip it up on guitar shortly before his death. He was a great musician and he really brought it in the live setting.
[This message was edited Tue Jun 22 23:57:14 2004 by DorothyParkerWasCool]

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

GOOD POST. I AGREE WITH U. BOBBY WOMACK DID SOME EXCELLENT WORK AND A GOOD SONGWRITER AND VOCALIST AS WELL. ONE OF MY ALLTIME FAVE CUTS BY ANYONE IS "HARRY HIPPY" AND "A WOMAN'S GOT TO HAVE IT" BY WOMACK. I HAVE A FEW OF HIS ALBUMS. HE WENT ALL THE WAY BACK WITH PLAYING WITH THE GREAT SAM COOKE. AND THE UNCREDITED STUFF HE DID WITH ONE OF SLY'S BEST ALBUMS"THERE'S A RIOT".

does Foley count?