Tom, try the Kenny Burrell station on Pandora, it seems to suit all moods and fits into every situation. I listen to it all the time.
This is a good example of why Pandora is great. I never really listened to or cared much about jazz guitarists. Thoe that i played with and had records of never really did much for me. The instrument always sounded awkward to me, just to hard to make it sound smooth playing bop. Then I heard some soulful grooves by Burrell and created a new station from it, for cool party music, not for serious jazz listening. But the more I listened to the station, the more technically accomplished I learned Burrell really is. I finally heard his record with Trane last week, now he is one of my most interesting artists. If you use Pandora as intended, by creating new stations when you hear a new artist you like, and rating the tracks as much as you can, it really pays off in discovering new music.
Rich,
I'll have to give that a try. I listen to Pandora a lot at work and you're right, it has lead me to a lot of good stuff I might have overlooked before. (If you like James Taylor search on his son , Ben Taylor. He has done some nice work with his Dad & Mom (Carly Simon). Another nice Pandora find.
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I have had a George Benson station set up for quite some time now and it pulls in a lot of the same jazz guitar artists, but i will have to set one up around Kenny Burrell. While they are both talented jazz guitarists, they do seem to take their music in slightly different directions. Not better or worse, just different (variety is good.)