Hello Sophie,

Good discussion! A couple of questions come to mind. What is jazz? People from different generations might define it differently although IMHO, you are not going to go wrong with Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery or the others you mention.

The really good jazz players, no matter what their instrument, can take a simple, simple song and "jazz it up", as it were. The songs of (probably) the first great American songwriter, Stephen Foster from the mid 1800's were done in an album by Dave Brubeck in the most jazzed up way you could imagine. I'm sure Stephen Foster never dreamed his songs could sound the way Brubeck did them. You should hear Brubeck's version of "Camptown Races."

Another thought comes to mind--the jazz players of today got their material and inspiration from the jazz players of yesterday. I highly recommend Diana Krall. I realize she plays the piano--second to none by the way--and is IMHO a great jazz vocalist as well. In a great deal of her later stuff, she carries 3 other pieces with her, bass, drums and guitar. Listen to Anthony Wilson play guitar--he is quite a player. I highly recommend her CD, "Live in Paris."

On some of her albums, Diana does songs from those who inspired her such as Nat King Cole. Probably an easy song of her's (his) to learn and a good place to start would be to learn the song "Frim Fram Sauce", a jazz standard. Check it out.

Also, find some easy jazz songs you like and try to copy them. That's what I did--that's what a lot of players try to do.

You might also find some help from these listings:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=245
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=235
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=238

I hope this information helps.

Best wishes,

Bobby Howe