The Guitar Player
Astor GG520 (1963)

Album available as:-
(See For Miles SEECD35)

Graham established himself as one of the most innovative players in acoustic music with his 1963 debut, The Guitar Player. With this album, he became one of the first folk guitarists to fuse traditional virtuosity with cross-currents from contemporary jazz and blues. Accompanied by drummer Bobby Graham (a top British session man who played on many British Invasion rock records, including several by The Kinks), Davey invigorates pop and traditional standards, as well as compositions by Sonny Rollins, the Adderleys, and Ray Charles. Neither jazz nor folk, Graham displays eclectic bounce that was quite visionary for its time, and remains fresh today; in his subsequent 1960s recordings, he would branch out into Middle Eastern and psychedelic sounds as a natural extension of his experimental bent. As a significant bonus, the 1992 CD reissue of this album includes the three tracks from his rare 1962 EP, 3/4 A.D. One of these is the original version of "Anji," which was reworked by Simon & Garfunkel on one of their early albums; another features British blues-rock godfather Alexis Korner on second guitar.

- Richie Unterberger (AMG)

Track Listing:

1. Don't Stop the Carnival (Rollins) - 1:53
2. Sermonette (Adderley/Adderley) - 2:46
3. Take Five (Desmond) - 1:55
4. How Long, How Long Blues (Carr) - 2:25
5. Sunest Eyes (Edwards) - 1:53
6. Cry Me a River (Hamilton) - 2:17
7. The Ruby and the Pearl (Livingston) - 2:27
8. Buffalo (Dorham) - 2:17
9. Exodus (Gold) - 1:57
10. Yellow Bird (Luboff) - 2:20
11. Blues for Betty (Graham) - 3:28
12. Hallelujah, I Love Her So (Charles) - 1:55

Davy Graham – Guitar
Bobby Graham – Drums