Many of you may not have heard of Nick Colionne. He’s a smooth jazz guitarist that plays in a similar style to that of Norman Brown and George Benson. Check him out at www.nickcolionne.com. But I would say that in some ways, he’s much more influenced by Wes Montgomery than Norman.
I recently stumbled across an excellent set of 6 videos filmed by Gibson where Nick does a clinic demonstrating the Epiphone Broadway. I wasn’t sure if he was promoting the Epiphone Broadway ($799) or the Epiphone Broadway Elitist ($1999). I figure it’s the lower priced version since he doesn’t say the word “elitist” when he’s discussing the guitar.
He plays Epiphone guitars exclusively and his goal here is to get you interested in purchasing the guitar but he does a lot of good playing. On some of the songs he plays, you can just close your eyes and it sounds like you’re listening to Wes. In fact, he plays the Wes Montgomery version of “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face”.
Definitely listen to the whole thing because there many VERY good tidbits of information about how he approaches playing jazz guitar dispersed throughout all the videos. There’s also a question and answer session that’s very good. If you listen closely and really think about some of the things he’s saying, you’ll learn a lot. A very wise man indeed.
P.S., This should further prove that smooth jazz guitarists CAN and DO play straight-ahead jazz and do it well!
Enjoy,
Leon
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
YES.
I love this kind of guitar, just the guitar and all is done. Good music, good guy, what else.
I like it.
Thanx.
Hey Leon,
thanks for the post. You should let everyone know about the smooth jazz cruises. I think Nick and Norman are scheduled for the 2009 trip. I haven’t yet been able to afford it but one day:) Take care! here’s the link
http://www.smoothjazzcruise.com/
-Gary
Thanks for the videos and the blog, Leon.
I believe he plays Elitist model, you can tell by the edge of the neck, which is next to the pickup. It is curly on Elitist.
Nick, I’ve heard you on the radio for years but I always thought you were from Italy or something with that last name. It’s good to see another brotha deep into jazz guitar. You can count me in as a fan and I will keep my ears open for you and dig a little deeper into your background. Peace.