Paul: On the Metheney archtop issue: I stand
corrected, but the sound on many of the works had
enough alteration so that there wasn't much trace of
the archtop, hence my mistake. Again, I think Metheney
is a great player, and that he has an impressive body
of work, and that he is in the "pantheon" and has had
lots of imitators. I just criticized the sound. But
again, I grant that it was a successful move career
wise. It was also innovative at the time. People were
just beginning to explore the electronic sounds one
could get from guitars.
On the Diorio influence: I know Metheney heard Diorio
early on, and I can hear the similarities (backed by
charts/transcriptions), so I conclude there was
influence. In most academic fora, that is pretty much
enough to do the trick. Best of all, of course, would
be Metheney himself (although artists' statements
aren't always reliable). I wonder if he has ever
discussed Diorio. Anyone know? Not that the Diorio
influence is all there is to Metheney, but I do hear
some of it in there. By the way, I happen to like the
wide interval stuff, so none of this is meant
critically. Nor is the supposition that Metheney had
influences any criticism. I was just tracing back the
theory behind some of his playing.
Randy Groves
=====
J. Randall Groves, Ph.D. ("Rando")
Professor of Humanities
Ferris State University
groves@...
bebopguitar@...
