Women Guitar Players

It is often said that guitars are instruments for guys. However, this is only said by people who don't know what they're talking about. In honor of women guitar players, I'll give capsule summaries about a few of my favorites here. This list is not comprehensive by any means, and the order is random. I'll add more on the subject at a later time.

Joni Mitchell. A master of altered tunings, hero of the singer-songwriter world, and simply a brilliant musician, Mitchell's folk music was never limited by stock song forms or harmonies. Live, her concerts included improvisation with jazz great Jaco Pastorius. Mitchell has also let jazz come to the forefront on a number of albums, winning a Grammy for "best jazz vocal album" (2001) to go along with "Female Vocalist of the Year" in 1976. Her playing is a wonder to hear, and her vocals are just as outstanding. Check out Mingus, Hejira, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Court and Spark, Ladies of the Canyon and all the rest. Herbie Hancock received a Grammy for his interpretations of Joni's music on the new CD, River: the joni letters. Oh, and she paints, too!

Rory Block. Fingerstyle blues specialist Rory Block helps keep traditional Delta blues alive, and writes modern blues tunes of her own. A powerful performer, she is also captured well in the recording studio and has won 5 W C Handy awards for top blues albums. I have a number of signed CD's from a concert at The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis. Check out compilation Best Blues and Originals, live album Mama's Blues and all of the others. Block has also provided a number of instructional DVDs on Delta blues, including two on the guitar styles of Robert Johnson.

Emily Remler. Tragically lost at a young age, Emily Remler was a brilliant jazz guitarist as this New York Times feature will attest (you may need to register with the NYT for free to see the article). I still remember the bell-like clarity of her harmonics on "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise" that she played upstairs at The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, now many years ago. Thanks to recordings, we have the benefit of Remler's instruction on Bebop and Swing and Advanced Jazz and Latin Improvisation, and well as her albums of course. My favorites include This is Me and East to Wes, both of which I have on vinyl. Also check out Firefly.

Susan Tedeschi. A powerful, fiery electric blues player, Berklee School of Music-trained Tedeschi has received four Grammy nominations, the latest for contemporary blues album Hope and Desire, on Verve. Tedeschi played at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival with a horde of other top players. Her performance DVD and CD Live from Austin Texas
is great.

Emmylou Harris. A singer-songwriter, her vocals have graced countless albums headlined by others. However, you want to make sure to listen to Harris' own albums/CDs: featuring her songwriting more and more, they are masterpieces of musical beauty. Give Red Dirt Girl a listen, for example, along with Stumble into Grace and Cowgirl's Prayer. From the latter album, "Prayer in Open D" is an all-time favorite.

Finally, check out the compilation Blues Guitar Women to see a much broader view of women and the guitar.