i'm not sure how much i'll get from this book- i bought it because it's cheap. lots of chords in the arrangements but no tab so i think you'd have to be a pretty good reader to wade straight in. maybe that's a good thing though if you want to improve your reading skills and the arrangements are pretty simple once you get going. in general joe isn't really a complicated guitarist and you really get the feel of how he uses a few simple shapes to great effect. as far as i know these aren't transcriptions from recorded solos and they aren't really arrangements of the tunes, but solos on the form of the tunes

The playing is great. The material is cheesy, I suppose, from a jazzer's perspective; so if you like hard driving bebop or more modern stuff then I suppose you might not like it. Personally I think Martin's playing is fantastically tasteful and melodic, and on the whole I prefer his playing with a pick, as on this disc, to his brilliant solo fingerstyle stuff; he's one of the few guitarists around who doesn't always seem like he's got something to prove to everyone when he's taking a solo. Perhaps he's proved quite enough with his solo guitar albums.

This album is absolutely fantastic. Check it out if you like Brazilian stuff from the 60s.

It's basically just a book of licks over a few standard progressions, ii-V-I's etc. However, I think it stands apart from books that cover similar material because the patterns, on the whole, sound good. There's plenty of material here to keep you going for a while.

I bought this book years ago, when I was just starting to play. It started me playing jazz, and the first few pages were pretty useful, because they had pictures of lots of jazzy sounding chords. Anyhow, I sort of worked at the book for a bit but I remember things about it confused me. I recently found it again in my house and was surprised at how confusing it still really was. For example, it introduces terms like "vamp", "bridge" and rhythm changes with no explanation as to what they are. A lot of the examples actually don't sound that musical to me anyway, and when I've since heard Micky's recordings I'll be honest and say that he wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. I think teaching jazz has moved on a long way since this book was first published, but it might interest some readers, as much for being a historical curiosity as being a useful jazz tutor.

What a lovely record. The whole band are great. I remember a friend playing me a David Grisman jazz LP about 20 years ago and I thought it was brilliant but then kind of forgot about him. His mandolin playing has a kind of gypsy jazz flavour to it I suppose, or swing from the 30s anyway. Martin Taylor is fantastic on this album. He is more famous for playing solo fingerstyle jazz guitar, and he is perhaps the leading exponent at this in many people's eyes, but on this album he plays with a pick and I think he sounds absolutely beautiful. I suppose it's worth comparing his style to the hoards of Django stylists who treat every soloist as a technical showcase and have turned guitar playing into something akin to a sport (though a very enjoyable one I must admit). Martin, however, always puts the music first and on this album he never sounds like he has anything to prove.

I'm a professional jazz player and I've bought tons of books over the years in order to advance my playing. Most of the books I buy are of only limited interest or use. This is the best guitar book I've ever bought, the examples are at exactly the right level and sound nice immediately. I recommend this book to anyone interested in brazilian guitar and also to any jazz player who wants to make his or her latin playing a little more authentic.

I feel slightly awkward about giving a bad review, but I definitely don't think this book is for everyone. I don't think I've got anything from it and I don't think I will to be honest. To me it seems full of cod wisdom and attempts at wit without giving you much to go on. I understand that the other reviews are positive so it obviously hits the spot for some, but not for me I'm afraid. I'm a pro player myself so I don't think it's simply too advanced for me.

Cathryn's voice is absolutely stunning and her songs are perfect. If you want comparisons then musically I suppose I'm reminded a little of Bjork or Nick Drake, but I think such a comparison does Cathryn an injustice, and probably exposes my ignorance. Lyrically, her songs range from obscure to familiar, from bleak to triumphant, but they always feel intensely personal. Beautiful stories.