Shown here with his 1923 National Duolian, Hughes is a deft fingerpicker. On West, he reveals his skills in "The Dreamer," which gives off modern-day Nick Drake vibes.
“I realized, holy shit. I've never done this before." Jedd Hughes is still buzzed about not only rocking a packed house at Nashville's 3rd and Lindsley but doing so with … a string quintet. The added textures augmented Hughes' working band with lush soundscapes that gave the tunes a bit of a movie soundtrack vibe. “It worked beautifully," says Hughes. “Everybody just tamed their velocity a bit and I had to be really conscious of sticking to the arrangements."
Those arrangements on his new album West don't directly deal with the long journey Hughes took from the Australian countryside to Nashville, but you can hear the work he put into it. “Thinking About You" is a jaunty pop-rock tune buoyed by a bouncy string arrangement that meshes with drummer Matt Chamberlain's propulsive beat. Out of nowhere, Hughes appears with an introspective fuzzed-out solo that brings to mind a subdued Billy Gibbons lead.
Each of the tracks on West not only tell a story but have a story behind them. A late-night acid trip in Vegas gave inspiration to the instrumental title track, while the magic of an afternoon collaboration with singer/songwriter Sarah Buxton on “God Washed Up" was so special, Hughes decided to keep the “work tape" recorded shortly after the song was finished. (Listen closely and you might even hear Buxton's newborn in the background.)
Even Hughes is amazed this music made it out into the world. It had been 15 years since his last solo album, 2004's Transcontinental, and although he saw minor success, Hughes nearly became another music industry statistic. He was passed around a few times as various labels merged with each other leaving him quite disillusioned with the whole idea of being an artist. Hell, there's an entire album with Tom Petty drummer Steve Ferrone that has yet to see the light of day.
Watch the video for “Animal Eyes," from Jedd Hughes' new album, West.
But the material on West comes from a different place. Collaborations with Parker Millsap and mentors Guy Clark and Rodney Crowell gave Hughes the time to allow the music to come to him. “Getting to this point kept me up at night," he says, “just trying to figure out how to write and record music that felt like me." We caught up with Hughes while on tour with Vince Gill to discuss his love of bluegrass music, tweed amps, and why you should never give up on yourself.
When you moved from Australia to rural Texas for college, how different was the culture for you?
I'm from a tiny town outside of Adelaide, called Quorn, which is just a little farming town of 800 people. Funnily enough, flying into Lubbock and looking out the window I was thinking, “This is not that dissimilar from the desert in South Australia." I'll never forget that. I told Guy Clark this story—we actually wrote a song about it—where I landed in Lubbock and saw a guy with a machine gun strapped to his chest at the airport, a security guy. I was like, whoa, we don't see that at home.
What were the big lessons you took away from your college experience?
It was the first time I really got to play bluegrass music in an ensemble. I had some friends that played bluegrass in Australia, but it's not a very popular thing down there. When I went to college, I was really looking forward to meeting other people my age that were as passionate about playing bluegrass, country, and whatever else, as I was. All I did for a year and a half was just play music. They had some great audio engineering programs and I had a real curiosity about recording. So, I threw myself into those classes and the ensemble classes. Alan Munde, who I knew was a great banjo player, taught me a lot. He had a really great background in jazz guitar and introduced me to a lot of players I hadn't heard of, like Jimmy Raney, Lenny Breau, and Ted Greene. He showed me what was going on inside of those chords. It was like, “Oh my god, there's a whole other planet in there."
In Australia, who were some of the early country guitarists you listened to?
I listened to Albert Lee a lot. Then there was Danny Gatton, Vince [Gill], and Clarence White. It was a bit harder to get the Clarence White stuff, but I found bits and pieces. If it sounded like a Telecaster and country guitar, I would geek out.
As you were discovering all this new music, was there a point where everything just clicked?
Yeah, the first time I got that thrill was playing the intro and solo for “Folsom Prison Blues." I was probably like eight years old and my dad and I sat down and figured it out. He helped me stop the tape, hum the notes, and try to find them on the fretboard. He really taught me how to listen like that. After that I thought, “Holy shit. This is fun."
You left college early. What prompted that?
In college I met Terry McBride, who came down from Nashville. He was a friend of one of the other teachers at the school, Steve Williams, and Steve, unbeknownst to me, called Terry and told him about me. Terry was getting into producing and he came down to the college to give a workshop. We hit it off and became mates and stayed in touch. He asked what I was going to do after college, and I said my plan was to either go to Austin or Nashville. I didn't know anyone in Austin, and Terry was the only person I knew in Nashville. Terry offered to write songs with me and introduce me to other writers. I was hoping to get a gig to pay some bills, so I thought that might be as good of a start as any.
TIDBIT: Famed studio drummer Matt Chamberlain contributed to several tracks on West. “Both 'Animal Eyes' and 'The Dreamer' were tracked live with just me and Matt," says Hughes.
At that point did you think you were going to make a living more as a songwriter than a guitarist?
I got signed to MCA when I moved to Nashville, and my goal when I came here from Australia was to be an artist like Eric Clapton, or Mark Knopfler, or Vince Gill. I wanted to write my own songs, play my own guitar solos, and get out there and sing them with a kick-ass band. I got a record deal. I mean, everything was just falling into place, man. It was amazing. Even down to the fact that all my favorite artists were on MCA.
Then it just came crashing down. I lost my record deal, my label merged with another label, and suddenly I was like, “Oh yeah. Reality." I had to survive by leaning on my skill set, which was being able to play guitar and write songs. Rodney Crowell took me under his wing. We kept writing songs and playing shows, and I got another record deal—this time with Capitol. I was really excited about that because I had some good friends working there. I made a record and Steve Ferrone flew in the play drums on it. It was his first session in Nashville, and he was playing on my record. But it never even came out. It got caught up in a bunch of political bullshit and I was just totally disheartened. For all I know, it could have been in that big fire in L.A.
After that fell through, did you take time to get your head straight before diving into another record?
A good 10 years to be honest. I was pretty disillusioned and disenchanted with trying to get my own music out. I just didn't know how to do it. I didn't know how to do it independently, and I was just tired. I was burnt out. I was giving everything to this process and feeling like I was getting nowhere. So, I decided to go play guitar for people and I threw myself into the session world. I was getting called more and more to work on sessions. I just thought at least most of these records are going to come out. At least I'll get to hear my guitar solo every now and then.
Jedd Hughes was first drawn to the guitar through Tele masters Clarence White, Danny Gatton, and his future employer, Vince Gill. “If it sounded like a Telecaster and country guitar, I would geek out," says Hughes. Photo by Libby Danforth
Did that keep you busy or did you still write songs on the side?
I just threw myself into the session trench because it felt safe and I could work with musicians I loved as people. They were my friends and there was a real camaraderie in the sessions, and I loved that. For three or four years, I was just working sessions every week and playing on records. It wasn't until Gary Paczosa, of Sugar Hill Records, called me up and said, “Would you come and write some songs with Sarah Jarosz?" That's when I really got back into writing. Eventually we won a Grammy for a song we wrote. And once we did that, I thought I could make my way back into my own music again. We did that for a year. And then I moved back to Nashville from L.A. with my wife and our brand-new son. About 18 months after that, I started working on this record.
Do you feel like you're a disciplined songwriter, or does it take having something on the calendar to get you into writing mode?
I'm disciplined in the fact that I'm always writing. It's a whole other discipline to make yourself sit down and say, “I got to come up with a body of work, or come up with a record," and give yourself a target and deadlines. That's a different discipline. You say to yourself “I know I'm tired, but it's 10 o'clock at night and I got two more hours. I could sit here in this chair and whittle away at this lyric."
Did you write the songs on West specifically for this album? Or were they nuggets you had lying around?
Some of them were old seeds like “Hollywood," which is one of the songs I wrote with Guy Clark years ago. I've been playing it forever. It was the second song we ever wrote together, and I always just loved playing that song. But most of the record, I'd say 85 percent of it, is stuff I just made myself sit down and write because I had to make a record.
I have to ask you about the solo on “Thinking About You." Where did that sound come from?
That's an old Guyatone fuzz—I've got it right here in front of me. It's called a Crazy Face. It's a really early one with this beautiful Hammerite green Fuzz Face-looking cover. I used that along with my '57 Tele through a Supro 1620 combo. It took me a couple of hours to get it right because I was trying to get this very specific thing, and getting the fuzz to react the right way, as you know, is kind of a journey. They are the most temperamental thing in the world. But I eventually got it and I felt pretty good about it. I didn't labor over that solo at all, man. I tried to get it really quick because I didn't want it to be too technical or anything. I was just more after the attitude.
Guitars
1992 De Gruchy Cutaway Exp
De Gruchy 45 Style D
Santa Cruz Tony Rice
1978 Takamine nylon string
1957 Fender Telecaster
1958 Danelectro U2
1962 Epiphone Casino
1964 Teisco Sharkfin K2-L
Jeff Senn Model One
1979 Greco EGF800 LP
1967 Hofner 500/1 bass
1966 Fender P bass
Amps
1959 Fender tweed Deluxe
1962 Supro 1620t
1959 Supro 1690t
Ebo Amps Del Rio
Effects
1978 Electro-Harmonix Memory Man
Guyatone Crazy Face
Durham Electronics Sex Drive
JHS Mike Campbell Calhoun
VFE Old School Tremolo
Empress Echosystem
Pioneer DJ mixer
Seymour Duncan KTG-1
The acoustic tone on “The Dreamer" is unique.
That's actually my first guitar—I got it when I was 8 years old. It was made by a luthier in Adelaide named Bryan De Gruchy. It's made of Australian blackwood and it has this really sharp cutaway. “West" has this crazy-high guitar part that you can only play on a cutaway. It's impossible to even play it on a regular dreadnought. I've tried. I got a million miles on that guitar.
It sounds like you really pieced this record together in layers.
Yeah, on “Killer" a lot of the guitar parts, pretty much all of them, I built by just fooling around with a loop. I just cut real drums, bass, and keys to the demo, and then kept all of the ambient guitar stuff. I always feel like I'm recording right up to the last minute, even while I'm mixing. You're never going to get it again the same way. I've talked at length about it with [producer] Jay Joyce and other engineers and producers. If you have it on the demo and you have the multitracks, you can always just make that stuff work, and I tried to do that as much as I could.
How did you get those textural guitar sounds on “Animal Eyes"?
I played a Jeff Senn Model One through a blackface Deluxe and a VFE Old School Tremolo. I recorded that during the live tracking with Matt [Chamberlain]. There might have been another electric that I added after the fact. I think there's one on the right speaker that's more heavily distorted. I had all intentions of re-recording it, but once I got home, I felt there was something about the way it feels with the drums that I probably shouldn't mess with, so we just added strings and I played some bass on it.
Was the string quartet the plan from the beginning?
I wanted it to be part of the record. After I finished writing “Animal Eyes," I was really interested to hear how strings would sound on it because I felt that could be a cool, dark treatment. I sent it and “The Dreamer" to [composer] Jordan Lehning with really no direction whatsoever. I got to the studio on the tracking day and heard the string arrangement the first time when they played it. I was like, “Oh my god. You totally get this." He was on the same page of painting, you know, the dark canvas, and understanding the major and minor relationship of that song. I felt like he knocked it out of the park.
Jedd Hughes is a bluegrass kid at heart. “In high school I was totally immersed in Tony Rice and Bryan Sutton," says Hughes. That love motivated him to move to Texas and study bluegrass guitar in college. While in his native Australia, he befriended luthier Bryan De Gruchy and acquired this 45 Style D. Hughes now owns several guitars built by the late De Gruchy.
It sounds like West was both creatively and logistically quite the process.
Yeah, because I'm always working on music and writing. After things went south of few times with record deals when I first moved to Nashville, I felt like I was going to put that side of my creativity away for a while because it didn't seem to be panning out. I was having an easier time just working with other people on their records and writing and touring with others.
But ultimately, I figured out what was really keeping me up at night. It was the fact that I needed to figure out how to make my own musical statement. Something that felt genuine to me and something that felt fulfilling and interesting musically. I had to really make myself sit down and write these songs and work on them, both lyrically and sonically, and come up with a recipe to showcase them. I think I did that.
Armed with his De Gruchy 45 Style D, Jedd Hughes picks an intricate fingerstyle pattern on “The Dreamer" from West. This stripped-down version puts the focus squarely on Hughes' A-list chops, which have led him to pick with everyone from Sarah Jarosz and Ryan Bingham to Vince Gill and Rodney Crowell.
- Brent Mason ›
- Vince Gill: Song Slinger ›
- Liza Jane - Vince Gill, Jedd Hughes ›
- Twang 101: How to Solo over “Folsom Prison Blues” - Premier Guitar ›
- Take a Tour of Session Guitarist Jed Hughes' Gear ›
Last year, Taylor Guitars capped its 50th Anniversary by introducing a new guitar collection celebrating the contributions of co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug to the guitar world. The Legacy Collection revives five of Bob Taylor’s classic acoustic models, curated by the legendary luthier and innovator himself. “To imagine that we’re doing guitars that harken to our past, our present and our future all at the same time,” Bob says, “I really like that.”
In developing the collection, Bob preserved the essence of his originals while integrating performance and playability upgrades introduced during his tenure as designer-in-chief. “It’s an up-to-date version of what those guitars would be,” Bob explains, “but with the same sound.”
Visually, these guitars feel classic—clean, understated and unmistakably Taylor. While Bob’s original aesthetic preferences are showcased in his Legacy models, the nod to the past runs deeper than trade dress.
From his earliest builds, Bob favored slim-profile necks because he found them easier to play. That preference set a design precedent that established Taylor’s reputation for smooth-playing, comfortable necks. Legacy models feature slim mahogany necks built with Taylor's patented New Technology (NT) design. “My first neck was a bolted-on neck but not an NT neck,” Bob says. “These are NT necks because it’s a better neck.” Introduced in 1999, the NT neck allowed for unprecedented micro-adjustability while offering a consistent, hand-friendly Taylor playing experience.
What makes this collection unique within the Taylor line is Bob’s use of his X-bracing architecture, favoring his time-tested internal voicing framework over more recent Taylor bracing innovations to evoke a distinctive tone profile. Since Andy Powers—Taylor’s current Chief Guitar Designer, President and CEO—debuted his patented V-Class bracing in 2018, V-Class has become a staple in Taylor’s premium-performance guitars. Still, Bob’s X-bracing pattern produces a richly textured sound with pleasing volume, balance and clarity that long defined the Taylor voice. All Legacy models feature LR Baggs VTC Element electronics, which Bob says “harkens back to those days.”
The team at Taylor thought the best way to demonstrate the sound of the Legacy guitars was to ask Andy Powers, Bob’s successor, to play them. A world-class luthier and musician, Andy has spent the past 14 years leading Taylor’s guitar innovation. In addition to V-Class bracing, his contributions include the Grand Pacific body style, the ultra-refined Builder’s Edition Collection, and most recently, the stunning Gold Label Collection.
Below you’ll find a series of videos that feature Powers playing each Legacy model along with information about the guitars.
Legacy 800 Series Models
First launched in 1975, the 800 Series was Taylor’s first official guitar series. Today, it remains home to some of the brand’s most acclaimed instruments, including the flagship 814ce, Builder’s Edition 814ce and new Gold Label 814e.
The Legacy 800 Series features the 810e Dreadnought and two Jumbos: the 6-string 815e and 12-string 855e. Each model serves up a refined version of the Dreadnought and Jumbo body shapes Bob inherited from Sam Radding—the original owner of the American Dream music shop where Bob and Kurt first met. “I was making my guitars in the molds that Sam had made at American Dream,” Bob recalls. “There was a Jumbo and a Dreadnought. That’s all we had.”
All three Legacy 800 Series guitars feature one of Bob’s favorite tonewood combos. Solid Indian rosewood back and sides are paired with a Sitka spruce top, yielding warm lows, clear trebles and a scooped midrange.
Aesthetic appointments include a three-ring abalone rosette, mother-of-pearl Large Diamond inlays, white binding around the body and fretboard, and Bob’s “straight-ear” peghead design. Both Jumbo models also showcase a mustache-style ebony bridge—a nod to Bob’s early Jumbo builds.
Legacy 810e
The 810 Dreadnought holds a special place in Bob Taylor’s heart. “My first 810, the one I made for myself, was a thrilling guitar for me to make,” he says. “It’s the one and only guitar I played. It didn’t matter how many guitars we made at Taylor, that’s the one I took out and played.” The Legacy 810e brings back that bold, room-filling Dreadnought voice along with the easy playability expected from a Taylor.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 810e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 855e
Taylor’s first 12-strings found an audience in 1970s Los Angeles. “I was making guitars that would find their way to McCabe’s in Santa Monica and Westwood Music,” Bob says, “and these guitars were easy to play. Twelve-strings were a popular sound in that music. It was a modern country/folk/rock music genre that was accepting our guitars because they were easy to play. They also liked the sound of them because our guitars were easier to record.” The Legacy 855e, with its resonant Jumbo body, slim neck and gorgeous octave sparkle, carries that tradition forward.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 855e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 815e
The Legacy 815e revives Taylor’s original Jumbo 6-string, delivering a big, lush sound with beautifully blooming overtones.
Legacy Grand Auditoriums
In the early 1990s, Bob Taylor heard a consistent refrain from dealers: “Not everybody wants a dreadnought guitar anymore.” Players were asking for something with comparable volume but different proportions—something more comfortable, yet still powerful. This feedback inspired Bob to design a new body style with more elegant curves, more accommodating proportions and a balanced tonal response. The result was the Grand Auditorium, which Taylor introduced in 1994 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Thanks to its musical versatility and easy playability, Bob’s Grand Auditorium attracted a wide variety of players. “We came into our own with our Grand Auditorium,” he says. “People were describing it as ‘all around.’ It’s a good strummer and good for fingerstyle, but it’s not totally geared toward strumming or totally geared toward fingerstyle.” Also referred to as the “Swiss-Army Knife” of guitars or the “Goldilocks” guitar, the GA quickly became a favorite among guitarists across playing styles, musical genres and different playing applications including recording and live performance. “That guitar made studio work successful,” Bob says. It gained a wider fanbase with the debut of the “ce” version, which introduced a Venetian cutaway and onboard electronics. “That became one of our hallmarks,” says Bob. “If you want to plug in your guitar, buy a Taylor.”
Today, the Grand Auditorium is Taylor’s best-selling body shape.
The Legacy Collection features two cedar-top Grand Auditoriums inspired by past favorites: the mahogany/cedar 514ce and rosewood/cedar 714ce. Both models incorporate Bob’s original X-bracing pattern for a tonal character reminiscent of their 1990s and 2000s counterparts. Shared aesthetic details include a green abalone three-ring rosette, ebony bridge pins with green abalone dots, a faux-tortoiseshell pickguard and Taylor gold tuning machines.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 815e | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 514ce
The Legacy 514ce features solid mahogany back and sides paired with a Western Red cedar top, yielding a punchy midrange and dry, woody sonic personality that pairs beautifully with cedar’s soft-touch sensitivity and warmth. It’s a standout choice for fingerstyle players and light strummers who crave nuance and depth. Distinct visual details include faux-tortoise body and fretboard binding, black-and-white top trim, and mother-of-pearl small diamond fretboard inlays.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 514ce | Playthrough Demo
Legacy 714ce
The Legacy 714ce also features a cedar top, this time matched with solid Indian rosewood back and sides. The result is a richly textured sound with deep lows, clear trebles and a warm, mellow response. Inspiring as it is, this specific wood pairing isn’t currently offered in any other standard Taylor model. Additional aesthetic details include green abalone dot fretboard inlays, black body and fretboard binding, and black-and-white “pinstripe” body purfling.
While the Legacy Collection spotlights Taylor’s past, newer models from the Gold Label, Builder’s Edition and Somos Collections show the company’s legacy is always evolving. Explore the Legacy Collection at taylorguitars.com or visit your local authorized Taylor dealer.
Taylor Guitars | Legacy 714ce | Playthrough Demo
Taylor’s The Last of Us Replica 314c guitar is based on its best-selling 300 Series and features Taylor’s most popular body style, the Grand Auditorium. Crafted with Taylor’s hallmark playability, pro-level sound and refined workmanship, the guitar showcases a visual aesthetic that matches the guitar featured in the series.
For fans of the show, the guitar’s most recognizable design element is a custom moth inlay at the third fret. The guitar also features a Tobacco Sunburst top finish and grained ivoroid accents, along with a satin-finish body and neck, creating a vintage, well-worn aesthetic that fits seamlessly into the gritty post-pandemic world Joel and Ellie inhabit.
This acoustic-only model features a solid Sitka spruce top and solid sapele back and sides, delivering a clear, warm, balanced voice with appealing midrange presence — an ideal sonic tool for storytelling through song. Additional appointments include grained ivoroid body binding, grained ivoroid fretboard inlays that include the moth and large dot position markers, and a custom double-ring rosette also in grained ivoroid. The Grand Auditorium body features a Venetian cutaway for easy access to upper-register notes. Each guitar comes with a Taylor-built deluxe hardshell case to ensure safe transport, whether across the country or across the quarantine zone.
Built for the Journey Ahead
“The Last of Us is a story of resilience, connection and finding beauty amid harsh realities — themes that resonate with the emotional expression a Taylor guitar offers players,” says Tim O’Brien, Vice President of Marketing at Taylor Guitars. “We’re honored to collaborate with HBO and Sony Pictures Consumer Products to bring this iconic instrument to fans and players alike.”
Availability and Ordering
The Taylor x The Last of Us Replica guitar is available for purchase now via TaylorGuitars.comand select authorized Taylor dealers. Orders are built on demand in Taylor’s Southern California factory, with an expected delivery time of 6–10 weeks. Due to the nature of this release, quantities are limited.
Whether you’re a musician, collector or a devoted fan of the series, this guitar offers a one-of-a kind connection to the legacy of Joel, Ellie and the enduring spirit of survival.
Guest picker Ally Venable
Ally Venable - Guest Picker
By FifthLegend from Eagan, Minnesota, United States of America - Thundercat, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70617212
A: For my late-night show's house band, I’ve assembled a dream team. This ensemble inspires me with their unparalleled musical talents and diverse backgrounds. Chris Layton’s drumming is unmatched and he will provide a solid foundation. I’ll have Jon Batiste on keys. His creativity and energy is boundless. Eric Gales would be on guitar. I love how emotive his music is, and I strive for that type of connection within my playing as well. Finally, I’d have Thundercat on bass. His playing is infused with jazz and funk sensibilities that would tie the whole sound together in an interesting way.
Obsession: My current obsession is shifting my approach to playing—focusing on connection over applause. Instead of chasing technical perfection or crowd reactions, I’m leaning into the emotional and spiritual side of music. It’s about creating moments that resonate deeply, whether it’s with myself, my bandmates, or the audience.
David Saenger - Reader of the Month
A: I love the idea of supergroups and how each of the players would interact. On guitars I would have Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) and Isaiah Sharkey. My drum and bass combo would be Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Mohini Dey. On keys and sax, I would have Herbie Hancock and Joshua Redman. My male and female vocalists would be Corey Glover (Living Colour) and Liv Warfield (Prince). All of these players are fantastic improvisers and really know how to put on an entertaining show in any genre.
Bassist Victor Wooten
Obsession: My current obsession has been bass. My 12-year-old daughter started playing electric and upright bass about two years ago, and it’s been a blast working with her. I’ve been really focusing on having a solid pocket, and it’s forced me to get better at reading bass clef. I’m taking her to see Victor Wooten next week. Can’t wait!
Jason Shadrick - Managing Editor
Jason Shadrick on the SNL stage.
A: The natural move would be to go for a high-energy party band decked out with multiple keyboards, horns, and vocalists. I’d go a different route. I’d go for a more rootsy vibe with Blake Mills leading a band consisting of Jay Bellerose on drums, esperanza spalding on bass, Bob Reynolds on saxophones, and a rotating guest each week. They could cover lo-fi Americana, funky open-tuned blues, and so much more.
Obsession: This month is slightly less obsession and more reflection as this will be my last issue as Managing Editor for PG. Over the last 15 years I’ve worked on 182 issues, which is kinda mind-boggling. I’ve been lucky enough to do some incredible things during my time at PG, including walking through the host door at SNL and spending a few minutes with Brian May. Never could have imagined it. I am very grateful.
Nick Millevoi - Senior Editor
A: I’ve long said that joining one of the late night bands would probably be my absolute top dream gig. So, if I were choosing my own late-night band, from any era, I would go no further than getting a chance to sit with Paul Schaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band or G.E. Smith-era Saturday Night Live Band.
Obsession: The late guitarist Jef Lee Johnson, who spent time in Schaffer’s band, had a heavy resume that included stars of all genres from Billy Joel to the Roots to McCoy Tyner. I got to see him play some low-key gigs around Philly, and each rearranged my molecules. It’s only now, years after his 2013 death, that I’ve become obsessed with his discography. Though much of his work was as a high-level sideman, his albums show the broad range of this masterful guitarist, whose tone, feel, and phrasing conveyed the instrument’s deepest emotional capabilities.
