Name: Warren Greig
Age: 46
Town: Toronto, Canada
At what age did you start playing guitar and why?
I started playing with a friend when I was 14 with the idea of forming a rock band. Shortly after I starting playing with my Dad who is a country player.
First guitar:
Initially I played my Dad's Martin.
Early Influences:
B.B. King, Chet Atkins and Doc Watson
First gig:
I performed in a Jazz club in Vancouver with a Quintette comprised of musicians I met at Vancouver College where I studied in the 80's.
Acoustic Guitars you own:
A Martin HD-28-VE guitar and an Eastman non cutaway acoustic archtop.
Favourite Guitar:
The Martin.
Your Style, and how you developed it:
My style is basically blues influenced bebop. My style was developed initially by attending college and taking private lessons. After this stageI listened to a variety of players such as Pat Martino, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Sonny Stitt and Charlie Parker. For harmony my largest influences were Ed Bickert and Bill Evans.
Aside from this I have played in a variety of groups from duo to big band over the years. In my development I got chords together pretty quickly and took a much longer time to develop my own style as a soloist. For me listening to horn players and learning how to apply articulation and dynamics to the guitar in combination with understanding how to shape aline was a gradual process.
Practice Regimen:
a)practise voculary patterns or licks through different keys and fingerings.
b)apply various substitions and harmonic ideas my lines and voicings.
c)play through tunes and harmonic sequences in various keys
d)experiment with voice leading on tunes and harmonic sequences.
e)transribe from various artists
f)isolate a single pitch on a specific chord and create as many lines as possible
in descent and ascent. In cases where I seem limited expand the vocabulary by trying different concepts. For example if I am playing an idea starting on Ab against G7alt try a Db major arp or a Ab minor arp.
Favourite Artist(s):
My favourite artists are Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, Jim Hall, Ed Bickert,Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Tom Harrell, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins,Grant Green, Hank Mobley, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Burrell, Paul Desmond, Jao Gilberto,Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Lester Young, Charlie Christian,Joe Pass, George Van Eps, Jeff Beck,B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, T.Bone Walker , Doc Watson, Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt and Tony Rice.
Is there anything else you want people to know about you, your playing style or your views on today's music in general?
Although I focus pretty much on jazz playing I like all kinds of music and I think its important to keep an open mind. I think its important to experiment with different approaches to technique, note choices and chord voicings so you don't become stagnate in your playing.
In addition I think playing with different people, learning new material and altering your listening habits can also keep music fresh. There are free lessons and instructional video clips on my website at www.warrengreig.com.
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