Monday, January 23, 2012

NOKIE EDWARDS WITH THE VENTURES, "CARAVAN"

The great and vastly underrated Nokie Edwards, killing it on this classic tune by Juan Tizol and Duke. Nokie is sort of a cross between James Burton and Les Paul, plus fuzz. I've never heard a player blend country, jazz, blues, and trashy garage fuzz more seamlessly than Nokie. When he was really cooking, he erased the boundaries between these styles-- and always melodically.

I've spent countless hours ripping off other players, but I spent so much time listening to Nokie in my formative years that he is probably as much a part of my playing as any other influence. In those days this cut was like a bonus track on out of print vinyl- an album of the Ventures with Bobby Vee. It was worth listening to that whole album to hear Nokie play in this vein for a few minutes. 
http://youtu.be/ipaLgxkDnOc
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