The virtuoso jazz guitarist Larry Coryell returns to Beirut in September. Here he shares his stories of Hendrix and that unreleased Miles session.

What would be your three ‘desert island discs’ of choice?
‘The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery’ – Wes Montgomery, ‘My Funny Valentine’ – Miles Davis and ‘Twentieth Century Guitar’ – Julian Bream.

Wes Montogmery is one of the main influences for all jazz guitarists of your generation. What was his contribution to modern jazz?
Wes was more than just another jazz guitarist. He was – I realized later – a direct descendant from Charlie Christian, the father of modern jazz guitar. Wes's ideas were more modern than the other jazz guitarists playing at the time and his sound and concepts were innovative, in the sense that he organised his own original way to develop a solo.

Your album ‘Duster’ in ’67 with Gary Burton is considered to be the first jazz-rock album. Were you aware at the time you were making such a pioneering step?
About ‘Duster’, that was a jazz album for me. I'd no idea it would be labeled anything other than that. For me, I was taking Stan Getz' place in a quartet Stan led with Roy, Gary and Steve. I was more than thrilled. There I was, quite green, but good enough to be asked by these greats to play with them.  What an honor. That record sounds good, still today, regardless of how it's categorised.

You’re largely accepted as one of the most important jazz-fusion guitarists. Is it a label you sit comfortably with?
In reference to being considered a ‘fusion’ guitarist, it's my own fault.  When I got to NYC I decided to develop my own way of playing so I could kind of stand out from the crowd. But later on, if I wasn't doing a ‘heavy guitar overdrive’ project I was perfectly comfortable playing ‘normally’. Conceptually I played more than just straight-ahead, so I think the fusion thing morphed into a mixing of styles.

What else are you working on at the moment?
I released four CDs in 2011: ‘Montgomery’ – a tribute to Martin Luther King, ‘Duality’ with Kenny Drew Jr, ‘Larry Coryell and the Wide Hive Players’ – a retro-fusion project and a project with three Bavarian jazz guitarists called ‘Night of Jazz Guitars’. In addition, I’ve written an opera – ‘War and Peace’, a violin concerto – ‘Variations on Villa-Lobos’ Fourth Etude’ and a ballet entitled ‘Waltz of the Princess Fairy’, and this year I plan to write a novel. In other words, I have conclusions I’d like to share before I go to the ‘big gig in the sky’.

We’ve had quite a lot of jazz musicians visiting Beirut recently. Do you think Beirut has the capacity to become a hotspot for jazz music?
Regarding Beirut, hey, it's a music town. The people love music, art and culture. The Middle East is great like that; great customs, great traditions, and indescribably wonderful hospitality. All the cats I know love to come and play in Beirut.

Larry Coryell at Mojo (70 796279) Hamra. Tickets LL30,000. Sept 18-Sept 20, 10pm.

Author: Natalie Shooter