Johnny Smith

Johnny Smith was able to take some very simple musical ideas and apply them to jazz guitar in ways that no one had done before him. His rendition of Moonlight In Vermont is now a classic. He plays the melody in simple closed-voicing block chords, but the flawless execution and beautiful tone make it a historic gem.

• Moonlight In Vermont - This is the last statement of the melody, which is why it does not include the 3-octave arpeggio, which my ear is so trained to expect (if you don't know what I mean, listen to the original recording).
• Jaguar - This is a Johnny Smith original tune. The main reason I include it here is that Larry Carlton shamelessly stole this song and claimed that he wrote it. The Larry Carlton rip-off is called Strikes Twice which you can hear online at the CDNOW site on the album with the same name. This was a big hit record for Carlton and I can't believe he was never caught for this outright theft. Maybe putting these two side by side on the internet will expose him for what he is.