The role of guitar in Jazz.
 

The role of guitar in Jazz confuses the hell out of me. I'm not entirely sure that in a lot of live arrangements of songs, where you have 9 to 12 instruments, how the guitar factors in.

As forums go, god forbid you ask something without looking it up first so heres what the Wiki had to say...

I get the concept, I'm just not sure I hear the sound. I was thinking this as I watched Sting play guitar on the Haiti performance if you're wondering where I'm coming from.

A lot of the time in big band style jazz it's just kind of a background rhythm instrument.

Having played electric guitar in various local jazz bands over the past 3 or so years, I've learned that the guitar is a vital part of the band, and even more so if there is also a piano in the band. When there is a singer, the louder instruments like the brasses (usually) don't play over the verses - those chords are covered by none other than the guitarist(s). When the whole band is playing it's often harder to hear the guitar as the music usually calls for a richer, bass-heavy tone. The guitar is just a background instrument, filling out chords and notes that other instruments (besides the piano) can't play. Sometimes the guitar has a solo too.

There it is. Alright that makes a whole lot more sense. Yeah I often wonder what sort of range a trombone could have but that's for another thread.

The guitar also helps keep the chord changes fairly smooth. All the notes are played by one person rather than three or four different people, who might be slightly out of time with one another.

I would hardly call guitars 'vital' to jazz. My old jazz instructors always told me they're great to have, but they're fairly 'unnecessary'. They have too many restrictions in the way they're built. Though in the hands of the right people... Well of course.

I think that it's kind of like bass is to a rock song. You notice it, and in some songs it is more obvious than others. It is not necessary but with it you get more atmosphere in the music and it kind of adds something for the music to be based off of. Like there wouldn't be a lead guitar in most jazz songs, but instead a rhythm guitar playing chords. It kind of functions like backing vocals.

It dates back to the old dxieland days, when there were banjos in the band, and it was more of a percussive thing instead of chordal.

Check out some old Freddie Greene to get a good idea of what jazz guitar was at the advent of electric guitar.

I don't know about Sting (wtf?) but I do know that Charlie Christian is an essential jazz figure - he totally fueled Benny Goodman's band and his instrument was as important as any of the others. And of course there's Django. And Wes Montgomery. Check your wiki. In the meantime here's some Charlie Christian who I feel revolutionized Jazz with his guitar

How essential it is totally depends. There's no guitar on Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" from 1959 which might be the most famous jazz record in music history. On the other hand, it's a fairly essential part of the arsenal of the big 70s fusion bands (just an example).

So discussing guitar's role in jazz seems a bit futile. What kind of jazz? Are you talking big band, gypsy jazz, fusion, swing jazz, modal or what?