Guitars have been in jazz bands since Buddy Bolden’s days. Blues and folk players from Robert Johnson and Woodie Guthrie in the 30’s to Bob Dylan to Paul Simon in the 60’s brought the acoustic guitar to the fore, and artists like Dave Matthews keep it there. By mid-century, Gretsch contributed to the sound of country and rock & roll with an electric guitar that attracted Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy and George Harrison to its rich twangy hollow-body sound. But everything changed when Leo Fender introduced his solid-body, spiky-sounding electric “Telecaster” model in 1950. Kathy Schorr riffs on these milestones, wrapping each in New Orleans’ ultimate hot lick, a pepper vine. The guitars are huge — about 2/3’s actual size.
