Ron Forbes-Roberts

Oct 20, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Ron Forbes-Roberts |Alan Barnosky |Jeff Gunn |Ron Jackson

One of my favorite rhythm guitar approaches is the one that the late jazz master Freddie Green pioneered in his work with the Count Basie Orchestra. Throughout his 50 years on the gig, Green played an acoustic archtop, unamplified. Though his strumming was sometimes more felt than heard, it contributed so much to Basie’s signature sound and swing. Green’s style—quarter-note strums in 4/4 time (aka “four to the floor”)—seems simple enough. But it’s rarely mastered.