1 “Silent Night,” Stanley Jordan
“It’s got a blues/funk vibe and amazing pentatonic hot licks that are worth taking the time to learn.” —Bayliss
2 “Looking On,” The Move
“Pre–Electric Light Orchestra, the genius of Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne is in full effect here, heavy and progressive. Wood is a true multi-instrumental monster.” —Cinninger
3 “Sultans of Swing,” Dire Straits
“Mark Knopfler’s tone is perfect, his phrasing is perfect and even when he’s squeezing lots of notes into a small space, each note is crystal clear.” —Bayliss
4 “I Set My Face to the Hillside,” Tortoise
“Jeff Parker sets a sleepy, ambient and tunneled guitar melody that is a total ear worm. Very cool production to boot—the playing children seem to be right next to the guitar take!” —Cinninger
5 “Mandeville,” Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian
“The guitar is so fluid it almost feels like a horn to me. I think I understand it but still couldn’t play like that if I tried.” —Bayliss
“I subsequently became the world’s most famous guitarist with The Police. I wanted to play with somebody else to see how I’d do, like an experiment on myself”: At the height of his ’80s success, Andy Summers needed a challenge – he found Robert Fripp
“We had accidentally stored the bass in Seattle and paid $2,500 in rental fees!” 32 years ago, Jeff Ament rented a ’61 Jazz Bass from Norman's Rare Guitars to record Pearl Jam’s iconic Vs. record – and now he’s been reunited with it
