Rez Abbasi: Shredding from a jazz stand point

One thing that irks me, especially from the standpoint of a jazz guitarist, is the term “shredding.”
Why?
“Shredding” surfaced in mainstream lingo as a way to describe the playing of hard rock or heavy metal guitarists who were viewed as otherworldly due to the amount of speed and facility they possessed. Listeners were wooed so much by the physicality these players demonstrated, that the content was easily and often overlooked. And there lies my point.
I grew up in the era when shredding ran rampant, and at age 15, I was also thoroughly impressed by these wiz-adults. The following year, however, I discovered jazz through the likes of Joe Pass and George Benson. With this revelation I became more aware of the content side of the coin that ultimately justified the application of expansive technique. To say the least, it changed my perspective about technique overnight. Got to Guitar Player more

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