by Scott Yanow

This is the album that made Joe Pass famous. On what was actually his second set of unaccompanied guitar solos (Virtuoso No. 4 from a month earlier was released years later), Pass shows that it is possible to play unaccompanied versions of such up-tempo tunes as "How High the Moon," "Cherokee," and "The Song Is You" on guitar. Pass not only performs the melodies and heated solos, but provides basslines and harmonies while using a conventional technique (unlike Stanley Jordan's later tapping). Pass would record many unaccompanied recordings and perform at numerous solo concerts during the next 20 years; this is the set that started it all, and it is a certified classic. An essential CD.