The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast
Music:Music Interviews
Jazz musician Snoozer Quinn (1907 - 1949) is one of the guitar world’s great enigmas. In his prime, he performed alongside Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke, the Dorsey Brothers, Louis Armstrong, and others; lore has it that even Les Paul even learned how to hammer-on and pull-off from Snoozer.
But today Snoozer is largely forgotten because his only attempt at solo studio recordings completely disappeared and he died young after a long battle with tuberculosis. To add insult to injury, the only surviving film footage of Snoozer playing guitar has no audio and the only solo recordings we have of him were literally taped from his deathbed.
On this week’s Fretboard Journal Podcast, we take a look at Snoozer’s life and legacy with Katy Hobgood Ray and Dan Sumner, who just co-authored a book entitled Snoozer Quinn: Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Pioneer (Out of the Past Music). Half of the book features Katy’s exhaustive biography on Quinn (one of her distant relatives) with rare photos, while the other half features Dan’s transcriptions of eight Snoozer Quinn arrangements.
Over the course of our interview, we learn about Snoozer’s troubled life, how he got his name, his reputation among his peers, his Gibson instruments, and more. Then Dan sheds light on the Herculean task of transcribing the complex work of Snoozer from the available fragments and breadcrumbs, the guitarist’s unique technique and tunings, and a lot more.
Snoozer Quinn: Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Pioneer is available here.
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This episode is sponsored by Peghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Izotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase); and Calton Cases.
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Podcast 361: Alison Tavel on the Resynator
Podcast 360: C. J. Lewandowski of the Po' Ramblin' Boys, Pt. 2
Podcast 359: Bahamas
Podcast 358: Bob Minner on Norman Blake
Podcast 357: C.J. Lewandowski of The Po' Ramblin' Boys, Pt. 1
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Podcast 355: Sam Weber
Podcast 354: Aoife O'Donovan
Podcast 353: Chris Eldridge
Podcast 352: A Tribute to J. D. Crowe with Bill Evans
Podcast 351: Nacho Baños
Podcast 350: Heroes' Voices
Podcast 349: Professional Skier and Guitarist Jake Doan
Podcast 348: Duncan Price
Podcast 347: Mike Squires (Couch Riffs) Returns
Podcast 346: Courtney Hartman
Podcast 345: Courtney Hartman Interviews Austen Hooks
Podcast 344: Courtney Hartman Interviews Lawrence Smart
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