Tokyo is the backdrop for a relaxed but deep jazz guitar conversation between host Geoff and Los Angeles-based, world-renowned guitarist and educator Larry Koonse, hours before they play at the Blue Note.

We talk about how a life in jazz actually gets built: early listening at home, finding the music through friends, and learning from mentors who shape your sound for decades. Larry explains why jazz standards sit at the centre of his development, not as museum pieces but as the shared language that lets two musicians meet and connect instantly. He also shares a practical approach to building vocabulary by “owning” small two-bar or four-bar phrases, plus a clear way to escape shape-based guitar playing by making simple melodic decisions your ear can grasp.

Larry traces his earliest influences to a home filled with Bill Evans, Count Basie and Stan Getz, plus the lived example of his guitarist father touring with George Shearing. Like many players, he truly commits to jazz as a teenager, not through a single “lightbulb” moment but through peers, hanging out, and learning the street-language side of music that doesn’t always fit neatly into formal education.

The conversation also maps a working musician’s path: saying yes early, playing banjo in a Dixieland band, ukulele for Hawaiian gigs, restaurant work, and top 40 jobs that build range and resilience. Larry shares formative touring years with Cleo Lane and John Dankworth, including the regret of not reaching out sooner before it was too late, a sobering note about gratitude in a musician’s life. He describes playing with Warne Marsh and occasional gigs with Lee Konitz, where planning is minimal and the lesson is recovery when things go amiss.

The episode then lands on an improvisation of Benny Golson’s 1950s standard ‘Whisper Not’ (accompanied by the Quartet app), chosen for its strong bass motion and baroque feel, plus the workout of minor ii-V-I movement. Add talk about his treasured Roger Borys archtop guitar, the play-along realism of the Quartet app, comping space with pianists, and even favourite chords, and you get a grounded guide to jazz guitar, jazz improvisation, and standards that travel well anywhere.

If you care about jazz guitar, improvisation, ear training, and learning standards in a way that travels, hit play, then subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review.

Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne
Series Producer: Paul Sissons
Production Manager: Martin Sissons
The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.