Reg Schwager

From a young age, Schwager combined rather unusual technical mannerisms (his right hand technique is dominated by a large percentage of downstrokes) with a wholly original harmonic approach.

In the process of carving out a place for himself in the Toronto jazz scene, Schwager became involved in the family-operated label Rant Records. His most recent release, Border Town, has received high praise from local critics. Many of his earlier works, such as the 1985 Justin Time release Resonance, also received rave reviews.

In addition to being the current guitarist in legendary pianist George Shearing's group, Schwager is also temporarily filling Russell Malone's chair in the Diana Krall trio. I managed to take a few moments out of Schwager's bustling schedule recently, in order to ask him a few questions.

Hi Reg. Local legend has it that you've been involved in music ever since you could walk. When did you start playing guitar?

I started playing guitar when I was about twelve years old. I had been figuring out tunes on the ukelele and the guitar looked like a step up. I played mostly blues and folk tunes till I ran into a teacher who showed me the tools I'd need to play jazz.

So, you were drawn to music before you started playing guitar. Was this something encouraged by your parents? Was there a lot of music being played around the house?

Yes, my parents are enthusiastic and educated fans of many types of music, especially jazz and classical. They claim I was conceived to a Wes Montgomery record.

Do you remember what your first guitar was?

It was some old no-name acoustic with an impossibly high action. When I started taking lessons my parents bought me an Ibanez acoustic and later a Univox copy of a 335. In 1978, after I'd been teaching for a while I bought the ES-175 I play now.

I really love the very individual sound you get from your ES-175. What sort of amp do you generally run it through?

For most live gigs I use a Roland Cube-40. It's a pretty fair compromise between sound and portability. For recording I have a Pearce that I usually use.

Do you remember who the first guitarist you really admired was?

I wanted to be Joe Pass. I had all the new albums by Herb Ellis and Joe Pass on Concord and Pablo and I wore them out.

Were you transcribing their solos?

I didn't really transcribe much of the Ellis/Pass stuff. I was just listening a lot and playing along a bit. I was transcribing more later on when I got into Kenny Burrell ("I Never Knew" and "Freight Trane" from the album with Coltrane), Tal Farlow ("What is This Thing Called Love" with Red Norvo) and Ed Bickert ("What Is This Thing" from the duo record with Don Thompson).

Has transcribing played a major role in the learning process for you?

Definitely. After I'd learned the basics of jazz theory this was the main focus of my studies.

How long was it after you started playing that you played your first gig?

I started gigging when I was 15 years old.

Remember what it was?

My younger sister Jeannette (she was twelve) and I had a guitar/vocal duo modelled after Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. Our first gig was probably at the folk festival in Sudbury, Festival Boreal. We also played at a couple of coffeehouses. We had a review in the local paper that called us the Schwenkers.

Were you playing any original material at that time, or just standards?

We were playing mainly standards and a few bossa novas.

Did you ever study privately extensively with anyone?

I studied with Ben Rinaldo in Sudbury for about three years. He took me through the first Berklee book (Modern Method For The Guitar- William Leavitt) and a couple of the Howard Roberts books and got me transcribing. After that I could basically explore on my own. I also took some lessons in classical guitar, first in Spain with Eduardo Fernandez and then with Robert Hamilton at Cambrian College in Sudbury. But at a certain point I knew I had to focus on one or the other.

No, but at the time in Toronto there wasn't much jazz in the colleges and universities. If I was starting out now I'd probably try to attend one of the jazz programs. It's one of the best ways to find people to play with and to make professional contacts.

Could you name a few guitarists who have had an influence on you as a musician?

Django Reinhardt, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Tal Farlow, Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert, Sonny Greenwich, Rene Thomas, Derek Bailey, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, George Benson, John Abercrombie, Jim Hall, John Scofield... I could continue indefinitely...

Are there many active guitarists whose music you appreciate?

Very many. I've been listening to a lot of Brazilian music recently so I've been checking out guys like Helio Delmiro, Lula Galvao, Romero Lubambo and Raphael Rabello. And lately I've heard recordings that knocked me out by guitarists like Brandon Ross, Bobby Broom, Jimmy Ponder, Peter Bernstein, Russell Malone, Dave Stryker, Anthony Wilson, Ben Monder... not to mention all the guys I mentioned before. I could probably keep listing names indefinitely.

Much of your own music stands in contrast to some of the more traditional type playing required for playing with artists like George Shearing and Diana Krall. Do you ever find yourself having to harmonically censor your playing in those situations?

Not at all. I feel that I have a tremendous amount of freedom in both those situations. To me an improvisation has to grow out of the sound of whatever tune or composition you're playing at the time. The challenge for me is to try to get past what I've heard or played before on a specific tune; to be relaxed and courageous enough to play new ideas. Sometimes my "outside" and "inside" playing seem quite separate. I'm always looking for ways to try to integrate them more.

Do you ever find yourself still getting nervous before a gig? Do you have any specific ways of dealing with that?

Sometimes. I try to focus on the task at hand -- to support the other performers or to communicate with the audience -- and to realize that being nervous is not going to help.

Well, thanks Reg, for taking some time out of your hectic schedule to grant an interview. Best of luck with the recording projects. Hopefully, we'll be seeing and hearing even more from you very soon.

It's always a pleasure speaking with you, Dan. Thanks for your support.