Is there a such thing as Progressive Blues or Shred Blues?

[Svetonio]

[No Pride]

My only point is that the concept of "shredding" (which the OP considered might not be the best term to use, anyway) and real blues playing seem, to me, to be mutually exclusive of one another.

"Shredding" is a term I've never been fond of. It seems to mean different things to different people, but I take it to generally mean fast, high energy guitar playing (and not necessarily exclusive to heavy rock or metal). I always wondered why it isn't "shredding" if it's a sax or a piano or a violin. Swift, high octane music is older than Bach; why wasn't he a "shredder?" I don't know or care; it's all kind of silly. But yeah, I don't associate blues with "shredding" either, even if it can be fast and firey on occasion.

^We're in agreement on this. Blues should be about a light touch, at least to me.

Light touch? No, not to me. I'm not exactly a blues fan, but one of the things I like about it is the dynamics. When everybody "brings it down," a light touch is required, but only then. Stevie Ray Vaughan (for example) used heavy gauge strings, kept the action high on his guitar and beat the crap out of it... which is not at all uncommon for blues playing.

[Reid]

One thing that bugs me about blues is that most of the solos are just a series of licks and phrases. And jazz players can be guilty of this too. It's a little easier to take on guitar, but I absolutely loathe this coming from piano tincklers and sax honkers. I'm more impressed when a soloist can create a melodic line, a musical narrative so to speak. Scott Henderson did this brilliantly with Tribal Tech, and Zappa too. As has been stated before, they were blues based, but not blues bound.

[JJ88]

Light touch? No, not to me. I'm not exactly a blues fan, but one of the things I like about it is the dynamics. When everybody "brings it down," a light touch is required, but only then. Stevie Ray Vaughan (for example) used heavy gauge strings, kept the action high on his guitar and beat the crap out of it... which is not at all uncommon for blues playing.

A 'light touch' in terms of notes played, though. I don't want to hear your average shredder going anywhere near the blues.

[ronmac]

A 'light touch' in terms of notes played, though. I don't want to hear your average shredder going anywhere near the blues.

Well, like they say, the blues is more about the notes you're not playing. I do tend to agree, but not always.

[No Pride]

One thing that bugs me about blues is that most of the solos are just a series of licks and phrases. And jazz players can be guilty of this too. It's a little easier to take on guitar, but I absolutely loathe this coming from piano tincklers and sax honkers. I'm more impressed when a soloist can create a melodic line, a musical narrative so to speak. Scott Henderson did this brilliantly with Tribal Tech, and Zappa too. As has been stated before, they were blues based, but not blues bound.

I'm in the same boat, Reid; I like players who have some blues in their arsenal, but have other stuff going on.

Well, like they say, the blues is more about the notes you're not playing.

Which is why I'm not much of a fan, even though I can respect a good blues player. I actually played a couple of blues gigs this year, something I haven't done in decades. I had to force myself to severely edit my playing in an effort to not stray too far from the vibe. It was kind of a fun challenge, but it would grow old for me quickly. That's just me; I'm not a minimalist and I prefer a richer harmonic palette. Different strokes! I do think it's important for an improvisation bound aspiring musician to start out with blues because it teaches you to play with feeling, which is obviously important. Some people will be inclined to move on from there and some won't, depending on their tastes. It's all good.

[Jerjo]

There was a minor plot in the book/movie The Commitments. The young sax player is starting to get the hang of his instrument and much to the horror of trumpeter he begins drifting into jazz. I couldn't find a clip on YouTube but it was profane and hilarious.

[Svetonio]