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Just to clarify, I think the guy's level of musicianship is outstanding. Check out his instructional tape...he's immensely knowledgeable about virtually all aspects of music. My problem with him lies in the fact that he doesn't always use that ability to great effect, which is a shame.
The 'gimmick' accusation is one that comes up a lot, and to be honest, he brings it on himself a lot of the time. Like I said...a repetoire that consisted of some more substantial material rather than pop songs, and the same standards that every jazz musician has recorded ten times over, and he would probably be held in slightly higher regard.
I seem to recall that he did actually become pretty successful outside of guitarists' circles in the 80s, but that as when a lot of smooth/pop jazz was popular, and most of what he was doing fit the bill perfectly (there's another vid of him on Youtube playing on an American talkshow from that period, and the stuff he was playing was vapid, sugary fluff).
Regarding TJ, I think comparing him to Stanley is pretty misleading, as his style of tapping is based on using both hands as one unit, rather than piano-style, and so his technique actually has more in common with Holdsworth's than Stanleys.
TJ's actually a great example of someone who uses tapping as a musical device rather than a gimmick; his phrasing is so brilliant that most people don't even realise he's tapping until they see a video.
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