One of the happiest sounds in the world is that of a guitar

At the age of 12 Don Comer was, thankfully, thrown into the deep end of the guitar pool by his first teacher who, right away, introduced him to finger-picking, cotton-picking (“How in the world do you do that?” “No worries. Keep at it. Trust me.”), and Josh White’s “Josh at Midnight” LP which, over time, led to folk influences from Leo Kottke and John Fahey. Ultimately, Josh White won out and the blues kicked in, fueled by the discovery of EC, Johnny Winter, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and many more. Don’s mom would exhort: “Why don’t you learn to play pretty songs, with those big, pretty chords?” A zealous and unshakable blues fan, Don was dismissive. But in the end his mom was, of course, right: A friend’s discovery, years later, of John Coltrane’s “Atlantic Years” LP in a Woolworth’s bargain rack opened the door to the huge room that is jazz. Jazz had all the rhythms, the soul, and grit of the blues, plus an endless palette of meter, harmony, melody, and “all the notes.” Jazz was, in the end, a great way to have fun with music. These days Don feels like the “blues hound” who has chased - and caught - the “jazz car,” but can’t quite do with it what so many great jazz musicians of the day can do with it. Oh, well, it’s great just to be in the pool.