The pinnacle of the Pablo label for me is Joe Pass' Virtuoso. My cousin, a phenomenal guitar player in his own right played the record for me in the summer of 1976 when we had a landscaping business together. We played the record so many times that summer we could almost see through it, but neither of us grew even remotely tired of it. Returning to high school that fall, I had the opportunity to commandeer the school-wide PA system one morning and played Blues for Alican. I became a bona fide folk hero with that simple act, such was the immense power of this music.
