Joe Pass / Джо Пасс
A New Jersey native with Sicilian ancestry, Pass (born Joe Passalaqua) started playing guitar at the age of nine and advanced so rapidly that he was gigging by the time he was 14. A supremely versatile guitarist, he patented a singular and innovative style with which he could articulate melodic lines using deft sequences of chord progressions. Pass spent many years accompanying singer Ella Fitzgerald and also played extensively with pianist Oscar Peterson.