Hi
I first encountered Diz at the Troubadour Flok Club, Earls Court and at my college folk club (Imperial College) circa 1968. After hearing me do a floorspot he invited me after the gig to go to a late night drinking place called La Fiesta in the Fulham Road where we saw Denny Wright playing jazz guitar with a bass player. This opened my eyes to jazz guitar and got me on the path to playing with jazz bands. In later years I did a few duo and trio gigs with Diz. He played a really nice Maccaferri guitar which he let me play on one occasion, it struck me how light it was and beautifully made. Diz was a great rhythm guitar player with a light touch that could really swing. From him I learned to use a 9th chord on the inside strings (no 1st or 6th string) and various 6/9 chord inversions that can be used as substitute chords in many situations. Diz played with an unusually tiny and sharp pointed pick which he filed down with sandpaper. His solos were to me not as great as his rhythm playing and tended to be very much in the Django style, but still good by any standards. There are many colourful stories of Diz but to me he was always polite and easy to work with.