I don't claim any credentials, and in fact I am a very mediocre and non-professional guitar player. I'm pretty good at a certain style of country blues fingerpicking, strictly acoustic, but I am by no means any kind of guitar guru or scholar.

Plus which, the ten names I threw out earlier in the thread were truly "off the top of my head," just to stimulate discussion. After Jerry R. had posted "I'd probably put him 11th," I figured Jerry might have a thoroughly-thought-out Top Ten, and I was just trying to prod him into revealing said 10 by listing a random 10 of my own with which he could disagree.

That said, I do want to call your attention to a few of the best guitar players in New Orleans today, musicians of whom you might not be aware.

SNOOKS EAGLIN was at the top of my original list for a reason. I have no idea how old he is, but he has been playing professionally since the 1950s. Snooks is blind and black and is sometimes classified as a blues player, but if you think that brief summary tells you anything about how he sounds, you'd be wrong. He's a great performer with a wicked sense of humor, and has the most amazing picking technique ever (bare fingers, electric guitar). Plenty of recent CDs to choose from.

DEACON JOHN isn't quite as old as Snooks, but he also served an apprenticeship at Cosimo's studio in the late 50s. Deac is really more important as a bandleader and vocalist than as an instrumentalist, but I'm mentioning him because he recently put together a terrific program recorded as a live concert for DVD and live HDTV and also as a regular audio CD, called "Deacon John's Jump Blues." I believe it was produced to be shown (among other places) during PBS-TV fund drives. If you have a chance to see it in your US city, I recommend it highly. (I was in the audience, by the way.)

STEVE MASAKOWSKI is hands-down the reigning king of contemporary jazz guitar in the Crescent City, as a member of Astral Project. Those few of you with an interest in post-bop jazz grounded in a funky second-line rhythm, don't miss out on Astral Project.

PHIL DuGRUY is one of the world's great eccentrics, playing his custom-made one-of-a-kind guitarp. His compositions are as witty as they are complex, since he loves to drop in "quotes" from familiar tunes. Phil is strictly a soloist; I don't believe he ever has (or ever *could* have) joined a band or a group, or recorded with anyone else. Even if you don't have the time or inclination to give him a listen, take a moment to check out pix of his ax at http://www.guitarp.com