Joe Pass was born Joseph Anthony Passalaqua in 1929 New Brunswick. Influenced early on by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry, he took guitar lessons at age nine. It’s safe to say it consumed him wholeheartedly, and he practiced oftentimes up to seven hours a day, relegating schoolwork to second-degree status. At 14, he was performing at parties with a group of like-minded kids, listening to as much Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Tal Farlow and Barnie Kessel as he could. Ultimate, it would be Wes Montgomery who became his muse.