Along with the banjo, the guitar has held a unique role in the history of jazz, mostly as an instrument of rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment.

Conceived in the early 1930s, the electric guitar became a necessity, as jazz musicians sought to amplify their sound and be heard over the loud big bands.

It was with the legendary guitarist Charlie Christian that the guitar took a position on the front lines with all of the other important soloist instruments. Since then, new musical corridors — within jazz itself and in its interaction with other genres of music and art — opened up, as the instrument has evolved and expanded in its techniques, structures, sounds and technologies.

In this Roadmap, we seek historians, musicians and educators to piece together a roadmap of the jazz guitar through the artists that paved the way.