Thanks for the email and links.  Its fun to be in touch with that sound again.  When I was in jazz school at NYU, back in '99, Kurt was my favorite.  I remember seeing him last Winter at the Iridium.  I never go out to concerts anymore, but I couldn't resist-it was a great show.  

Trends in jazz are real hard for me to pin down.  Kurt and Adam Rogers, I like, along with guys like Mike Stern and Hiram Bullock and (maybe I'm wrong about this), my feeling is that there is a direct line of fusion jazz that treads the fine line between intellectual and emotion.  I guess all music does, but fusion guitar is the trickiest in terms (for me) of taste, probably because you can get so much flash in there, too, along with great balance of lines.  I really like Kurt, and again, its great to get back in touch with that sound.  But I really, really like this guy:

And I think I like him because for one thing he's approachable.  I can do this stuff (and I can't touch Kurt.  I remember a master class he did and the time and dedication he put into it to get to that level is beyond me).  

But man, I really like how Jim Campilongo comes out of country, blues, trad-jazz tradition, where there is heavy adherence to the song itself.  Its not the same as Kurt and those guys at all.  Its not really a thing to compare, in terms of approach and aims and all that jazz.  But man, that traditional sound, through a real pure Fender amp, and then some sonic/harmonic bends, is really ethereal/ surreal for me.  It gets me really hyped about a clean sound, purity, and an approach back to jazz through roots music/ Americana.  And that's why I'm really into Robert Keeley for gear.  I can't remember if we talked about him: http://www.robertkeeley.com/home.php

He mods Boss pedals and does his own.  It seems that the overall thing with Keeley is note clarity.  I have his Fuzz/Overdrive, Ts-808 mod, Tr-2 mod and soon his BD-2 mod.  And the recommended George L. cables.

Can I really hear the difference?  Am I playing out enough to care?  Probably not.  But for me, all this gear is like shopping for really cool shoes.  They won't change my life, but they'll make me feel cool, and a little taller.  

It'll be fun to jam sometime, do some jazz or blues?  And I'll try not to talk your ear off, but I've got so many amp questions.  I just played in the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, and they had a Twin for me, through a PA, and I thought I had all my settings where I wanted them to be, but it didn't quite sound like I wanted.  What I'm hoping for is to buy a Blues Jr. to keep clean all the time, get all my settings how I like them on my pedals, then somehow find a ratio so that I can show up with my pedals, but on a Fender clean house amp and translate my settings at 15watts to 40watts, if that be the case.  I'm sure I'm over thinking the whole thing, but its just a thought.  Anyway, have a great day, and thanks again for being in touch.  

Best,

Gabriel