Recommended Books

Here are a few books I can personally recommend for learning to play swing guitar:

Swing Guitar Essentials - Published by Acoustic Guitar magazine, this book is a series of articles on various styles and subjects of traditional swing guitar playing, from Eddie Lang to Django to Freddie Green. The beginning section on how to solo are very basic - in a good way, and progesses all the way to a full length Django Reinhardt transcription. A good resource that you can come back to as you progress.

Swing and Big Band Rhythm Guitar - Written by Charleton Johnston (who took over Freddie Green's chair in the Basie band), this book is a must-have for learning to play swing rhythm guitar. Be advised, however, that it is written from a distinctly modern perspective, and many of the examples feature more modern harmony (see my explanation here). Oh, and the play-a-long CD is absolutely dreadful modern crap - not even close to Swing. Those flaw aside, it is the resource for learning to play rhythm guitar - it has the best lay out for learning the basic voicings and learning their inversions.