Guitar International’s feature article at “The Good Life” is an exclusive interview with the legendary John Coltrane Quartet pianist, McCoy Tyner, who now has his “Guitars” album out for your listening pleasure.
Forty-five years after releasing his debut album, The New Boss Guitar, jazz guitarist George Benson is still going strong. With the upcoming August 25, 2009, release date set for his latest studio album Songs And Stories, the ten-time Grammy winner pays tribute to some of his favorite songwriters and composers. Featuring an all-star line up that includes bassist Marcus Miller, guitarists Lee Ritenour and Toninho Horta, saxophonists Tom Scott and Gerald Albright, among others, Benson and company come together to produce an album that is not only a tribute to great songwriters, it is also a reflection of more than four decades of experience by one of jazz’s greatest instrumentalists and vocalists.
I was considering calling this interview, “Stalking Stochelo Rosenberg”. The much sought after guitarist was in Montreal to play a concert at the Place des Artes Theatre in Montreal and I’d been hunting him down.
On Thoughtform Variations, Tyree offers eight original pieces combining classical, jazz, pop and folk influences into a rich, harmonious individual sound. Above all, Tyree asserts his own unique voice on the instrument through his gorgeous compositions and dexterous playing.
It is always a pleasure to receive new material from an established artist, although I do enjoy new musicians and experiences as well. Watching familiar players as they develop, mature and change with the times is truly fascinating.
Round Red Light is the debut recording from Barcelona guitarist Dave Juarez and the album is comprised of all original material. Juarez has assembled a fine ensemble to present his compositions for this recording session, including John Escreet (Piano), Seamus Blake (Saxophone), Lauren Falls (Bass) and Bastian Weinhold (Drums) are solid players. The music is modern in nature and the melodies fairly complex.
Michigan has had a rough go of things in recent years. The economy has taken a pounding and the State has become the poster child for the struggling middle class as America moves into the new century. But, regardless of what the unemployment rate is, how many jobs GM just cut from their factories or where the State budget is going, Michigan has always managed to produce new and exciting music and some of the best musicians in the nation. Bassist, composer and arranger Tom Knific is just such an artist. The Western Michigan University jazz studies faculty has consistently produced solid recordings of hard-swinging, heavy groovin’ jazz throughout his long and successful career as a performer and recording artist. His latest album, Knific: The Muse, is no exception as it showcases all of the things that have made Knific the premier bassist in the Wolverine State for going on two decades.
Aaron Shragge is a young trumpet and Shakuhachi flute player who, on his first recording date as a leader, collaborates with New York virtuoso guitarist Ben Monder in an intimate duo setting. The duo setting of wind instrument and guitar is certainly not a departure for Monder, whose previous record Bloom was recorded with Saxophonist Bill McHenry, a record on which they both bewitchingly achieve loose, ethereal atmospheres. The Key is in the Window is a reflection of Shragge’s musical influences, such as the music of Shakuhachi flute and North Indian Vocal style music. Aaron Shragge, in my opinion, creates a remarkable bond between Oriental and Indian traditions with his own Western musical roots. The talented multi-instrumentalist pays tribute to his influences by performing pieces from the Shakuhachi repertoire, such as “Choshi” and “Kyorei,” as well as music from the North Indian Classical tradition.
For the purposes of this article, I’ll define jazz guitar as the tradition as exemplified by Charlie Christian, Eddie Lang, Barney Kessel, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Johnny Smith, Wes Montgomery, Tal Farlow and others of a similar pedigree.
In previous eras, there seemed to be two very distinct camps in the jazz world, those that prefer to play “traditional”, bebop-oriented jazz and those that took a more modern approach to the music, which posed a problem in itself since one person’s modern jazz is Wayne Shorter circa 1970 and to someone else it’s Ben Monder. In recent years, it seems that the jazz world has evolved a new subgenre, that of the “Modern Bebop” player, one who’s playing is steeped in the traditional jazz vocabulary, but that are also open to modern harmonic, rhythmic and melodic concepts as well. Sheryl Bailey is just such a player that fits into this new category of jazzer, and her latest album, For All Those Living, is a showcase for her traditionally steeped, yet modernly tinged, approach to jazz guitar, composition and improvisation.
