Posted May 10, 2011 at 7:44 am | No comments
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.
Posted in: Jazz, Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:01 pm | No comments
Like many fellow guitar players and gear enthusiasts, the search for that perfect overdrive pedal is one that rarely finds an end. I can’t tell you how many late nights I’ve spent scouring video reviews on YouTube and proguitarshop.com looking for that perfect box of sonic goodness. This is why I can’t tell you that my search is finally over. What I can say, is that I’ve found a pedal that has halted my search. That pedal is the Rockett Pedals Animal Overdrive.
Posted in: Gear Reviews, Guitars and Gear, Reviews
Posted May 9, 2011 at 8:04 am | No comments
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.
Posted in: Jazz, Op-Ed, Reviews
Posted May 8, 2011 at 9:42 am | No comments
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.
Posted in: Jazz, Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted May 7, 2011 at 1:18 pm | One comment
I wasn’t’ really expecting the first track of Elvin Bishop’s latest CD, Raisin’ Hell Revue to be particularly compelling. But, I’ve been wrong before and I was definitely deep into that well-plowed field on this one. It’s a swampy Cajun romp that shuffles along infectiously with its funky, hand-jive beat that’s more festive than his earlier hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.”
Posted in: Blues, Blues Reviews, Reviews
Posted May 3, 2011 at 1:46 pm | No comments
When people hear the words “jazz chords,” pictures of giant, five or six-note chords often come to mind, often with big stretches and funny names like augmented b9 and 7b9,#5 and such. But, it is more often than not that professional jazz guitarists, such as Lenny Breau, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Ed Bickert for example, prefer to use smaller, more manageable chords, which are often only three or four notes and based on material that many of us already know such as triads and fourth voicings. In his new book, Three-Note Voicings and Beyond, author, guitarist and master pedagogue Randy Vincent sheds light on this ultra-important, but often
Posted in: Book Reviews, Reviews
Posted May 3, 2011 at 1:17 pm | No comments
Most of us guitar players understand that learning at least a little bit of music theory will help us grow as players and especially songwriters, yet we all think that theory is a four-letter-word. There is a good reason for this. Many teachers, books and DVDs have tried over the years to explain the inner workings of chords, scales, musical notation and progressions, but have done so in such a dry and unpractical way that many of us never understand the relationship that these concepts have to our everyday performances.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Reviews
Posted May 3, 2011 at 12:00 pm | No comments
Motley Crue held a press conference at in East Rutherford NJ at Bamboozle 2011 on May 1st to announce their summer headlining tour with Poison and special guest The New York Dolls. Fans can expect a burlesque type stage, seeing Tommy playing a rollercoaster drum set and hearing a fan picked set list. Tommy told the crowd that the coaster is set-up that he can grab a fan out of the crowd and take them on a ride! What the fuck?!
Posted in: '80s Rock, Concert Reviews, Reviews
Posted May 2, 2011 at 3:18 pm | 6 comments
This fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious film franchise pulls out more than all the stops. Riding on the blockbuster success of 2009’s fourth chapter in the series, Fast & Furious, this edition shows off its infusion of big budget production, international jet set locales, gorgeous cinematography, and sports spectacular high-tech gadgetry and breathtaking stunts. Bigger, bolder and badass to the core, before its opening weekend even ended, Fast Five reportedly already earned some $84 million, surpassing all expectations, making it the most successful film in the series.
Posted in: DVD Reviews, Guitar Films, Reviews
Posted May 2, 2011 at 7:21 am | 7 comments
Before I played one note on the Cort Gene Simmons Punisher 2 Bass I needed to properly prepare for the occasion. I first needed to re-acquaint myself with Kiss’ Destroyer and secondly, and most importantly, I needed to be wearing a Kiss make-up era shirt. You may be asking yourself why a make-up era shirt when the original Punisher was first introduced by Gene in 1992-93 during Kiss’ Revenge album? The answer is simple, I wanted too!
Posted in: Gear Reviews, Guitars and Gear, Reviews
