Ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top fifty bass guitar players of all time, Sklar can count coup on laying down bass lines on such well known tracks as: “You’ve Got a Friend” (James Taylor), “Running on Empty” (Jackson Browne), “No Other” (Gene Clark) and literally thousands more by the pantheon of Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famers.
Sudden Signs of Grace kicks off things right with a driving track, “It’s All in the Skies” and the album continues song after song of easy listening melodic rock, with cool hooks that draw us in track after track. Solid guitar work all around, including the sweetest thematic lick that could go on forever.
Driving the beat on a few thousand milestone recordings is the legendary percussionist, Russ Kunkel. For decades he’s been a first call drummer for folks like James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger, Warren Zevon, Harry Chapin, Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Steve Nicks, Dan Fogelberg and a long, long list of others.
To say that guitarist James Burton is busy would be a gross understatement. With his 70th birthday right around the corner, the Louisiana native shows no sign of slowing down. After a highly successful career as both a leader and a sideman spanning more than 50 years, most guitarists would be looking forward to hanging up the axe and enjoying some time off, but not Burton. Having recently returned from performing in Holland with the TCB band, he’s busy preparing for the
The word is out that some of the top session players in the world have formed a new group, The Immediate Family, and they’ve locked into keeping their fans up to date on what’s happening with them individually, as well as a together as they release new songs, work on a new video, and plan the release of a new album on the Quarto Valley Records label.
One of New York areas finest rockers, Debra Devi is a multi-talented artist who can jam with the best of them. She has performed in numerous bands as well as fronts her own group, DEVI. Deb recently released her new EP, A Zillion Stars Overhead…
On her latest album, Waltz for Abilene, she ropes in a cornucopia of styles that range from the opening track, “Foggy Mt. Rock” with guest, Albert Lee, clipping along in driving Western swing style to the Appalachian roots sound of “That Ain’t No Way for Me to Get Along” with Rory Block, and other tracks blended with jazz, R&B, soulful country, country western, and an exquisite final track titled, “Waltz for Abilene”.
Mali-born guitarist Vieux Farka Touré’s musical inclinations come naturally. His father, Ali Farka Touré (1939 – 2006), was an internationally acclaimed musician who weaved together the complex rhythms and traditional style of Malian music with American blues
For those unfamiliar, there’s a new band in town called, The Immediate Family, that includes some of the finest musicians of our time. One of the five principals in the band is guitarist-producer-songwriter extraordinaire, Danny Kortchmar. Along with Waddy Wachtel (guitar/vocals), Leland Sklar (bass), Russ Kunkel (Percussion) and Steve Postell (guitar/vocals)
Surfacing a couple of years ago in the Washington, D.C., music seen was Jillian Matundan, a multi-instrumentalist with a a talent and intuitive grasp of songwriting, with catchy riffs, cool poignant melodies and a presence that’s at once genuine, earnest and charming.
