Jonathan Kriesberg is one of the more interesting voices in contemporary Jazz Guitar. His compositions are well structured and thoughtful and he manages to blend traditional musical form with modern harmonies and melodic concepts. Kriesberg has a solid and fluid technical ability that is a pleasure to listen to. His tone is somewhat Methenyesque, but definitely is still his own unique sound.
Lou Volpe has an outstanding professional resume. He has appeared as a sideman with many great jazz and pop artists. A partial list includes Herbie Hancock, Chet Baker, Herbie Mann, Peggy Lee and the Manhattan Transfer. Volpe was a student of Sal Salvador and spent quite a bit of time in jam sessions with Les Paul.
Walter Kolosky the writer of Power, Passion and Beauty: The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra, brings us a listener’s guide that leads the reader through the different depths of John McLaughlin’s music. Kolosky’s Follow Your Heart – John McLaughlin Song By Song is written from the author’s subjective experience after listening to 42 of McLaughlin’s albums and analyzing each of the tunes.
Tapestries Of Song is the debut recording as a leader for New York based guitarist Matt Panayides, who was born in Cincinnati and raised in Indianapolis.
Review of New York jazz guitarist Ben Tyree’s new album re: Vision
Drummer and keyboardist Gary Husband has long been a fixture in the Jazz-Rock arena. He is currently touring as additional drummer and keyboard player with John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension. He has appeared as sideman with such luminaries as Jeff Beck, Allan Holdsworth, Gary Moore and Andy Summers.
Drummer Ranjit Barot is the son of a legendary classical Indian dancer. He has spent the past several years appearing as a sideman, producing other artists and writing award winning film scores. His prowess as a composer is highly regarded in World and Fusion music circles.
The majority of musicians in my age bracket and younger are familiar with Louis Armstrong. His popular hits “Hello Dolly” and “What a Wonderful World” topped the radio charts and made him a household name and multiple television appearances kept him in the spotlight throughout the 1960’s. The music and the presentation was light hearted and commercial, but characterizing Armstrong as a Jazz musician during this period of time would honestly be very difficult.
Review of D.C. area guitarist Mark Mosley’s latest album, TLC.
Guitarists Steve Abshire and Paul Wingo join forces here to pay tribute to two departed friends. Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel were members of “The Great Guitars” with Charlie and Joe Byrd. They also made their individual marks as legendary players over brilliant and lengthy careers. Abshire and Wingo honor their contributions to the genre with Detour Ahead, a compelling collection of jazz standards.
