Django: World’s Greatest Jazz Guitarist
January 23, 2010 marks the 100th birthday of the late Django Reinhardt. Most jazz guitarists are aware of his music and his life story.
January 23, 2010 marks the 100th birthday of the late Django Reinhardt. Most jazz guitarists are aware of his music and his life story.
This latest DVD release from Longtail Distribution promises to take the viewer “behind the scenes to get a backstage look at what it takes to present the legendary band Rush during their 2008 Snakes & Arrows Concert Tour.
For his latest release with Telarc Records, bluesman Otis Taylor has enlisted an all-star cast of jazz musicians. Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs features Taylor on vocals, acoustic guitar, and banjo, Jason Moran on piano, Ron Miles on cornet, Tarus Mateen on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. Aside from this core of musicians, Taylor has incorporated a slew of various instruments not commonly associated with blues music including African drums, violin, and cello. Otis’s daughter Cassie Taylor also provides vocals and bass on multiple tracks.
Croatian guitarist Ivan Mihaljević officially hits the international guitar scene with the release of his CD Sandcastle. Joined by band mates Majkl Jagunic (bass) and Craig Devine (drums), Sandcastle is a solid collection of guitar rock that will send many guitarists back to the woodshed to reprioritize their practicing.
Cheat the Gallows is the fourth release by rock band Bigelf since their debut in 1991, though it’s their first on Linda Perry’s Custard Records. Cheat the Gallows is the answer to those music lover’s that are looking for something fresh and original, trying to escape much of modern music’s mundane monotony. How’s that for literal alliteration?
There are so many good things about the self-titled debut record from the band OHMphrey. First, just thinking about the incredible quality of musicianship that could come from taking three members from Chicago’s jam-band Umphrey’s McGee and two members from Chris Poland’s OHM and blending them into a musical compound is overwhelming and almost unbearable. All too often when members from various bands decide to get together to collaborate on a side project, regardless and sometimes adversely measurable by the individuals’ virtuosity, the outcome is mediocre at best. To remain politically correct, no examples of this will be given, however, one wouldn’t have to think too hard or even perhaps search their CD or MP3 stock to find several releases that fit into this category. This is absolutely not the case with OHMphrey.
My Very Life is a collection of original compositions by Brazilian native Paulinho Garcia which reflect the wide-range of musical styles found in Brazil.
Brian Hulse’s album Pseudosynthesis is a collection of original compositions for solo piano, guitar and violin duo, flute and piano duo, and small chamber ensemble. On this album there are moments of singing melody, flamenco rhythms, discontinuities, syncopated rhythms, virtuosity; borrowing both form the classical tradition and twentieth century, making this music some of the most interesting and fresh twenty-first century chamber music recently recorded.
The Hot Club of Detroit’s album Night Town is a tour de force that is full of hard-swinging, toe-tapping arrangements of gypsy jazz standards and original compositions penned by members of the ensemble.
New Zealand based luthier Richard Ralston has been building archtop guitars since 2004. We first became connected by email in early 2007 and began discussing his various projects. He is also teaching roughly 50 private guitar students per week.
