Modern Guitarist

News, Forums & Reviews

Jazz Guitar Icon Larry Coryell Releases A New 3CD Box Of Live Recordings

By

larry-coryellLos Angeles, CA – One of the most respected and celebrated jazz fusion guitarists of his generation, Larry Coryell presents a brand new triple disc box set of unreleased live performances. Titled Aurora Coryellis, this captivating collection highlights Coryell’s prodigious talents in a multitude of settings, from a full band performance in 1972 at the Jazz Wokshop in Boston to a solo acoustic show in 1976 at Clark University (Worchester, MA) plus a more recent appearance in 2002 at the San Jose Jazz Fest with his talented trio featuring award winning drummer Paul Wertico and bassist Jeff Chambers! Each of these performances come on separate CDs in their own sleeves housed in a deluxe box with a lavish, full color booklet featuring extensive liner notes based on a new interview with Mr. Coryell himself. The box will be released July 24 from Purple Pyramid Records.

Reflecting on this collection, Coryell states, “I have fond memories of the high integrity of the students in Worcester, MA; it was always a special place. Of course, The Jazz Workshop Boston was kind of a ‘home base’ from where we developed our music in the ‘70s, when we were trying to create something that respected the basics of jazz but was still a new form of music. Club manager, Freddie Taylor, was our number one booster as we ventured into uncharted territory. And what can I say about beautiful San Jose! A great city with great people and an absolutely beautiful outdoor park in the center of town. Playing with Jeff Chambers and Paul Wertico was an exhilarating journey into the essence of jazz!”

Born in Texas, Larry Coryell began his ascent to the upper echelons of jazz virtuosos in the mid ‘60s when he joined the quintet of famed drummer Chico Hamilton in New York. That gig led to several other stints as a sideman for Gary Burton, Herbie Mann, and Randy Brecker among others. In 1968, he released his debut album Lady Coryell at the young age of 25, which then lead to subsequent solo album and the formation of his own group The Eleventh House. Through these releases, Coryell earned international acclaim for his daring compositions and interpretations as well as his inspired improvisations. He continues to perform shows and release new albums regularly. For those unfamiliar with this living legend, Aurora Coryellis is the perfect place to start!

Pat Martino to Host Exclusive ICMP Masterclass

By

PRESS RELEASE: March 2009. One of the world’s greatest jazz guitarists, Pat Martino, will follow Scott Henderson as the next legendary player to headline a series of masterclasses hosted by the Guitar Institute in London in association with Guitar Getaways Awaydays.

After being involved in the early rock scene in Philadelphia alongside stars like Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker and Bobby Darin, Pat Martino was recruited by bandleader Lloyd Price to play on-stage with musicians such as Slide Hampton and Red Holloway. He made a move to Harlem and was signed as a leader for Prestige Records when he was just twenty, leading to the creation of his classic albums ‘Strings!’, ‘Desperado’, ‘El Hombre’ and ‘Baiyina (The Clear Evidence)’, one of jazz’s first successful ventures into psychedelia. After suffering a brain aneurysm causing him to lose all memory of guitar and his career, Pat made a remarkable recovery by studying his own historic recordings and returned to form on his instrument. With a distinctive, fat sound and gut-wrenching performances, he represents the best not just in jazz, but in music, embodying thoughtful energy and soul.

This exclusive event, to be held at the Bedford in Balham, London, on the evening of Wednesday April 8th, will feature an interactive clinic delivered by Guitar Institute teachers Phil Capone (guitar), Holger Skepeneit (piano), Terry Gregory (bass) and Darren Ashford (drums). This will be followed by the headline guitar masterclass with Pat.

This is a unique opportunity to hear legendary Pat Martino talk, play and demonstrate his craft which should not be missed. To book a place at the masterclass, contact Guitar Getaways on:

– awaydays@guitargetaways.com
– www.guitargetaways.com
– 01326 211945,

For further information on this and future ICMP events, contact the ICMP on:

– enquiries@icmp.co.uk
– www.icmp.co.uk
– 020 7328 0222

Scott Henderson to Host Exclusive ICMP Master Class

By

PRESS RELEASE: January 2009. Outstanding jazz, blues and fusion guitarist Scott Henderson is to be the next legendary player to headline in a series of masterclasses hosted by the Guitar Institute in London in association with Guitar Getaways Awaydays. This follows the hugely successful event featuring Larry Carlton at the end of last year.

Scott Henderson’s impressive work over the years as co-leader of the group Tribal Tech, and as sideman for Chick Corea, Jean Luc Ponty and Joe Zawinul has elevated him to the front ranks of both jazz and blues. Scott’s trademark today, apart from being a world class player and premier composer, is his unique sound and striking ability to switch from wonderful, soulful blues to incredible, technical jazz.

The event, to be held at the Bedford in Balham, London, on the afternoon of Sunday March 29th, will feature an interactive clinic delivered by members of the Guitar Institute teaching faculty (part of London’s Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, www.icmp.co.uk), including Gianluca Corona on guitar, Dave Marks on bass and Justin Scott on drums. This will be followed by the headline guitar masterclass with Scott.

This is an unmissable event; Scott Henderson rarely visits the UK and this is his only UK masterclass date. To book a place at the masterclass, contact Guitar Getaways on:

– awaydays@guitargetaways.com
– www.guitargetaways.com
– 01326 211945,

For further information on this and future ICMP events, contact the ICMP on:

– enquiries@icmp.co.uk
– www.icmp.co.uk
– 020 7328 0222

About the Guitar Institute:
The Guitar Institute is part of London’s Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, widely recognised as one of Europe’s leading schools of modern music. Established almost a quarter of a century ago, the Institute has been developing and delivering cutting-edge courses to students of contemporary music for longer than any other UK-based school. The school has built its reputation on providing world class teaching using the very best teachers and state-of-the-art facilities. It now offers a range of professional courses including a 3-year Degree (BMus), a fully-funded one year Diploma, a specialist one year Higher Diploma, plus a wide portfolio of part-time courses designed to meet a variety of training needs for guitarists, bass players, drummers and vocalists. Past or present Institute students can be found everywhere, touring with the likes of Katie Melua and Moby, playing with bands like Radiohead and Babyshambles and artists like K. T. Tunstall and Beverley Knight, and also working as teachers all over the world.

About Guitar Getaways:
Guitar Getaways run events and Guitar Holidays that are suitable for anyone who loves playing their guitar. Activities range from half-day events focused around master classes with top players, to residential week long guitar playing holidays in the UK and Europe. Guitar Getaways let you spend some quality time focusing on your guitar playing, a chance to escape from day to day distractions. Guitar Getaways events are designed to help even the busiest among us liberate their guitar playing.

Adam Rogers Launches New Website

By

Adam RogersJazz guitarist Adam Rogers has recently launched his new website www.adamrogersmusic.com.
For eleven years Rogers has co-led the critically acclaimed Lost Tribe, which has toured nationally and internationally, releasing three albums. However, he has recently been focusing more on recording and performing with his own groups. Since 2002 Adam Rogers has released 4 albums as a leader, his most recent one, “Time and the Infinite”, with Scott Colley and Bill Stewart, was released in February 2007.

Check out Adam Rogers’ equipment here.

Jonathan Kreisberg: The South Of Everywhere

By

Jonathan Kreisberg’s latest release “The South of Everywhere” features Mark Ferber on Drums and Matt Penman on Bass. The album includes a couple standards as a trio, plus six new original tunes by Kreisberg and also joined by Gary Versace’s on piano and Will Vinson’s on alto saxophone. “The South Of Everywhere” is Kreisberg’s second album for Mel Bay Records and his sixth album as a leader. Check out his website for a bonus bootlegs section and other free stuff.

Track listing: Altered Ego; Elena; Funeral For The Ants; Kiitos; Stella By Starlight; Strange Resolution; The Best Thing For You; The South Of Everywhere.

Frisell, Townsend, Martine, Chamberlain: Floratone

By

Floratone is a collaboration between Lee Townsend, Matt Chamberlain, Bill Frisell and Tucker Martine. The album, of the same name, contains eleven tracks and was released in August, 2007 (which somehow I missed). Floratone also features bassist Viktor Krauss, cornetist Ron Miles and violin/viola player Eyvind Kang. The genesis of the unique, two-year Floratone project came when Frisell hooked up to jam with Matt Chamberlain, best known for his background in pop music, including two longtime associations with pop singer-pianist Tori Amos and the jazz-funk band Critters Buggin. The pair, both based in Seattle, had talked over the years of getting together, to lay down free improvisations of their musical conversations. After they finally found time in their schedules to commit in 2005 to a session in Seattle, they turned the tapes over to Townsend and Martine, who took the raw material and sculpted songs.

Townsend likens the experience to a laboratory experiment. Martine, seconds that assessment. “We did some extreme editing, with a lot of cutting and pasting,” he says. “We found the strongest bits, edited them all together as compositions and made a CD of 18 tracks that we sent to Bill and Matt.” Frisell agrees. “It was a convergence experience,” he says. “Just Matt and me getting together for a weird jam session was one thing, but to have Lee and Tucker come in and make something of what we had done was like synchronicity. I couldn’t help but think of Miles and Teo, the playing over and over and then sorting things out.” From there, the project moved into new phases of development. Frisell invited Viktor Krauss to lay down the bass lines. Then the guitarist wrote horn and string parts to build the pieces with a harmonic heft.

Check out www.floratone.com for audio previews and a video explanation by the members of this project.

New Sco: This Meets That

By

Scofield’s latest album, This Meets That, was released last week, on September 18. The Trio includes bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart (the same trio that released En Route in 2004) as well as a four-part horn section (Roger Rosenberg, Jim Pugh, Lawrence Feldman and John Swana). Track number six, a cover of “The House of the Rising Sun”, features Bill Frisell on tremolo guitar. This is Scofield’s first project for Emarcy records. I don’t own a copy yet, so feel free to share your thoughts on this album (I will update this article as soon as I receive my copy). Also, check out his newly redesigned website.

Track listing: “The Low Road”, “Down D”, “Strangeness in the Night”, “Heck of a Job”, “Behind Closed Doors”, “The House of the Rising Sun”, “Shoe Dog”, “Memorette”, “Trio Blues”, “Pretty Out”, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”.

US tour dates:
October
Trio featuring the ScoHorns (Larry Grenadier on bass, Bill Stewart on drums).
04-05 Cambridge, MA. Regattabar.
06 Hanover, New Hampshire. Dartmouth College.
07 Newmarket, New Hampshire. The Stone Church.
09 Santa Cruz, California. Kuumbwa.
10-14 Oakland, California. Yoshi’s.
16-21 New York City. The Blue Note.

European tour dates:
November
Trio featuring the ScoHorns (Steve Swallow on bass, Bill Stewart on drums).
10 Cartagena, Spain.
11 Malaga, Spain.
12 Orense, Spain.
13 Lugo, Spain.
14 Sevilla, Spain.
15 Guimaraes, Portugal.
16 Bologna, Italy.
17 Vilnius, Lithuania.
18 Oslo, Norway.

Ricardo Silveira: Outro Rio

By

Outro Rio is Ricardo Silveira’s seventh solo recording as a band leader and the follow-up to Noite Clara, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2004. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Silveira grew up listening to bossa nova and samba, the music of his country. He has played guitar on hundreds of recordings over his almost 25-year career (with Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Ivan Lins, João Bosco and Chico Buarque among many others) and has earned the reputation of one of Brazil’s most respected guitarists and musicians.
Outro Rio, which means “another river” in Portuguese, is a Brazilian rooted contemporary jazz record containing various influences. One can hear traces of Silveira’s native land as well as from other parts of Latin America. The mark that American jazz has left in his playing is also obvious. From ECM tunes, to traditional Brazilian and Latin American landscapes, that’s what you will find in this record. Why Silveira is not more known in the US is beyond me. It’s clear that he measures up with the likes of John Scofield, Bill Frisell or other contemporary jazz guitarists of the same level. From acoustic guitar, bass and drums trios, to tunes with electric guitar, piano, sax, clarinet or percussion (including a track with a singer), Outro Rio is definitely a must have for any jazz guitarist.

“I play from a Brazilian point of view, but not traditional Brazilian music. There are elements of funk and jazz, but I don’t like to say that I play fusion. I’m just a musician that likes a lot of different kinds of music and I feel it’s great to have those musical worlds to explore“.

Memorable tunes: Outro Rio, Agua Da Nascente, Melhores Tempos, Choro Bacana, A Medida Do Meu Coracao, Moonlight in Rangiroa.

Track Listing:

  • Outro Rio
  • Agua Da Nascente
  • Chuva de Manha
  • O Sol Na Janela
  • Melhores Tempos
  • Choro Bacana
  • O Monstro E A Flor
  • Dia Bom
  • A Medida Do Meu Coracao
  • Moonlight in Rangiroa
  • Viver Em Paz
  • Lembrancas

Pat Metheny Trio Tour

By

The Pat Metheny Trio with Christian McBride on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums, will hit the road in October after completing a new recording that is due out in early February 2008. The trio will tour through the midwest, northeast and then after a short break, continue on to South Africa. The tour will continue in February and March, 2008. More dates will be announced soon.

Metheny’s website has also announced a new “Pat Metheny podcast series” section, where fans can listen to Metheny himself talking about the insights into the making of his records.
—–update—–
Pat Metheny Trio Tour 2008 dates:

March 18 – New York, NY. Town Hall Theater.
June 30 – Darmstadt, Germany. Central Station.
July 4 – Budapest, Hungary. Margaret Island Openair Stage.
July 5 – Gardone Riviera, Italy. Teatro del Vittoriale.
July 8 – Barcelona, Spain. Palau de la Musica Catalana.
July 9 – Madrid, Spain. Auditorio Patio Central Conde Duque.
July 11 – Ghent, Belgium. Blue Note Records Festival.
July 12 – Rotterdam, Netherlands. North Sea Jazz Festival.

John Abercrombie Interview

By

A lengthy and very informative interview with jazz guitarist John Abercromie has recently been published by All About Jazz. Here’s a snippet:

AAJ: What kind of gear do you take on the road? One or two guitars? Do you bring an amp or backline one?

J.Abercrombie: I always backline. You can’t bring amps on the road anymore. You can barely even get your guitar on the plane these days. Lately I just take this Brian Moore guitar and a little box with some effects. The main effect I use, and I’ve been using it for about twenty years, is little stereo effects processor made by the Boss company, which is a subdivision of Roland, called the SE-50. It’s just a little half-rack unit that has multi-effects—reverb, delay, chorus and a lot of really useless stuff that I don’t use like distortion and compression. I just generally use it for the reverb and the delay and sometimes maybe a very little bit of chorusing. That’s changed over the years. I used to use a lot more of that effect. During the eighties, I was using more chorus; I was addicted to it. As I get older, I find that that sounds like too much to me. My sound is getting a little more pure over the years—less effected, more direct.

Read the full interview here.