The Guitar Channel

New George Lynch instructional videos produced by Prashant Aswani

Prashant Aswani has produced two new George Lynch instructional videos for Hal Leonard; Wicked Riffs and Scary Licks. No info on release dates yet, but I'll post them when they become available. Look for Aswani's new album Time sometime this summer.

John Petrucci clinic dates

Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci has posted the following clinic dates on his site:

May 13th Make N Music - 3:00pm
1455 west Hubbard street
Chicago, IL 60622
312-455-1970

May 18th Parkway Music - 3:00pm
1602 ROUTE 9
Clifton Park, NY 12065
518-383-0300

June 1st Express Music - 3:00pm
Express Music Inc.
8900 Seminole Blvd.
Seminole, FL 33772
727-392-5922

via Truth In Shredding

Mike Stern European spring tour dates

Here are the dates for Mike Stern's spring tour of Europe. Stern's band will include Dave Weckl on drums, Tom Kennedy on bass, and Bob Franceschini on sax.

April 27, 2008
Philharmonic Hall (Green Jazz Fest)
Zielona Gora, Poland

April 28, 2008
Treibhaus
Innsbruck, Austria

April 29, 2008
Stadtcasino - Festsaal
Basel, Switzerland

April 30, 2008
Colos Saal
Aschaffenburg, Germany

May 1, 2008
Quasimodo Club
Berlin, Germany

May 3, 2008
Jazz Sous Les Pommiers
Coutances, France

May 4, 2008
Vicenza Jazz Festival
Vicenza, Italy

May 5, 2008
Altes Pfandhaus
Koln, Germany

May 6, 2008
Palladium
Malmoe, Sweden

May 7, 2008
Nefertiti
Goteborg, Sweden

May 8, 2008
TBA
Trondheim, Norway

May 9, 2008
Fasching Jazzklubb
Stockholm, Sweden

May 10, 2008
Fasching Jazzklubb
Stockholm, Sweden

May 12, 2008
Lucerna Music Bar
Prague, Czech Republic

May 13, 2008
Fabric
Ostravia, Czech Republic

May 14, 2008
House of Blues
Plzen, Czech Republic

May 16, 2008
New Morning
Paris, France

May 17, 2008
Jazz Club Minden
Minden, Germany

May 18, 2008
Free Blues Club
Szczecin, Poland

May 20, 2008
Babylon
Istanbul, Turkey

May 21, 2008
Babylon
Istanbul, Turkey

May 22, 2008
Gluck-Hauf-Halle
Dillenburg, Germany

May 23, 2008
Den Haag Jazz Fest
Den Haag, Holland

May 24, 2008
Bergen Jazz Fest
Bergen, Norway

via lucasives.com

Toronto Jazz Festival to include Scofield, Stern, and Abercrombie

The lineup for the 22nd annual Toronto Jazz Festival has just been announced. One of the highlights of the festival, which runs from June 19th through June 29th, is sure to be John Scofield, Mike Stern, and John Abercrombie all playing with their trios - all on the same night (Friday June 27th). Check the official website for more details, including the full festival line-up.

Steve Lukather on Rockline this Wednesday

Steve Lukather will be on Rockline radio this Wednesday, April 23rd from 8:30pm to 10:00pm PST. Check here for affiliates. Check here for internet stream sources.

via the Official TOTO Website

New Sonny Landreth album features Ford, Johnson, and others

Slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth's new album From the Reach will be released May 20th. Special guests include guitarists Robben Ford, Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, Mark Knopfler, and Vince Gill. Dr. John and Jimmy Buffet also make appearances.

From the Reach press release (via Modern Guitars Magazine)

Robin Trower interview on NPR

Kudos to Strat-O-Blogster for spotting this: NPR did a live interview with Robin Trower yesterday that included some great in-studio performances with his band. Trower is one of my all-time favorites. That cream-colored strat you see in the upper-left of this page? Yeah. Total Trower-fanboy purchase.

NPR: Interview article + audio

Alex Machacek teams up with Virgil Donati

Huge News! Drummer Virgil Donati has reformed the Virgil Donati Band, with Alex Machacek on guitar. The band will play their first gig at The Baked Potato on May 3rd. Word is the band will be playing some of Donati's material from the Planet X Quantum album, and some new arrangements of Donati's older stuff. Joining Donati and Machacek will be Mitch Forman on keys, and Rufus Philpot on bass.

New Yellowjackets album featuring Mike Stern coming May 20th

The Yellowjackets have teamed up with guitarist Mike Stern for a new album entitled Lifecycle. Release date is May 20th. The band will be touring with Stern in the US and Europe later this year.

Teaser video for upcoming Greg Howe album!

A teaser for the new Greg Howe album Sound Proof, coming June 24th.

Announcing the Launch of HDtracks.com

PRESS RELEASE

Announcing the Launch of HDtracks.com, The Web’s Premier High Resolution Music Store

(New York, NY) Created by renowned audio pioneers David and Norman Chesky, HDtracks.com is the world's first high resolution digital music site offering DRM-free music in multiple formats, as well as cover art and complete liner notes.

"High quality recordings have been my life's passion, and I wanted to create a digital music site that music lovers would enjoy. With HDtracks you truly get the same level of quality that you receive when buying a CD from a traditional record store," says three-time Grammy nominated composer and producer David Chesky.

HDtracks offers the highest quality file formats for any platform or media player. Consumers can choose the file type that best suits their needs: AIFF, FLAC (both CD quality), or 320 kbps MP3. In the near future, select titles will be offered as DVD-Audio quality 96/24 FLAC files.

The HDtracks catalog is comprised of many of the finest independent labels in the world, such as the audiophile-oriented Reference Recordings and Chesky Records, David Byrne’s eclectic world music label Luaka Bop, and avant-garde imprints such as Mode Records and John Zorn’s Tzadik. Other genres such as indie rock (Bar None, Daemon), jazz (Sunnyside, Evidence), and blues (Alligator, Blind Pig) are well-represented, with more content added to the site daily. Moreover, a freshly-inked deal with The Orchard, a leading global digital music distribution and marketing company, guarantees that the HDtracks catalog will continue to grow exponentially.

Additionally, HDtracks offers comprehensive editorial content, with complete liner note scans offered with every album purchase. "If I buy a Stravinsky or McCoy Tyner recording, I want to know who is playing, where it was recorded, as well as any other behind the scenes information I can get,” says David Chesky. HDtracks customers can browse full artist biographies, album descriptions, reviews, and label affiliations, resulting in a more informative way to buy and enjoy music online.

“HDtracks is a site made by music lovers for music lovers,” remarks David Chesky. “We are not a computer company. It is our desire for technology to serve the music, not the other way around.”

For more information on the beta launch of Hdtracks.com, please contact: press@hdtracks.com

Visit: http://www.hdtracks.com

Jamie Humphries to play London Guitar Show in place of Greg Howe

FYI - The current press release regarding the upcoming London Guitar Show states that Greg Howe will be performing as part of the "C3" concert on Saturday June 14th. As noted recently by Howe himself, that information is inaccurate. I've learned that UK-based guitarist Jamie Humphries will be performing in Howe's place.

Autour de Blues Meets Larry Carlton and Robben Ford DVD reviewed at Blogcritics

Blogger Richard Marcus has posted a review of the new Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, & Autour Du Blues - The Paris Concert DVD on Blogcritics.

DVD review: Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, & Autour Du Blues - The Paris Concert DVD

John McLaughlin - Meeting of the Minds DVD preview

Here is a preview of the upcoming John McLaughlin DVD Meeting of the Minds (The Making of Floating Point).

Joe Satriani to headline the London Guitar Show

Joe Satriani will be headlining the London Guitar Show main stage (part of the London International Music Show) on Sunday June 15th. This is confirmed, and is already posted on the shows website. Also, Paul Gilbert will be playing the main stage on Saturday June 14th. Kudos to Mark McGuigan for spotting this news.

Release date for new Greg Howe album

According to Greg Howe's site admin, Howe's new album has a release date of June 24th. I'll post more details as they become available.

Michael Landau - "I'm Buzzed" 4/6/08 Karlsruhe

Excellent footage of Landau from the 4/6/08 show in Karlsruhe.

Steve Lukather tour dates

Here are the dates and locations for Steve Lukather's upcoming Ever Changing Times tour. Luke's band for this tour will be:

Tony Spinner: Guitars / Vocals
Steve Weingart: Keyboards
Carlitos Del Puerto: Bass / Vocals
Eric Valentine: Drums / Vocals

20 June 2008   Tba , Soendborg (Denmark)
21 June 2008  The Train , Aarhus (Denmark)
23 June 2008  Tredgar , Göteborg (Sweden)
24 June 2008  KB's , Malmö (Sweden)
25 June 2008  Bern's , Stockholm (Sweden)
26 June 2008  Rockerfellers , Oslo (Norway)
28 June 2008  Gosef , Kolding (Denmark)
29 June 2008  The Rock , Copenhagen (Denmark)
02 July 2008  Fabrik , Hamburg (Germany)
03 July 2008  Staatstheater , Oldenburg (Germany)
04 July 2008  Rosenhof , Osnabrück (Germany)
05 July 2008  Weststadthalle , Essen (Germany)
07 July 2008  ColosSaal , Aschaffenburg (Germany)
08 July 2008  Paradiso , Amsterdam (Holland)
12 July 2008  Bospop Festival, Sportpark Boshoven , Weert (Holland)
13 July 2008  Honberg-Sommer , Tuttlingen (Germany)
15 July 2008  Z7 , Pratteln (Switzerland)
17 July 2008  Tba , Torino (Italy)
20 July 2008  Les Voix des Gaou , Toulon (France)
12 August 2008  Red Rock , Denver (USA)
17 August 2008 Greek Theatre , Los Angeles, CA (USA)
21 October 2008  Tba , Nagoya (Japan)
22 October 2008  Tba , Osaka (Japan)
24 October 2008  Tba , Tokyo (Japan)
25 October 2008  Tba , Tokyo (Japan)

via toto99.com and stevelukather.net

Oz Noy Interview on FPE-TV

Funk-jazz master Oz Noy demonstrates some of his rhythm parts for FPE-TV.

Alex Machacek on his Tonica Masterclasses

Alex Machacek discusses the concepts and ideas he passed along during his masterclasses this past February at Tónica Ciclo Internacional de Jazz GDL in Mexico.