The Guitar Channel

Winter NAMM 2012: Final Wrap-Up

Day Three, Saturday, was my final day at NAMM this year. It's also the day I saw what proved to be my favorite gear of the entire show - the Yamaha THR stereo practice amps. Rated at 10watts, the THRs utilize amp-modeling and built-in effects to generate a wide variety of tones that all sound awesome. The two models, the THR5 and THR10, are essentially the same, though the THR10 offers a few more amp models and the ability the save up to 5 user presets. I played through one of the THR10s with a Yamaha SBG, and was blown away by the thick, tube-like tone, and the validity of the built-in effects. Other features include a USB post, and bundled Cubase software for home recording. Plus, they just look cool. Pricing appears to be in the $300-$500 range. I think I need to have one.

Saturday was also loaded with numerous celebrities and monster players. Allan Holdsworth, Joe Satriani,  Steve Morse and many other big-name musicians made appearances, causing foot-traffic jams at nearly every turn. I had a great time watching Dean Brown play at the MI booth, Matt Garrison jamming with Hadrian Feraud, Carl Verheyen and Steve Trovato tearing it up at LSL, and several other on-floor performances. I also met one of my fusion heros, violin legend Jerry Goodman (he looks ornery in the picture I took, but he couldn't have been a nicer guy).

Saturday night I was lucky enough to attend the epic Ernie Ball 50th Anniversary party - an amazing way to cap off a great trip (more on this all-star event later). All-in-all, it was another fantastic NAMM show packed with cool gear and incredible players. Look for my full photo gallery soon.

More pics from NAMM 2012:

New Wayne Krantz Album Sampler

Soundcloud teaser of Wayne Krantz's upcoming 2012 album for Abstract Logix. The amazing lineup includes Yasushi Miura (Electronica), Vinnie Colaiuta (Drums), Anton Fig (Drums), Keith Carlock (Drums), Charlie Drayton (Drums), Nate Wood (Drums), Jeremy Stacey (drums), Kenny Wolleson (drums) , David Binney (saxophone), Paul Stacey (slide guitar), Tal Wilkenfeld (Bass), Pino Palladino (Bass), John Patitucci (Bass), Owen Biddle (bass), James Genus (Bass), John Beasley (Keys), Henry Hey (Keys), and Gabriela Anders (vocals).

Wayne Krantz New Album 2012 (Abstract Logix) by abstractlogix.

New Lee Ritenour Album includes Lukather, Scofield, Stern, Govan and others

PRESS RELEASE

Legendary GRAMMY® Winning Guitarist Lee Ritenour's
6 String Theory CD Scheduled for Release on Concord Records/Monster Music June 29, 2010

George Benson, BB King, Steve Lukather, Slash, John Scofield, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo, Robert Cray and Joe Bonamassa Among 20 World Class Guest Guitarists From All Music Genres Joining Ritenour In Celebration of the World’s Most Popular Instrument—THE GUITAR!

Beverly Hills, CA – It’s hard to believe that 2010 marks 50 years since Lee Ritenour starting playing the guitar, setting in motion a career that legends are made of. A career that has earned him 19 GRAMMY® nominations, a GRAMMY® Award, numerous #1 spots on guitar polls, A Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian SJ Awards, and the prestigious “Alumnus of the Year” award from USC. During his illustrious career, he has recorded over 40 albums, with 35 chart songs and was a founding member of the group Fourplay, considered the most successful group in contemporary jazz. As a young guitarist his diverse musical style became the foundation of over 3,000 sessions, covering a broad spectrum of artists ranging from his first session at 16 with the Mamas and Papas, to Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Simon & Garfunkel and Frank Sinatra. On his latest endeavor, 6 String Theory, Ritenour celebrates the instrument that has allowed him this blessing, the guitar; —by producing and assembling a star-studded tribute with the greatest and soon- to- be greatest guitarists of our time.

Set for release on Concord Records /Monster Music on June 29, 2010, for 6 String Theory, Ritenour is also among the twenty legendary world class guitarists starring on the recording, which he produced along with John Burk of the Concord Music Group. Joining him in this tribute to the guitar, the all-star line-up includes: George Benson, BB King, Slash, Steve Lukather, John Scofield, Robert Cray and Vince Gill among many other superstars. Blending rock, blues, jazz, acoustic, country and classical, they come together for a seamless project that promises to take the listener on a musical journey and exploration of the guitar. Also featured on vocals are BB King, Robert Cray, Vince Gill, Keb' Mo', Taj Majal, Joe Bonamassa and Jonny Lang.

Ritenour also had a musical mission to help launch a new star of the guitar. To do so, he partnered with Yamaha Corp., Berklee College of Music, Monster Music, D'Addario Strings, and Concord Records to hold the international talent search, The Yamaha 6 String Theory Guitar Competition. Hundreds of contestants from over 45 countries posted YouTube videos to enter the competition with six finalists from around the world (one in each musical category) selected at a finals competition in Los Angeles in March 2010. Winning top honors was 16-year-old classical guitarist, Shon Boublil, from Montréal, Canada, who as the winner made his debut recording performance on 6 String Theory and received a four-year full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music.

Ranging from 16 year old Shon, 18 year old, Joe Robinson (winner of Australia's Got Talent) and BB King in his young 80s, 6 String Theory covers it all, from amazingly talented upcoming guitarists to the greatest guitarists of our time. It also shows the high esteem for which Ritenour is held by his peers enabling him to assemble such an awe inspiring cast of musicians to celebrate their mutual love of the guitar. Blending together styles, ages and musical colors, Lee Ritenour’s 6 String Theory promises to be one of the greatest guitar recordings ever made!

Lee Ritenour's 6 STRING THEORY features

1. Lee Ritenour 2. BB King 3. George Benson 4. John Scofield 5. Steve Lukather 6. Vince Gill 7. Slash 8. Pat Martino 9. Mike Stern 10. Neal Schon

11. Robert Cray 12. Keb Mo 13. Taj Mahal 14. Jonny Lang 15. Joe Bonamassa 16. Andy Mckee (acoustic virtuoso 30 million Youtube hits) 17. Guthrie Govan (Guitar Player Magazine New Talent of the Year 2009) 18. Joe Robinson (18 years old won Australia's Got Talent) 19. Hotei (Japan's rock guitar superstar) 20. Shon Boublil (16 year old winner of Yamaha 6 String Theory Competition)

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NOTE: Tal Wilkenfeld also plays bass on several tracks.

http://www.sixstringtheory.com/

http://www.leeritenour.com/

Sneak Peek: Photos from Day One of the Baked Potato Jazz Festival

 

Here is a sampling of my pics from day one of the Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival. Mouse over the thumbnails to see the captions. I'll post a full photo gallery of the whole fest in a couple of days.

Tal Wilkenfeld to headline Wesfest 5 on Feb 28th

PRESS RELEASE

YOUNG BASS PHENOM TAL WILKENFELD TO HEADLINE
WESFEST 5 CONCERT AT THE ROXY ON FEB 28

PLAYING WITH
VINNIE COLAIUTA, OZ NOY, JOHN BEASLEY

Twenty-three year old bass phenomenon Tal Wilkenfeld, one of the fastest rising stars in the world of bass and music today, will headline WesFest 5: A Concert to Benefit the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship at Berklee College Of Music at The Roxy in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010.   Playing new music written for her upcoming album, Tal will be accompanied by the best-of-the-best musicians Vinnie Colaiuta, Oz Noy, and John Beasley.
 
Tal Wilkenfeld was the answer to the immediate global buzz question “Who’s that girl?” in Eric Clapton’s 2007 Crossroads Festival which aired on PBS.  Tal impressed audiences with a memorable solo on guitar god Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow classic, “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers!”  Jeff Beck, not one given to effusive praise, said this about his bassist Tal "How does one describe an astonishing talent? The answer is: you don't. You listen and watch, as 45,000 people did in Chicago at the Crossroads Festival 2007. To see all those blues fanatics and guitar freaks go berserk halfway through her solo left me emotional. The word proud is barely adequate."
 
The scholarship fund honors Wes Wehmiller (1971-2005), a Berklee graduate (’92) and highly accomplished bassist who died of thyroid cancer. Established by his family and friends, the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to a continuing student at Berklee.

The event will feature four additional acts: John Montagna (solo); Joe Brooks; the WesFest All-Stars; Danny Mo and the Exciters, and 2009 Wehmiller winner Justin Schornstein with Zappa Plays Zappa band drummer Joe Travers.
 
WHEN: Sunday, February 28 - Doors open at 7:00 PM
WHERE: The Roxy - 9009 West Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
COST:  Advance tickets:   $35/pair or $20 (before Feb 25) or $30/door
Buy at:  http://www.weswehmiller.net/wesfest5

NAMM 2010: Day 2

Day two of the 2010 Winter NAMM show was crazier than day one, and I know today (day 3) will be even crazier still. The crowds in some areas of the floor were simply impassable, due in large part to all the top players making appearances. Carlos Santana appeared at a couple of booths, and single- handedly brought all foot traffic in his vicinity to a standstill. One of the longest autograph lines I saw was for bassist Tal Wilkenfeld. Her work with Jeff Beck has really catapulted her notoriety, and rightly so. She's a super talented player.

One of the highlights of the day for me was seeing Johhny Hiland jamming with bassist Dave Larue at the Ernie Ball booth. Hiland is a monster country picker who just recently switched to Ernie Ball after being a long-time PRS guy. What a player. I got some decent footage of the jam, which I've embedded at the end of this post. I also saw Hiland playing at the ENGL booth while Steve Morse was signing autographs there. What a great player.

I also got to chat with Prashant Aswani. He has a new album on the way which sounds like it's going to be awesome. It looks like I'll be doing a new interview with Prashant after the album is released (I previously interviewed Prashant in 2008). Later in the day, he created a gridlock-inducing crowd downstairs at the Spectraflex booth were he was demoing some of the new tunes.

Obviously gear is king at the NAMM show, and I checked out some great stuff, including the Moog guitar, some great Schecter models, and some beautiful Godin acoustics. Before heading out for the day, I caught some of bassist Jon Reshard's band playing outside, where I also met Guthrie Govan who was taking in the set. Very cool!

After NAMM, I heading up north to meet my old grade school buddy Josh (we hadn't seen each other in probably 25 years!) for dinner, and a trip to the Baked Potato to see Scott Henderson's trio. Unfortunately, our seats were kind of crappy (we were behind the mixer all the way to to the right), but that didn't stop us from enjoying Henderson's awesome, kinetically-charged set. 

Gotta head out to take on day 3. Don't forget to check my Twitter feed for updates...

Johnny Hiland and Dave Larue jamming at Ernie Ball - NAMM 2010

Review: Jeff Beck - Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's

Iconic guitarist Jeff Beck played a string of 6 shows at the famous Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London in late November of 2007. Beck's band for these gigs included the always-amazing Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Jason Rebello on keys, and on bass - one of most impressive young players to hit the jazz fusion scene in years; Tal Winkenfeld. The shows were recorded, and the resulting release, Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's (Eagle Records), features what Beck considers to be the best versions of the various songs. It's a fantastic collection of tracks that just happens to be one of the best fusion releases of 2008.

One of the many strengths of this album is the band itself. This is the same group that caused quite a stir at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival. I was lucky enough to be in attendance that day, and like many others, was eager to hear more from Beck's great band. Now we finally have the chance.

The set list on Live at Ronnie Scott's spans Beck's entire career. After opening with his signature tune "Beck's Bolero," the band dives head-long into jazz fusion territory with Mahavishnu's "Eternity's Breath," followed by the Billy Cobham classic "Stratus." Right from the outset, it's clear that Beck's unique style is a key driving force for the entire band. Beck rarely plays a melody the same way twice. Instead, he fearlessly throws himself into the songs, seemingly with a "Let's see what happens when I do this" mentality. This approach lends itself to some great group improvisation. If you're going to hang in there as a member of Beck's band, you clearly have to be a great listener.

One of the album's high points is the Blow By Blow classic "Cause We've Ended As Lovers," thanks in large part to a stellar Tal Wilkenfeld bass solo. The 22-year-old Wilkenfeld made a big splash with her 2007 solo album Transformation, which featured no less a guitarist than Wayne Krantz (who rarely does sideman work anymore). I have no doubt we'll be hearing lots of great work from Wilkenfeld for years to come. Vinnie Colaiuta fans need to pick up this album as well. There are tons of great Colaiuta moments here, such as the minute-plus solo he peels off at the end of "Blast From The East," before leading into one of Beck's fusion standards - "Led Boots." Jason Rebello is also rock-solid throughout; check out his high-energy piano solo on "Space Boogie." Killer stuff.

The reggae influenced "Behind the Veil" has never been one of my favorite Beck tunes, until I heard this version. The entire band is in top form on this song, and Beck turns in his most energetic solo on the album. The band's dynamic take on the Beatles opus "A Day In The Life" is another example where everyone shines.

Live at Ronnie Scott's is loaded with great examples of Beck's trademark touch and expressiveness. Beck hasn't used a pick in years, preferring instead the more personal touch of his bare fingers. Actually, I read somewhere that he gave up on picks because he kept dropping them onstage anyway. Regardless of his motivation, the dynamics he can pull out of a guitar using only his bare hands is stunning. The best example is probably the album's closer "Where Were You." The original Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop version of the beautiful ballad has for years had guitarists the world over asking, "How does he do that?" This live version will invoke a similar response, I'm sure.

Beck was at the forefront of the early jazz fusion movement in the 1970s. Live at Ronnie Scott's demonstrates not only the continuing relevance of the genre, but also Beck's continuing importance to it. Any new release from Beck is a welcome treat - but sixteen live tracks with a killer band? That's a must-have album.

Jeff Beck - Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's (Eagle Records)

Personnel:
Jeff Beck - Guitar
Tal Wilkenfeld - Bass
Jason Rebello - Keyboards
Vinnie Colaiuta - Drums

Tracklisting:
1. Beck's Bolero
2. Eternity's Breath
3. Stratus
4. Cause We've Ended As Lovers
5. Behind The Veil
6. You Never Know
7. Nadia
8. Blast From The East
9. Led Boots
10. Angels (Footsteps)
11. Scatterbrain
12. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With The Blues
13. Space Boogie
14. Big Block
15. A Day In The Life
16. Where Were You

Rich

List all reviews

Jeff Beck 2009 Australian tour dates

Saw this on i heart guitar:  Early next year, Jeff Beck will tour Australia for the first time since 1977. Joining Beck for these shows will be
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums, Tal Wilkenfeld – bass, and David Sancious - keyboards. Here are the dates and locations:

23 Jan- Challenge Stadium, WA

25 Jan- Thebarton Theatre, SA

26 Jan- Palais Theatre, VIC

29 Jan- Brisbane Convention Centre, QLD

30 Jan -Enmore Theatre, NSW

Beck's new album Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's will be released Nov 25th.

Streaming single from the new Jeff Beck album

I've received word that the release date for Jeff Beck's new live album Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's has been pushed back to November 25th. To hold you over in the meantime, check out this streaming version of the album's first single “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers." Bassist Tal Wilkenfeld sounds awesome on this track... I can't wait to hear the whole album.

“Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers”

Upcoming Jeff Beck shows at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club

Jeff Beck will play 6 shows in 5 days at the famous Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London from Nov 27th through Dec 1st. Joining Beck for this rare run of shows will be Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Tal Wilkenfeld on bass, and Jason Rebello on keys. This is the same band that played with Beck at the Crossroads Guitar Festival this past July.