Liverpool Echo has a good feature up on John McLaughlin. McLaughlin discusses the Beatles, Miles Davis, his new album, and more.
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Liverpool Echo has a good feature up on John McLaughlin. McLaughlin discusses the Beatles, Miles Davis, his new album, and more.
April 30, 2010 in John McLaughlin | Permalink | Comments (0)
PRESS RELEASE
JAZZ FUSION GUITARIST WAYNE KRANTZ TO HOST ICMP MASTERCLASS
The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) is proud to welcome world-renowned jazz fusion guitarist Wayne Krantz for an exclusive masterclass at their facilities in Kilburn, London on Tuesday 4th May.
An innovative American musician, Wayne has made his mark on the music industry by proving his strengths as a technically advanced jazz fusion artist. Having released seven records on his own, Wayne has also worked with some of the best in the business, including Steely Dan, John Zorn and Billy Cobham. An expert in improvisation, this interactive masterclass is sure to be a highly informative and energetic, engaging students on topics of technique, the importance of individual style and realizing the voice of your instrument.
For more information on this or other events at the ICMP, contact us directly on:
- 020 7328 0222
- [email protected]
- www.icmp.co.uk
April 30, 2010 in Clinics, Press Releases, Wayne Krantz | Permalink | Comments (0)
This just in - guitarist John Czajkowski's West ZooOpolis album (his contribution to drummer Marco Minnemann's Normalizer 2 project) has a May 18th release date. Like the other albums born out of this project, West ZooOpolis features music composed over a 52 minute Minnemann drum solo. Czajkowski gave me a copy of this album a while back, and I can tell you it's a fantastic piece of music; highly textured with a wide variety of guitar tones and mood shifts. Head over to Abstract Logix to hear a sampler MP3.
Other albums featuring music composed over this same Minnemann drum solo include:
Marco Minnemann - Normalizer 2April 27, 2010 in Abstract Logix, Alex Machacek, John Czajkowski, Marco Minnemann, Mike Keneally, New Releases, Trey Gunn | Permalink | Comments (0)
All About Jazz contributor Phillip Woolever has written a fine review of Terry Bozzio, Allan Holdsworth, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto's April 8th show in Amsterdam.
April 27, 2010 in Allan Holdsworth, Reviews, Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin | Permalink | Comments (0)
Jeff Berlin The Jazz Legend Who Was Asked To Join Van Halen (And Said No) Releases New CD
4/27/2010 - Clearwater, FL - Jeff Berlin is a legend of the electric bass, considered by many to be the finest electric bass player in the world. A true master of the bass, Jeff Berlin has played with the likes of Bill Bruford, George Benson, Allan Holdsworth, and even toured with original members of Yes (Anderson, Wakeman, Bruford, Howe) on only three days' notice. Much to the anticipation of his fans, Jeff is releasing a new jazz trio CD on his own MAJ Records label titled 'High Standards'. Along with Berlin on electric bass, the CD also features Woody Herman alumni Richard Drexler on piano and upright bass, and famed drummer Danny Gottlieb (best known for his work with Pat Metheny). "It is a standard jazz piano trio led by a former rock bass player playing jazz tunes, and soloing nothing like bass players usually solo," says Jeff. "Keith Jarrett is huge influence on me. I transcribed his solos and practiced them on bass. I wanted to try my hand at recording tunes that I have played for many years, which inspired me to record three guys in a room and let the session remain as they eventually turned out."
Jeff Berlin's resume reads like the who's who of the higher echelon of music artists. Jeff Berlin was even asked to join Van Halen, an invitation that he actually turned down. "Eddie Van Halen was a fan of the band that I played in with Bill Bruford," Berlin recalls. "We met and started to hang out and jam together. He was a sweet terrific guy. One day he saw me play a gig with my group and then asked me if I would like to join Van Halen. After this, we rehearsed at David Lee Roth's house a couple of times. Ultimately, I said no to his gracious offer because when you join a band, you join the entirety of it, the life philosophy of its members and also the habits that they may be involved with. I felt that, in terms of activities and attitudes, I didn't mesh with their vision of things. I didn't wish to be mercenary and just take the job for money because it wouldn’t be fair to the band members. So, I just said no to the offer."
Not only is Jeff Berlin a bass phenomenon in the jazz field, but rock players are constantly referring to him as one of their major influences. Jeff was voted Number 1 Jazz Bassist by the readers of Guitar Player Magazine. Carlos Santana called Jeff the "best bassist in the world", while Rush's Geddy Lee used the phrase "best bassist on the planet!" Members of Metallica call Jeff the number one bassist on Earth, and Slash considers him a "bass god". Actor/bass player Gary Sinise, of "Forrest Gump" and "CSI NY" fame called Jeff’s playing "unreal!" Even the late George Carlin was knocked out with Jeff's playing calling him a "great musician." Jeff is known as a major innovator through his incisive playing through recordings and performances for the last thirty years. The late legend of bass, Jaco Pastorius regarded Jeff as a better soloist than he was, and Miles Davis' bassist/producer Marcus Miller told people that he wanted to be the "Black Jeff Berlin".
The founder of The Players School of Music in Clearwater, Florida Jeff started the school when his son got cancer at 5 years old. Jeff retired from playing to stay home with his son, and started The Players School of Music to make a living. (P.S. His son, now 17, was totally cured of the disease.) Jeff has also been at the front of music education for almost 30 years. His column in Guitar Player and Bass Player magazines were the most read columns due to their controversial content of music education. Jeff single handedly has re-vamped music education by dismissing popular methods of learning such as using electronic tuners, metronomes, handgrips, tablature, or any study method that does not include musical content
Jeff has released six highly acclaimed solo records, Champion, Pump It!, Taking Notes, In Harmony's Way, Lumpy Jazz and Aneurythms. The Dean Guitar company builds a Jeff Berlin signature model electric bass, and Markbass amplifers built an amp that so impressed Jeff (who regularly turned down endorsement offers for years) that Jeff only plays through their amps in concert.
In support of his new CD release, Jeff will be touring with his band that has featured Danny Gottlieb, Othello Molineaux (the greatest steel drummer in the world), Randy Brecker and Richard Drexler. He also tours with BX3, a bass conglomeration that includes the great bass players Stuart Hamm and Billy Sheehan. "Because instrumental music isn't popular anymore, not like it used to be, the amount of people interested in hearing players play simply to enjoy the music is less than it was in the past," Jeff explains. "This is an era where you will never hear another Jimi Hendrix, because, in a great part, the music industry won't allow it. This contempory music era is not interested in allowing a great player be hear or promoted. For this reason I jokingly refer about my shows that when I play, 'The Audient will always be on his foot!' and also regarding my CD, if Michael Jackson's CD's always went "Platinum", my CD will surely go "Spackle!"
Jeff Berlin's playing continues to influence a new generation of bass players. His teaching continues to inspire and advance players wishing to know about the language of their art. Jeff Berlin is a Master. 'High Standards' is available on CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes and other online retailers. For more information visit Jeff Berlin's official website at http://www.jeffberlinmusic.com.
April 27, 2010 in Jeff Berlin, New Releases, Press Releases, Stu Hamm | Permalink | Comments (1)
Touch guitarist Trey Gunn (King Crimson, UKZ) will release a new album entitled Modulator on May 18th, which features music Gunn composed over a 52 minute Marco Minnemann drum solo. Minnemann provided the solo to several musicians to compose their own music over for a massive project entitled Normalizer 2. The results are now being released as stand-alone albums by the various composers. So far, two of these albums are currently available; Alex Machacek's 24 Tales, and Minnemann's own take, simply entitled Normalizer 2. Other versions currently in the pipeline include Mike Keneally's Evidence of Humanity, and John Czajkowski's West ZooOpolis (which I have an advance copy of; great stuff). It will be very interesting to compare and contrast what these often radically different musicians have done with the exact same drum solo.
April 25, 2010 in Alex Machacek, John Czajkowski, Marco Minnemann, Mike Keneally, New Releases, Trey Gunn | Permalink | Comments (0)
Footage from last night's Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre show at the Highline Ballroom in NYC. This is a collection of clips shot from various parts of the room. What a killer band!
April 25, 2010 in Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre, Videos, Wayne Krantz | Permalink | Comments (5)
April 22, 2010 in Gary Novak, Jimmy Haslip, Michael Landau, Renegade Creation, Reviews, Robben Ford | Permalink | Comments (3)
Cool new interview with Jeff Beck for Fender.
April 21, 2010 in Interviews, Jeff Beck, Videos | Permalink | Comments (0)
Chris Poland (OHM) has scheduled the following clinics/performances. Check the venue websites for more details.
April 24th - House of Guitars: Rochester, NY
May 29th - Plainfield School of Music: Plainfield, IL (date changed from June 26th)
July 17th - John B's Food and Spirits: Arlington, TX
April 21, 2010 in Chris Poland, Clinics | Permalink | Comments (0)
In celebration of the release of his new album, Emotion And Commotion,
Jeff Beck will be performing live from the GRAMMY® Museum in Los
Angeles, CA on Thursday, April 22 at 7:30pm PST.
A direct link to
webcast page on KLOS:
The event will
be webcast live at KLOS.com and the radio broadcast of the
event will air on KLOS FM at 10 PMPST.
http://955klos.com/Article.
A
direct link to webcast with live chat at Stickam:
Emotion And Commotion, Jeff
Beck's first release in seven years, is available now from Rhino
Records.
April 21, 2010 in Jeff Beck, Press Releases | Permalink | Comments (0)
I have two exciting contests to announce! Abstract Logix has graciously provided me with signed copies of both Alex Macacheck's 24 Tales, AND Lenny White's Anomaly to giveaway. These are both amazing albums that are already among my favorites of 2010. I've decided to give these away separately in case you've already ordered one or the other. So, to win one of these discs, just send an email to [email protected] with a subject of either Alex Machacek CD Giveaway or Lenny White CD Giveaway. On Monday May 3rd, I will choose a random email entry for 24 Tales first, followed by Anomaly, and announce the winners on the site. NOTE: you can
enter both contests if you wish but you can't win both. The reason being - previous Guitar Channel giveaway winners are not eligible. If by the grace of the fusion gods your name happens to be chosen for each giveaway, I'll choose a new name as the Anomaly winner since you just won 24 Tales (which makes you a previous winner). Many thanks to Abstract Logix for making this contest happen, and for consistently releasing such kick-ass jazz fusion music.
Good Luck!!!
April 18, 2010 in Abstract Logix, Alex Machacek, Giveaways, Lenny White, Marco Minnemann | Permalink | Comments (0)