The Guitar Channel

Videos: Greg Howe with Stu Hamm and Dennis Chambers - Live in Russia

Two more great videos of Greg Howe, Stu Hamm, and Dennis Chambers performing live in Russia recently.

Kick It All Over

Bird's Eye View

Video: Greg Howe with Stu Hamm and Dennis Chambers - Live in Moscow

Cool footage of Greg Howe, Stu Hamm, and Dennis Chambers performing at a private event in Moscow on 5/18/11 (today!).

Video: Greg Howe, Stuart Hamm, Dennis Chambers to perform at Eddie Lang Festival 2011

Greg Howe to perform in Russia with Stu Hamm and Dennis Chambers

Greg Howe will be playing the following shows in Russia this May with bassist Stu Hamm and drummer Dennis Chambers. More dates may be announced; I'll post the info as it becomes available.

May 14th     Vladivostok, Russia     Fabrika
May 15th     Vladivostok, Russia     Primorye Regional Philharmonic Hall
May 16th     Nakhodka, Russia       Cat N' Clover

See also:

Greg Howe 2011 European Clinic Tour

 

Dean Brown Trio Tour Dates

Guitarist Dean Brown will be playing the following dates this coming April with trio-mates Dennis Chambers (Drums), and Bobby Sparks (Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes, Minimoog).

April 6 Caserta, Italy - Mamas Live
April 7 Rome, Italy - Crossroads
April 8 Lecco, Italy - Officia della Musica Lecco
April 9 Altdorf, Switzerland - Tonart Festival
April 10 Zülpich, Germany - Live Proberaum
April 11 Tilburg, Netherlands - Paradox
April 12 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
April 13 Ingolstadt, Germany - Diagonal
April 14 Prague, Czech - Agharta Jazz Festival
April 15 Ostrava, Czech - Klub Parnik
April 16 Vienna, Austria - Porgy & Bess

Scott Henderson Tour Dates with Jeff Berlin and Dennis Chambers

Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin, and Dennis Chambers will be playing the following trio dates in South America (and Mexico) next month. This killer "super group" played some shows in Asia last year that were very well received. Check them out if you can.

November 11 Mexico City - Mexico
November 12 San Jose - Costa Rica
November 13 San Jose - Costa Rica
November 15 Santo Domingo - Rep Dominicana
November 16 Quito - Ecuador
November 17 Guayaquil - Ecuador
November 19 Santiago - Chile
November 20 Buenos Aires - Argentina
November 23 Neuquen - Argentina
November 24 Cordoba - Argentina

Current Listening

Some of the stuff I've been listening to / watching lately...

Charlie Hunter - Public Domain

Completely solo guitar album in which Hunter performs classic songs that are all in the public domain (and all chosen by his Grandfather!). Amazing stuff. "Danny Boy" alone is worth the price of admission.

Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World (Review)

Awesome heavy fusion album with Greg Howe on guitar, and Dennis Chambers on drums. Incredible playing from everyone.

Tomo Fujita - Pure

Great jazz/blues album from the Berklee faculty member. Includes Will Lee, Steve Gadd, Bernard Purdie and Steve Jordan.

Black Country Communion

Killer super-group rock album with Joe Bonamassa on guitar, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals, Derek Sherinian on keys, and Jason Bonham on drums.

Dann Glenn - Eleven Eleven Orchestra

Eclectic fusion album with cool writing. Bassist Jeff Berlin guests on one track.

Chad Wackerman Trio - Hits Live DVD

Excellent live-in-the-studio style DVD from Chad Wackerman's Trio. Includes Mike Miller on guitar and Doug Linn on bass. Can't get enough of this one.

 

 

 

 

Review: Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World

In 2001, Japanese bass legend Tetsuo Sakurai (Casiopea, Jimsaku, solo artist) released Gentle Hearts (Victor Entertainment) - a critically acclaimed instrumental rock fusion album that featured the stellar combo of Greg Howe on guitar, and Dennis Chambers on drums. This energetic disc was loaded with heavy riffs, and killer guitar work from Howe. The band also took their act on the road, and subsequently released Gentle Hearts Tour 2004 (2005 - Victor Entertainment) on CD and DVD. Now for his latest album, Vital World (King Records), Sakurai has joined forces with Howe and Chambers once again, and the results are even heavier and more guitar-driven than the group’s previous outings.

What’s striking about Vital World is its sheer heaviness. While it does include shades of jazz harmony here and there, the music is largely driven by heavy guitar riffs - Sakurai is definitely shooting for a rock vibe with this album (Some tunes could even be described as prog metal). From a guitar perspective, Greg Howe’s style makes him a great fit for the material on this disc. Unlike many other players who make the attempt, he sounds authentic when utilizing a jazz influenced vocabulary with a rock approach and tone.

The album’s in-your-face opener “Critical Planet” sounds like a throwback to “Brain Storm” from the Gentle Hearts album. It’s a relentless, slap-bass tour de force that gives Sakurai a chance to show off his considerable chops. Up next is “Alien’s Feast” - an uber-heavy tune that would not sound out of place on a Planet X record. It also features Howe shredding over a harmonic minor tonality - something he rares does on his own albums. “A Tear Of The Clown” is a heavy tune as well, but in more of melodic “arena rock” vein. Howe’s solo near the end of this piece may be his best on the album. The V chord at the end of the progression gives him a chance to peel off some nice altered scale runs.

Sakurai’s amazing bass work is showcased once again on “Are You Ready” - a fun, uptempo tune that may best be described as instrumental pop rock (if there is such a thing anymore). Following a killer Chambers drum break in the middle of the tune, Sakurai takes a wild solo chock-full of crazy slapping and fast runs.

The following piece, “Another Kingdom,” is one of the only songs I’ve ever heard that successfully fuses the styles of neo-classical and jazz. The Yngwie-esque A section features long 32nd-note lines doubled between the guitar and bass (reminiscent of “Flight Of The Bumblebee”), while the double-time B section reminded me of a jazz orchestra on a film score session. This would seem to be a strange combination, but the two sides to this tune flow together nicely.

Two more heavy riff-based tunes follow - “Triangle Square” which features some Eastern-influenced melodies and an off-the-rails drum solo courtesy of Chambers, and “Monster Parade,” one of the hardest-rocking tunes on the disc. This song also has Howe playing some amazing outside lines. In a total gear shift, the album closes with “Father” - a flowing melodic ballad that serves as a nice palette-cleanser after the onslaught you’ve just experienced for the previous 7 tunes.

Vital World is certainly one of the best heavy fusion albums of the year. Sakurai obviously went into this project with the intention of laying down some aggressive music, and he delivered in a big way. He explores a wide-array of rock styles here, yet still leaves room for his jazz and improvisational side. And with Howe and Chambers, he has the perfect bandmates for this endeavor - Both are well-versed in the styles presented on Vital World, and have an obvious rapport with Sakurai from the trio’s previous projects. Highly recommended.


Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World (King Records)

Personnel:

Tetsuo Sakurai - Bass
Greg Howe - Guitar
Dennis Chambers - Drums
Taiki Imaizumi - Keyboards

Tracklisting:

1. Critical Planet
2. Alien's Feast
3. A Tear Of The Clown
4. Are You Ready
5. Another Kingdom
6. Triangle Square
7. Monster Parade
8. Father

 

Rich

List all reviews

Tetsuo Sakurai's "Vital World" with Greg Howe and Dennis Chambers to be released Sept 14th

Renowned Japanese bassist Tetsuo Sakurai will release his new album Vital World on Sept 14 2010. This project reunites him with his Gentle Hearts album bandmates Greg Howe (guitar) and Dennis Chambers (drums). The new album is now available for pre-order through Abstract Logix. See tracklisting below.

Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World

1. Critical Planet
2. Alien's Feast
3. A Tear Of The Clown
4. Are You Ready
5. Another Kingdom
6. Triangle Square
7. Monster Parade
8. Father

Greg Howe to record "Gentle Hearts" follow up with Tetsuo Sakurai and Dennis Chambers

Lots of Greg Howe news lately! Howe has announced he'll be recording a new album in June with bassist Tetsuo Sakurai and drummer Dennis Chambers. This will be a follow-up to the trio's amazing 2001 release Gentle Hearts. A Gentle Hearts Live album and DVD (review) were also released in 2005. Look for the new album sometime later this year.

Dean Brown Tour Dates

Guitarist Dean Brown has announced the following live dates in support of his latest album DBIII (which features Dennis Chambers on drums, and Will Lee on bass).

March 24th  The Berks Jazz Fest - Reading, PA (@ Gerald Veasley's Jazz Base) - w/ Dennis Chambers (drums), Bobby Sparks (keys), Schuyler Deale (bass)

       

DBIII European tour - w/ Dennis Chambers and Bobby Sparks (more dates to come)

May 14th  Kassel - Schlachthof
May 15th  Minden - Jazz Club
May 16th  Leverkusen - Scala
May 17th  Iserlohn - Jazzclub Henkelmann
May 18th  Halle - Objekt 5
May 20th  Berlin - Quasimodo
May 26th  Aschaffenburg - Colos-Saal
May 29th  I-Milano - Blue Note
May 31st  Koblenz - Café Hahn
June 2nd  Hilden - Hildener Jazztage

Henderson Berlin Chambers Trio Live Review

Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin, and Dennis Chambers recently completed a string of dates in Asia. The Guitar Column has a great review up of this fusion super-trio's 10/21 gig in Singapore. Thanks to my pal JP over at Strat-O-Blogster for the tip!

Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin, Dennis Chambers Trio -- A Gig Review