The Guitar Channel

Abstract Logix Music Festival Tickets on sale Monday July 26th

Tickets for the upcoming Abstract Logix Music Festival go on sale next Monday, July 26th. The two-day event will be held at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 20th and 21st 2010. The amazing line-up includes John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension, Jimmy Herring Band, Wayne Krantz Group (with Anthony Jackson & Cliff Almond), Alex Machacek Trio (w/ Neal Fountain & Jeff Sipe) , Human Element (with Matt Garrison, Scott Kinsey, Gary Novak and Arto T), Lenny White Group (with Jimmy Herring), Ranjit Barot, plus an All Star Tribute to John McLaughlin. The entire event will be filmed for a DVD release.

Tickets can be purchased Monday morning through the Lincoln Theatre website.

Current Listening

Here are some of the albums I've been listening to over the last couple of months.

MSM Schmidt - Destination

High-quality jazz fusion recording featuring an all-star cast of LA's finest players. Includes Alex Machacek and Mike Miller on guitar.

The Code - Mianca

Great modern fusion band from Canada. Guitarist John Pelosi is a killer player in the Holdsworth vein. 

Charlie Hunter - Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid

More of a throwback slow-jazz feel than Hunter's previous work. The fact that it was recorded in "Glorious Mono" really adds to the retro vibe.

Amit Heri Group - Elephant Walk

I met and hung out with Amit a bit during my NAMM trip. Great guy, and a great guitarist. This album is a re-issue of one of his older releases. A very lyrical jazz recording with an occasional Indian influence. Includes Matt Garrison on bass. 

 Steve Morse and Sarah Spencer - Angelfire

New vocal project pairing Morse's compositions and Spencer's gorgeous vocals. Mostly acoustic-based, with an almost Enya-like feel. This album has not been released yet, but I picked up the "Tour Edition" at their first live performance last month. Turns out I was the first person to ever buy this album!

Neal Fountain to replace Matt Garrison on Jimmy Herring Band tour

NEWSFLASH: Bassist Neal Fountain will be replacing Matt Garrison for Jimmy Herring's upcoming summer tour (Garrison had to bow out due to unforeseen circumstances). Fountain previous played with Herring in the Herring, Rodgers, Sipe, and Fountain project a few years back. In other news, here is a cool video of "Scapegoat Blues" from the Charlotte, NC show that was just uploaded by Jimmy's label Abstract Logix. 

Jimmy Herring Band Summer Tour Dates

6/4/09      Wakarusa Music      Ozark, AK     
6/5/09     Flytrap Music Hall     Tulsa, OK    
6/7/09     Telluride Jazz Fest     Telluride, CO   
6/9/09     Belly Up     Aspen, CO  
6/10/09     Fox Theatre     Boulder, CO   
6/11/09     Aggies Theatre     Ft Collins, CO    
6/12/09     Cervantes Ballroom     Denver, CO   
6/13/09     Cervantes Ballroon     Denver, CO    
6/16/09     Crystal Bay Club Casino     Reno, NV    
6/17/09     Rio Theatre     Santa Cruz, CA   
6/18/09     Regency Ballroom     San Francisco, CA    
6/19/09     House of Blues     West Hollywood, CA   
6/21/09     Belly Up Tavern     Solano Beach (San Diego), CA  

Jimmy Herring Band Spring Tour

Press Release

April 24, 2009 – May 10, 2009

For the first time ever, legendary guitarist Jimmy Herring is hitting the road under his own name, with a hand-picked ensemble of all-star musicians in support. Pioneering a daring hybrid which crosses rock energy with the sophistication and improvisational fire of jazz, Herring’s dynamic, exploratory guitar playing has been a key component of such renowned groups as the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Jazz is Dead, Project Z, and, most recently, Widespread Panic – with whom Herring plays lead guitar to this day. Much esteemed by his fellow musicians, Herring has also been called upon for stints with Phil Lesh and Friends, the Allman Brothers, and the Dead.

2009 marks the formation of the Jimmy Herring Band, featuring Herring on guitar, drummer extraordinaire Jeff Sipe (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Jazz is Dead, Shawn Lane), prolific jazz maverick Greg Osby on saxophone, multifaceted keyboardist Scott Kinsey (Tribal Tech), and musical chameleon Oteil Burbridge (spring tour only) on bass (Allman Brothers, Aquarium Rescue Unit).

The Summer Tour will feature world renowned bassist Matthew Garrison  (John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny).

The Jimmy Herring Band will be performing a wide range of material, including compositions from Herring’s long-awaited and much-acclaimed 2008 solo debut “Lifeboat.”  In addition, there will be some cover tunes from various influential records from the 60’s and 70’s– and select favorites from the catalogues of the individual band members. Herring is understandably excited about the prospect of performing this music with this lineup over an extended period of time. “It’s a shot of adrenaline to get to play with musicians who are pushing the envelope and breaking down the walls that exist between genres of music. Each of these musicians inspires with every note they play.”

“Lifeboat” is the debut solo album from Jimmy Herring released on Abstract Logix Music.

 
 

Spring Tour Dates 

4/24/09: Handlebar, Greenville, SC   

4/25/09: Melting Point,Athens, GA  

4/26/09: Trustees Theatre,Savannah, GA

4/28/09: Cox Capital Theatre,Macon, GA  

4/29/09: Pourhouse, Charleston,SC  

4/30/09: Pourhouse, Charleston,SC  

5/1/2009:Visulite, Charlotte,NC  

5/2/2009:Visulite,Charlotte,NC  

5/3/2009:Lincoln Theatre,Raleigh,NC

5/5/2009:Rhythm and Brews,Chattanooga, TN  

5/6/2009:Mercy Lounge,Nashville, TN  

5/7/2009:Variety Playhouse,Atlanta, GA  

5/8/2009:Soul Kitchen,Mobile, AL  

5/9/2009:Crossroads,Huntsville, AL  

5/10/2009:Workplay,Birmingham, AL 

NAMM Show: Day two

I had an amazing second day at NAMM. I took tons of photos, and test drove some great guitars, but the thing I'll remember most about yesterday was all the cool people I met. Early in the day, I bumped into Beth Marlis. Beth is currently the VP of Education for Musicians Institute, but some 17 years ago, she was my private on-on-one instructor at GIT. What a neat experience to chat with this person I hadn't seen in so many years. Beth was super-nice. It made me want to check out the school again; it sounds like they are doing some great things there these days.

A while later, I met up with Souvik Dutta from Abstract Logix. I've worked with Souvik remotely for several years now, but have only met him in person once before. While hanging with Souvik, I got to meet and hang out with some heavy-hitters such as Matthew Garrison, Jonas Hellborg, T.M. Stevens, and Scott Kinsey. Souvik, Garrison, and I also went to see Allan Holdsworth at the Yorkville booth where he was signing autographs. We were like three giddy groupies waiting to see the master. Allan was really cool. When I mentioned I would be seeing him at Alva's the following day, he said "You shouldn't have told me; I'm going to be nervous now." That's Holdsworth for you - "I suck. I'm terrible." Sure Allan, whatever you say.

At the end of the day, Souvik and I saw Mike Keneally, Marco Minnemann, and Bryan Beller (aka KMB) perform at the Fender Booth. What a great show. Their material is really intense, in a Zappa-meets-prog sort of way. Great stuff. Keneally is a mad man. I also saw Greg Howe at Tone Merchants last night, but I want to give that it's own post.

Today will be my last day at the show, and it's going to be a busy one. There are TONS of big name players performing and signing autographs at the show today, and I'm going to try to catch as much as I can. Then later tonight, I'll be seeing Holdsworth at Alva's in San Pedro with Souvik and I believe Alex Machacek. Stay tuned...

Updated Scott Kinsey tour dates - now with Kirk Covington on drums!

How I missed this news, I'll never know. Keyboardist Scott Kinsey's group now features Kirk Covington on drums for his upcoming European tour (check out the tour poster to the left for exact dates and locations). You know what that means fusion fans? Since the band also includes Scott Henderson on guitar, this band includes 3/4's of the landmark fusion group Tribal Tech. The amazing Matthew Garrison will be playing bass (Gary Willis played bass in Tribal Tech). Catch this band if you can folks!

Scott Kinsey Group European tour dates

The Scott Kinsey Group has booked the following dates for a European Fall tour. The current incarnation of this awesome band features Scott Henderson on guitar, Matthew Garrison on bass, Gary Novak on drums, and Kinsey on keys.

OCTOBER 21 DORTMUND (Germany) DOMICIL
OCTOBER 22 TILBURG (Holland) PARADOX
OCTOBER 23 ZOETERMEER (Holland) DE BOERDERIJ
OCTOBER 24 POZNAN (Poland)
OCTOBER 25 SZCZECIN (Poland) FREE BLUES CLUB
OCTOBER 26 BERLIN (Germany) QUASIMODO
OCTOBER 27 Travel to Budapest / Off
OCTOBER 28 BUDAPEST (Hungary) A38
OCTOBER 29 DRESDEN (Germany) TANTE JU

Machacek, Sipe, Garrison live dates plus DVD shoot

Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe, and Matthew Garrison will perform three live shows in North Carolina at the end of June. The final show will be filmed for a live DVD release. Dates and locations are below. These three musicians are responsible for one of the best albums of 2007, Improvision.

June 27 - Soapbox, Wilmington, NC
June 28 - Double Door, Charlotte, NC
June 29 - Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh, NC (DVD Shoot)

via Abstract Logix News

Favorite albums of 2007

There have been some great jazz fusion/progressive guitar albums this year. While 2006 was one of the best years in guitar music in some time, this year was arguably better. Here are my favorite albums of 2007 in order of their release.

Uncle Moe's Space Ranch - Moe's Town

Highly creative fusion featuring incredible playing by guitarists T.J. Helmerich and Brett Garsed. Review

Cosmosquad - Acid Test

Great heavy fusion disc featuring guitarist Jeff Kollman.

Oz Noy - Fuzzy

A fantastic fusion of funk and jazz. Awesome funk rhythm guitar on this disc. Review

Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe, Matthew Garrison - Improvision 

Incredible writing and playing. Best album of the year. Review

Jonas Hellborg - Art Metal 

Heavy fusion mixing eastern and western influences. Features Mattias IA Eklundh on guitar.

T Lavitz - School Of The Arts 

Acoustic progressive jazz with Frank Gambale and Steve Morse on guitars. Great writing. Review

John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension - Official Pirate 

Download-only album featuring the best performances from McLaughlin's 2007 tour.

Other albums that deserve mentioning:

Marc Norgaard - Tolerance  Review
Planet X - Quantum
Ed DeGenaro - Dog House  Review
Freeway Jam - To Beck And Back  Review
John McLaughlin - The Essential John McLaughlin 

Rich

Machacek, Sipe, Garrison interview at All About Jazz

All About Jazz has a fantastic round table discussion with Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe and Matthew Garrison regarding the Improvision album.

Alex Machacek / Jeff Sipe / Matt Garrison: The Improvision Round Table

See also: My review of Improvision

Machacek, Sipe, Garrison video - "There's a New Sheriff in Town"

Here's some in-studio footage of Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe, and Matthew Garrison recording the track "There's a New Sheriff in Town" for the Improvision album.

Another Improvision review at All About Jazz

All About Jazz has posted a second highly positive review of the Machacek, Sipe, Garrison album Improvision, this time by writer Ian Patterson.

Ian Patterson reviews Improvision

See also: my review of Improvision