The Guitar Channel

Favorite Albums of 2012

2012 was a tremendous year for progressive guitar music. Here are my favorite releases of the year, in no particular order.

 

Michael Landau - Organic Instrumentals

Landau's first instrumental album since 1990's Tales From The Bulge is one of my favorite guitar records in many years, let alone this one. Awesome tones, dynamic playing, deep writing. A must-have for serious guitar geeks.

Wayne Krantz - Howie 61

Krantz took a bold new step with this album, and the results are rich and engrossing. A fantastic production filled with heady writing, and an amazing lineup of musicians.

Jimmy Herring - Subject To Change Without Notice

Awesome follow-up to 2008's Lifeboat. Highly textured with killer playing and grooves.

Alex Machacek, Raphael Preuschl, Herbert Pirker - FAT

Adventurous and dynamic with a great variety of guitar tones. Further proof that Machacek is among the most forward-thinking modern jazz composers of his generation.

Kurt Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter

Can't get enough of this one. Uber-deep jazz record, filled with great writing and improvisation.

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Live Meat And Potatoes

Funky, energetic live release with killer guitar work from Jeff Kollman. Nobody grooves like the Meatbats.

OHMPhrey - Posthaste

Stellar recording from the OHM-meets-Umphrey's McGee supergroup. Loaded with great riffs and playing. Everybody shines here, but the twin guitar attack of Chris Poland and Jake Cinninger is particularly awesome.

Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin, Dennis Chambers - HBC

What a band. Killer disc packed with guitar-driven trio versions of fusion classics. Henderson is amazing as always.

Karizma - Perfect Harmony

A 3-disc smorgasbord from keyboardist/composer David Garfield's classic west coast jazz band. Features a who's-who of the genre's luminaries, including Michael Landau.

The Aristocrats - Boing, We'll Do It Live!

Amazing live CD/DVD release with insane playing and band interplay. Guthrie Govan's guitar work is both musical and mind-blowing.

Other favorites from 2012:

Prashant Aswani - Visions
Chris Poland, Frank Catalano, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Jim Gifford - Polcat
Tribal Tech - X
Tohpati Bertiga - Riot
John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension - Now Here This
Paul Gilbert - Vibrato
Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful, Vol. 2
OHM - Tsunami Jams
Ed DeGenaro - Holiday In Madras
Flying Colors
Chad Wackerman - Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations
Chris Buck - 3 Crows
Jason Sadites - Broken
Renegade Creation - Bullet
Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day
Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth (Ed note: \m/)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2011
Favorite Albums of 2010
Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

Current Listening

Listening to lots of great new stuff lately...

 

Prashant Aswani - Visions

Awesome melodic rock fusion disc. Loaded with Aswani's signature legato lines, smooth overdriven tones, and groove-heavy writing. Includes a guest appearance by Jeff Kollman.

Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin, Dennis Chambers - HBC

Awesome, raw record with killer playing from all involved. Love the stripped-down trio arrangements of fusion classics such as "Actual Proof" and "Mysterious Traveller." A must-have for Scott Henderson fans.

John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension - Now Here This

Another great release from the godfather of fusion and his crack quartet, the 4th Dimension. Filled with deep improvisation and band interplay. Not to mention, McLaughlin's ripping runs on "Riff Raff" prove that he is still one of the greatest pickers ever.

Karizma - Perfect Harmony

New three-disc release from keyboardist David Garfield's classic west coast jazz band. Includes new music, plus demos and live tracks. Features Michael Landau, Tim Pierce, James Harrah, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Porcaro, and many others. Loaded with great playing.

Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola - Not Getting Behind Is The New Getting Ahead

Love the vibe on this one. Loaded with deep grooves and subtle interplay between Hunter and Amendola.

The Fusion Syndicate

Cool collection of jazz-fusion originals from producer Billy Sherwood, performed by a lengthy roster of the genre's giants. Lineup includes Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Steve Stevens, Scott Kinsey, Chad Wackerman, Billy Cobham, Jerry Goodman, Jordan Rudess, Derek Sherinian, Jimmy Haslip, Randy Brecker, Percy Jones, and many others.

Video: Michael Landau and Robben Ford Interview - Los Angeles Guitar Festival 2012

Michael Landau and Robben Ford discuss the new Renegade Creation album Bullet at the 2012 Los Angeles Guitar Festival for Xotic Reality Web Video.

New Karizma Album "Perfect Harmony" Includes Michael Landau, Tim Pierce, Vinnie Colaiuta

Kudos to Rob Garland for the tip on this: David Garfield has released a new 3-disc Karizma album entitled Perfect Harmony which includes Michael Landau, Tim Pierce, James Harrah, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Johnson and the late Jeff Porcaro among others. Garfield's Karizma has been around since the 70s, and has released many album's worth of killer west coast jazz (several of which feature Landau). The new album is currently available digitally on iTunes and Amazon, with physical CDs coming in November. See below for the Perfect Harmony tracklisting and lineup.

Karizma - Perfect Harmony

Tracklisting:

Disc 1
1) Tink
2) Oh Sweet Oso
3) Mujaka
4) Ratso
5) Still Waters Run Deep
6) Pontier
7) Mambos Café

Disc 2
1) Delicious Juices
2) Zigaboo
3) And Yelling All The Time
4) My Brother
5) Donna
6) Shelly
7) Wheat Toast

Disc 3 (Bonus: Demos and Live Tracks)
1) Heavy Resin
2) Aliens
3) Dream Come True
4) Kimbissa / Cuba
5) Sting
6) Toast For Eli
7) From Above
8) Sweet Pea
9) 716 Stepney St.
10) Kaptin' Koma

Personnel:

Keyboards - David Garfield

Guitar - Michael Landau, James Harrah, Tim Pierce

Drums - Vinnie Colauita, Jeff Porcaro, Carlos Vega, Oscar Seaton
 
Bass - Jimmy Johnson, Abraham Laboriel, Neil Stubenhaus, John Peña, Dean Cortez, Domenic Genova
 
Horns - Steve Tavaglione, Larry Klimas, Walt Fowler, Bruce Fowler, Nolan Shaheed, Thurman Green, Ralf Rickert
 
Percussion - Lenny Castro, Pat Murphy, Richard Tokatz

 

Video: Renegade Creation - Live at the San Javier Jazz Festival (60 Min)

15º Festival de Jazz de San Javier - Renegade Creation

• 15º Festival de Jazz de San Javier - Renegade Creation

A little birdie tipped me off to this one. Broadcast on Spanish television last night - Renegade Creation at the San Javier Jazz Festival in Spain on July 6th 2012. With Robben Ford and Michael Landau - guitars and vocals, Jimmy Haslip - bass and Gary Novak - drums.

Videos: The Jazz Ministry (w/ Mike Landau) - Live 8/18/12

Three great videos of The Jazz Ministry live at the Baked Potato on 8/18/12. With Michael Landau - guitar, Greg Mathieson - keys, Abe Laboriel Sr - bass, and Abe Laboriel Jr - drums.

Videos: Michael Landau Group - Live at Johnny D's 8/11/12

Series of videos from Michael Landau's 8/11/12 performance at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA. With Gary Novak - drums, and Travis Carlton - bass.

Videos: Michael Landau Group - Live at The Iridium 8/9/12 (2 Full Sets)

Watch live streaming video from iridiumlive at livestream.com

 

Watch live streaming video from iridiumlive at livestream.com

 

Both sets from Michael Landau's show at the Iridium in New York last night. With Gary Novak - drums, Andy Hess - bass, and special guest Hazey Jane (Karen Landau) - vocals. Note: these are archived videos from the Iridium Live webcast. Not sure how long they will keep these online so get 'em while they're hot!

Michael Landau Group Webcast Tonight on Iridium Live

Good news folks! The Iridium in New York will be webcasting Michael Landau's two sets tonight at 8 & 10pm eastern time.

Tune in live at http://theiridium.com/iridiumlive/

Michael Landau East Coast Tour Dates

Michael Landau will be playing the following dates on the east coast in August with drummer Gary Novak and bassist Andy Hess.

August 8th 2012  Mystic Theatre - Mystic, CT
August 9th 2012  Iridium - New York, NY
August 10th 2012 The Big Easy - Portland, ME
August 11th 2012  Johnny D's - Somerville, MA
August 12th 2012  Sellersville Theatre - Sellersville, PA

Landau will also be playing in Austin on Sept 29th.
September 29th 2012 - The Saxon Pub - Austin, TX

Current Listening

Frequency (Prashant Aswani)

A collection of great rock instrumentals written and recorded by Prashant Aswani for television and film soundtrack licensing. Aswani's playing is killer as always. Includes drummers Joey Heredia and Jose Pasillas.

Return To Forever - The Mothership Returns

Double Live RTFIV release with bonus DVD featuring a documentary, live performances, and more. Loaded with great Frank Gambale moments.

Renegade Creation - Bullet

Follow-up to the band's killer 2010 debut. More great writing, playing, and to-die-for guitar tones from Michael Landau and Robben Ford.

Spectrum Road

Tribute to legendary drummer Tony Williams' classic Lifetime bands. Features Vernon Reid, Jack Bruce, Cindy Blackman and John Medeski. Awesome throwback fusion. This album has turned me into a big Vernon Reid fan.

Bruce Forman Trio - Formanism

Great straight-ahead jazz disc. Guitarist Forman is fun and lyrical throughout.

Mike Stern - All Over The Place

Stern's latest is loaded with great writing, killer lines, and a who's-who list of top bass players that includes Anthony Jackson, Will Lee, Victor Wooten, Esperanza Spalding and others.

Video: Renegade Creation - Live 7/4/12 Full Show

Full Renegade Creation show (!) from July 4th 2012 at Luxor Live in Arnhem Holland. With Robben Ford and Michael Landau - guitars and vocals, Jimmy Haslip - bass and Gary Novak - drums.