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.

Rock Fusion Guitarist Prashant Aswani Announces Release of New Album

PRESS RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, CA OCTOBER 11, 2012 – Rock fusion guitarist, Prashant Aswani has announced December 18 as the release date for his upcoming album, Visions.  Incubus drummer, Jose Pasillas is featured on all 12 instrumental tracks along with bassist, Gabe Rosales.  Jeff Kollman makes a guest solo appearance on the song, “Left of Center.”  The CD will be available worldwide and songs will be available directly on iTunes and other digital outlets.

Recognized for his melodic playing, Aswani’s influences are diverse.  Artists from Metallica to Zakir Hussain color the style in which he plays.  Couple that diversity with extensive jazz studies at Berklee College of Music and prominent exposure to Indian classical music while growing up; and everything comes together to create a very unique fusion of sound.  Aswani’s passion and enthusiasm for the guitar shine through the recording. He weaves melodies gracefully over odd meter and demonstrates his command of the instrument with diverse rhythms, progressions and tones.

All tracks are written and arranged by Aswani who also produced and engineered the recording.  Mixing was shared by Aswani with John Cranfield.  

Prashant Aswani is a long time endorsing artist of ESP Guitars which produce his signature models, Bogner Amplifiers, DiMarzio Pickups, Maxon, Rupert Neve Designs, SE Electronics and Dean Markley strings.

Visions track listing:

    Your Call
    Boiling Point
    Trapped Crispy
    The Other Side
    Motivated to Run
    Brain Burn
    Nerve Dance
    Left of Center
    Jaya
    Another Chance
    Glimmer

To learn more about Prashant Aswani, please visit www.prashantaswani.com

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: Preview of New Prashant Aswani Album "Frequency"

Preview of Prashant Aswani's new sound track album Frequency, coming May 29th from Lakeshore Records.

Videos: Prashant Aswani on "Sonically Speaking"

Three cool videos of Prashant Aswani discussing his latest album Sonically Speaking.

Sonically Speaking Tones

"Drive"

"Make It 14"

See also:
The Guitar Channel Interview: Prashant Aswani

My Interview with Prashant Aswani

I sat down with guitarist Prashant Aswani at this year's Winter NAMM show for an in-depth discussion about his latest album Sonically Speaking, his writing process, his technique, and much more. See link below.

 

The Guitar Channel Interview: Prashant Aswani

Prashant Aswani Interview for Guitar International

Matt Warnock has posted a new interview with Prashant Aswani over at Guitar International. Aswani discusses his gear, his new album Sonically Speaking, and other topics.

 

Guitar International: Prashant Aswani Interview

Favorite Albums of 2010

Looking back over this past year, I really believe 2010 has been the most incredible year in music I've ever experienced. It's certainly been the best year I've seen since I started The Guitar Channel in 2004. On one hand, I've never witnessed as much amazing live music as I have this year. There were the great Winter NAMM gigs (such as OHM w/ Mike Kenneally, Alex Machacek w/ Ric Fierabracci, the Bombastic Meatbats, and more), awesome Chicago gigs by Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, and others, and of course the festivals - starting with the incredible Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival in May, the legend-packed Crossroads Guitar Festival in June, and the capper: the amazing New Universe Music Festival last month.

Then of course, there were the great albums of 2010. And there were a lot of them. Here are my favorite albums that were released this year, in no particular order.

Alex Machacek featuring Marco Minnemann - 24 Tales (Review)

A remarkable disc featuring music Machacek composed over a 52-minute Minnemann drum solo.

Michael Landau, Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip, Gary Novak - Renegade Creation (Review)

Awesome blues rock super group that brings together guitar legends Landau and Ford. Killer playing; amazing guitar tones.

Ray Riendeau - Atmospheres

This one came out of nowhere and really grabbed me. Great collection of fusion tunes with a killer guest list that includes Alex Machacek, Jeff Kollman, Greg Koch, Nat Janoff, and many others.

Lenny White - Anomaly

Fantastic old-school jazz rock album from the legendary drummer. Includes guests Jimmy Herring and David Gilmore.

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Tasty, melodic instrumental rock disc with killer playing and writing. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome throwback fusion with great grooves. Features Jeff Kollman on guitar.

Charlie Hunter - Public Domain

This may seem like an out-of-left-field choice, but I can't get enough of this album. Features Hunter playing solo versions of old public domain classics chosen by his grandfather.

Other favorites from 2010:

Kirk Fletcher - My Turn
John McLaughlin - To The One (Review)
John Czajkowski and Marco Minnemann - West ZooOpolis
Steve Lukather - All's Well That Ends Well
Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World (Review)
Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom
Michael Dolce - Everything Til Now
Jeff Richman - Like That (Interview)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

Prashant Aswani Interview for Guitar Noize

Jon over at Guitar Noize has a nice interview up with Prashant Aswani. Prashant discusses his new album Sonically Speaking.

Guitar Noize: Interview - Prashant Aswani

Current Listening (and Reading... and Viewing)

Here's what I've been listening to, and reading, and watching lately...

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome funky throwback fusion. Killer version of "Moby Dick." With Jeff Kollman on guitar.

 

Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful Volume 1

Great writing and playing with an incredible guest list. Includes Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, Steve Topping, Steve Hackett, and many others.

Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom

Excellent fusion of Indian music and western jazz harmony. Guests include Wayne Krantz, John McLaughlin, Mattias IA Eklund, Matt Garrison, and others.

 

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Highly melodic instrumental rock album with great playing from all involved. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

 

Anil Prasad - Innerviews: Music Without Borders (Book)

Excellent collection of musician interviews from Innerviews founder Anil Prasad. The diverse list of featured artists includes John McLaughlin, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Chuck D, McCoy Tyner, Bela Fleck, and many others. A great read.

 

Eric Clapton - Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 (Blu-ray)

DVD release of this year's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Loaded with great performances and backstage footage.

Review: Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking

Prashant Aswani’s latest album Sonically Speaking (Exotic Rhythms) features a rich set of melodic instrumental rock fusion songs that not only show his strengths as a guitarist and composer, but as a producer and arranger as well. The album is full of exceptional playing by both Aswani, and the lineup of great musicians he has brought along to support him. Aswani is joined on this release by Rhonda Smith (Jeff Beck, Prince) on bass, and Joey Heredia (Stevie Wonder, Tribal Tech, Steve Lukather) on drums. Abhijit Banerjee also appears on the album playing the Tabla, an Indian percussion instrument. This proves to be a fantastic personnel choice as Banerjee adds a highly distinctive dimension to the album. Guitarists Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano are also onboard turning in some killer guest solos.

Sonically Speaking is Aswani’s first full album of new material since 2000’s Duality (in 2007, Aswani re-released his 1998 debut Revelation as Revelation: Fully Loaded with new artwork and three new tracks). It’s also the first album in his catalog that he’s produced solely on his own. And while the playing and writing on this album are certainly top-notch, Aswani’s production work is equally impressive. He uses a multitude of layered guitar tones on most tracks to give the album a deep rich sound. The guitar parts themselves are arranged with a similar approach - many songs feature multiple clean rhythm tracks mixed together in such a way that you often forget there is no keyboard player on the album. Banerjee’s Tabla work is a major factor in the overall sound of Sonically Speaking as well. His contributions not only aid Aswani’s effort to lend the album some shades of his Indian roots - they also give the entire disc a unique sound that helps to separate it from the pack of often “cookie cutter” sounding instrumental rock guitar albums. Aswani’s highly melodic approach to writing is unique for this genre as well. Though there’s a motherlode of complex playing on Sonically Speaking, nearly all of the main song melodies are simple, hummable, and very catchy. As a result, this disc is full of tunes that stick in your head.

From a guitar geek perspective, Sonically Speaking is a goldmine of killer tones and state-or-the-art playing. Aswani’s lead tone on the disc is buttery smooth - warmly overdriven without a hint of fuzz, while his clean tones range from Strat-like snappy to more glassy, atmospheric sounds. As a guitarist, Aswani comes from the Greg Howe / Brett Garsed school of rock-meets-fusion. He has the touch and feel a rock player, yet has no trouble navigating through changes while dropping in cool intervallic and outside ideas. He also has a highly developed hybrid-picking technique that allows him to execute complex legato runs that are smooth yet punchy.

Sonically Speaking opens with “Stephanie” - a light, airy ballad that features Banerlee’s Tabla as the sole percussion. This tune is a great example of Aswani’s aforementioned production skills; multiple clean guitar tracks are used to give the piece a big, lush sound. Things get heavier with “Drive” which has Aswani sharing the spotlight with Aussie guitarist Brett Garsed on the cool Phrygian-based solo section. Garsed is great as always, peeling off plenty of his signature spidery legato lines. Aswani takes a more aggressive approach in his solo by adding some wild tapped licks and whammy accents. This tune also has one of the best riffs on the album, and features a nice bass break from Rhonda Smith. “Drive” is followed by one of the most interesting tracks on the album - the prog-like “Make It 14.” With its eastern-tinged melody and rapid mood shifts, this is one of the most exotic tunes on the disc. In his solo, Aswani plays some great dynamic phrases over the changes. This song ends with a wah-wah based rhythm part that is one of the coolest grooves on the record.

“11 Miles” is a bluesy power ballad of sorts with a nice odd meter A section. Aswani’s solo on this one is loaded with smooth sixteenth note lines. Other ballads on the disc include “Pardon Me” - which prominently features the Tabla, and includes some of Aswani’s fastest runs, and “Rain” - another song (like “Stephanie”) where all of the percussion is handled by the Tabla. This piece also has some great harmony and acoustic guitar parts. Aswani is definitely at his jazziest on this track, both with his lines and his tone.

The heaviest songs on the album are “5 am” and “Narrow Path.” On “5 am,” the core tune  features hard distorted riffs over a backdrop of Police-esque clean chord stabs. Aswani uncorks a killer solo on this one over a cool “fusiony” chord progression. “Narrow Path” is Aswani’s most “metallic” song on the disc - this tune is dripping with middle eastern vibes in its heavy riffs and melody.

“Shades of Gray” is probably Sonically Speaking’s most commercial-sounding track. The song has a great singing melody, and a pair of cool solos from Aswani (first with a clean tone during the main solo section - a nice change of pace - then distorted for the outro). The album closes with “Pure at Heart” which features Rob Caggiano from Anthrax contributing a wicked solo and some melody lines. Caggiano’s wild aggression provides a nice counter to Aswani’s more even-keeled approach. The song - and the album - fittingly ends with the Tabla right out front.

With Sonically Speaking, Aswani has crafted a deep album that subtly harkens back to his Indian roots, while showing off his considerable playing, writing, and producing chops. The album is loaded with great examples of his cutting edge technique, and fine contributions from his well chosen supporting lineup. Highly recommended.


Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Exotic Rhythms)

Personnel:

Prashant Aswani - Guitars
Rhonda Smith - Bass
Joey Heredia - Drums
Abhijit Banerjee - Tabla
Brett Garsed - First guitar solo on “Drive”
Rob Caggiano - First guitar solo and first trailer melody on “Pure at Heart”

Tracklisting:

1. Stephanie
2. Drive
3. Make It 14
4. 11 Miles
5. 5 Am
6. Pardon Me
7. Narrow Path
8. Rain
9. Shades of Gray
10. Pure at Heart

 

Rich

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