PRESS RELEASE
Seemingly from out of nowhere, New York-based guitarist-composer Chris Taylor has emerged after nearly 30 years on the scene with a brilliant, fully-realized first album as a leader. And though it's been a long time in coming, Nocturnal may be the most auspicious debut of the year.
Reflecting the influences of such potent bands as Weather Report, Tribal Tech and the Zawinul Syndicate, as well as such guitaristic icons as John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Allan Holdsworth, Taylor's compelling album also stakes out strikingly original territory. From cinematic offerings like “Voices in my Head," the atmospheric “All of Us" and the dreamy soundscape “Recluse" to super-charged jams like “Ear to the Rail," “Know What I'm Saying," “Odd Hours" and the anthemic “Here to There," Nocturnal resonates with audacious energy and ideas. Taylor is ably supported on his maiden voyage by a stellar crew featuring drummers Gary Novak, Dave Weckl, Joel Rosenblatt and Kirk Covington, keyboardists George Whitty and Scott Kinsey, bassists Ric Fierabracci and Gary Haase, and saxophonist Steve Tavaglione.
It was back in 1981 that Taylor left the Berklee College of Music after three semesters to begin his professional career, and he's been gigging ever since. “Basically, I ran out of money," says Taylor of his brief stint at Berklee. “The plan was to go gig for a while, make some money and then go back to Berklee. I ended up gigging for 20 years or so and never got back to school. And since then I've done every gig imaginable."
Over the years, Taylor has played on innumerable sessions as a sideman and even contributed his own compositions on some recordings. But he had never taken the time to put his own album together, until now. “I never thought of myself as a leader," says Taylor, “but I've been writing music forever, since before Berklee. Writing was something that I've always enjoyed. I like to do it more than playing guitar. I'm much happier composing, I think."
The composer acknowledges his debut to such fusion juggernauts as Weather Report live or the Zawinul Syndicate or even Tribal Tech on his debut outing. While tipping his hat to those powerful influences throughout Nocturnal, Taylor turns in some more personal statements on the stirring title track (imbued with his evocative slide guitar work), the evocative “Green Divided by Blue" (named for the composer's fascination with the impressionist painter Rothko) and the provocative “Bela" (which incorporates some samples from a George W. Bush speech). “I like to tell the story through sound," he says of those vivid pieces.
A triumph from start to finish, Nocturnal is an impressive introduction to this new 50-year-old face on the creative instrumental music scene.
John Kelman has a review up of the Ultimate Zero Tour - Live album at All About Jazz. The 2-disc set features songs recorded during the prog-rock super group's 2009 tours. The various lineups on the disc include bandleader Eddie Jobson - violin and keys, John Wetton - bass, vocals and acoustic guitar, Greg Howe - guitar, Tony Levin - Chapman Stick, Trey Gunn - touch guitar, Ric Fierabracci - bass, and Marco Minnemann & Simon Phillips - drums.
All About Jazz Review: Ultimate Zero - Live
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.
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.
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
Guitarist Ed DeGenaro's latest release, Less Is Seldom More (Unfretted Records), is a perfect follow-up to his 2007 disc Dog House. While the two albums share many of the same qualities (largely gapless playback, an eclectic mix of styles, etc), DeGenaro pushes the "avant-garde fusion" envelope a bit further with this new disc, and enlists an awe-inspiring lineup of musicians to help him do it.
Most people probably associate DeGenaro with fretless guitar, which is understandable; he is widely heralded for his great work on that instrument. But while there is plenty of fretless playing on Less Is Seldom More, DeGenaro doesn't beat you over the head with it; his approach with the fretless, at least on this recording, is usually subtle. In the hands of most players, the fretless guitar sounds like an untame-able beast. Even the simplest phrase with no slides will give it away, because they just don't have the touch to keep it in tune, and in control. In DeGenaro's hands, however, you usually can't tell it's a fretless until he wants you to. In other words, he uses the instrument for it's unique ability to extend your own inflections and dynamics, rather than exploiting it as a novelty.
Less Is Seldom More is largely a collaborative effort between DeGenaro and producer/composer Chris Taylor. Taylor wrote or co-wrote most of the songs, and also contributes keyboards, guitars, and some programming (Taylor was involved with Dog House as well, but to a lesser extent). The list of guest musicians on this disc is as impressive as it is extensive. Along for the ride are Dave Weckl, Joel Rosenblatt, and Marco Minnemann on drums, Ric Fierabracci and Trip Wamsley on bass, George Whitty on organ, Matte Henderson and fusion legend Ray Gomez on guitar, and several others. Similarly to Dog House, Less Is Seldom More feels like one continuous fusion piece that shifts through many moods and styles. Some of those moods are more traditional than others, but throughout the disc, DeGenaro's creativity and musicianship are loud and clear.
After a snappy blues guitar "Intro," things kick into high gear with "Avenue D" - a hard driving jazz fusion tune with great solos by Whitty, Fierabracci, and of course DeGenaro. Even though this piece is loaded with, effects and edits, it ends up being one of the more traditional-sounding songs on the album.
The next four tracks ("Monkey Bawls Utility," "Utilitarian Research Jam," "Matte's Bible Camp," and "Confirm Walk Forward") provide the first foray into what I would call "avant-garde" fusion. DeGenaro takes an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach with some of these pieces, throwing in lots of mood shifts, instrumentation changes, you name it. There are occasionally heavy riffs and sheets-of-sound shredding, but there's a lot of sonic experimentation as well. I particularly like "Utilitarian Research Jam," which has a Zappa-like quality in it's melodies. The slowly-building ballad "Matte's Bible Camp" (written by Matte Henderson) is a great piece as well. The vocals that comprise one of the main themes are almost creepy, especially when they are first introduced at the beginning. Talk about evoking a mood. These four songs illustrate what's great about the album as a whole - it's a refreshing change from a typical "fusion" album that will have a set instrumentation and band that varies little from the first song to the last.
"Prayer" and "Joe Z" both feature Ray Gomez guesting on guitar, but they are actually one continuous piece split into two tracks on the disc. DeGenaro recorded "Joe Z" (written by Taylor as an homage to Weather Report founder Joe Zawinul) on his Dog House album as well. This new version is a bit more guitar-centric, and has less of the Indian quality that was prevalent on the Dog House version. Gomez sounds great here. The guy is an old pro who's been around a long time; his lengthy list of recordings includes the 1976 Stanley Clarke album School Days - a fusion classic. What a great player.
DeGenaro loves to shift moods on you, as evidenced by the next track - the Buckethead-like "Yes Man." This heavy tune is an incredible chops showcase for both DeGenaro and guitarist Matte Henderson (who also wrote the song). It also features some nice fretless work during the outro. The proceedings turn on a dime again with the fast country tune "Neck Bone," which has DeGenaro showing off his prodigious picking skills.
DeGenaro also includes a version of the Robben Ford tune "The Brother (For Jimmie & Stevie)." Ford recorded the original in 1992 as a tribute to Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan. DeGenaro's version adds a heavy intro with some spoken-word samples, but leaves the rest of the tune's structure largely intact (except for some hide-the-downbeat monkey business). It also has some of DeGenaro's best blues playing on the album.
After a quick Tribal Tech-style piece called "One," DeGenaro launches into "Southern Flyer." This in an instrumental rock tune written by John Czajkowski (Hectic Watermelon), and is clearly the most straightforward track on the disc. I love the wide interval melody on this song, and the solo section which has DeGenaro trading off with guitarist Dave Simpson. George Whitty's organ playing gives the song a Deep Purple sort of vibe as well.
Since the album opens with "Intro," it's only natural that it closes with "Outro" - a beautiful piece of acoustic blues improv. Less Is Seldom More is another illustration of DeGenaro's great strength: his ability to mix a wide variety of styles under the banner of instrumental fusion. Jazz, metal, country, blues, electronica, it's all here, done with an experimental adventurousness that few musicians posses. The common thread through it all is DeGenaro's great guitar work. Whether he's playing fretless or fretted guitars, guitar synth, acoustics, etc, DeGenaro's killer playing is well represented throughout the entire disc. Great stuff.
Ed DeGenaro - Less Is Seldom More
Personnel:
Ed DeGenaro (guitar/fretless guitar/guitar synth)
Ray Gomez (guitar) 7, 8
Chris Taylor (keys/guitar/programming) 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12
Dave Weckl (drums) 3, 4
Ric Fierabracci (bass) 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
Marco Minnemann (drums) 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
George Whitty (organ) 2, 13
Joel Rosenblatt (drums) 7, 8
Matte Henderson (keys/guitar/programming) 5, 9
Trip Wamsley (bass) 11, 12, 13
Satish (trumpet) 2
Ezekiel Trosper (bass) 10
Dave Simpson (guitar) 13
Gwen Snyder (vocal) 5
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Avenue D
3. Monkey Bawls Utility
4. Utilitarian Research Jam
5. Matte's Bible Camp
6. Confirm Walk Forward
7. Prayer
8. Joe Z
9. Yes Man
10. Neck Bone
11. The Brother (for Jimmie & Stevie)
12. One
13. Southern Flyer
14. Outro
LOTS of great fusion stuff has come out recently. Here are some of my favorite recent acquisitions I'm currently working my way through. I'll be reviewing some or most of these as soon as I can...
Ed DeGenaro - Less Is Seldom More
Great follow-up to Dog House. Features tons of great players including Marco Minnemann, Dave Weckl, Ric Fierabracci, and Ray Gomez.
Fantastic driving fusion... includes guitarists Shane Theriot, Marco Sfogli, Phil Keaggy, and Tom Quayle
Latest recording from guitarist Richard Hallebeek's band. Great jazz fusion with a Tribal Tech vibe.
Lyle Workman - Harmonic Crusader
Great guitar album from the L.A. studio veteran. Features a cavalcade of greats - Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Babko, Simon Phillps, Gary Novak, and on and on.
Simon C.F.Yu - Exotic Species (review)
Eccentric mash-up of eastern and western styles. Includes guest David "Fuze" Fiuczynski.
Sebastiaan Cornelissen - U-Turn
Just got an early copy of this new Abstract Logix Label release. Fantastic fusion recording from the drummer of the One Spirit band. The incredible lineup includes Alex Machacek, Richard Hallebeek, Gary Husband, Scott Kinsey, Gary Willis, Hadrien Feraud, Tom Kennedy, Jimmy Earl, and many others.
