The Guitar Channel

Current Listening

I've been listening to a TON of great new music lately. Here's what I've had in heavy rotation...

The Michael Landau Group - Organic Instrumentals

Landau's first all-instrumental album since his 1990 debut Tales From The Bulge absolutely RULES. Great writing and production, killer playing, amazing tones. Line-up includes Gary Novak, Andy Hess, Jimmy Haslip, Larry Goldings, Vinnie Colaiuta, and others.

Polcat

Way-cool jazz fusion project with Chris Poland on guitar, Frank Catalano on sax, Sean O'Bryan Smith on bass, and Jim Gifford on drums. Awesome grooves and playing. Poland is a great fit.

Chad Wackerman - Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations

Wackerman's latest features Allan Holdsworh on guitar, Jimmy Johnson on bass, and Jim Cox on keys - the same band Wackerman utilized for his 1991 solo debut Forty Reasons. Lots of group improv on this one. Holdsworth is amazing as usual.

Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful Volume 2

Excellent modern fusion album; a more-than-worthy follow-up to 2010's Volume 1. Amazing guest list includes Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Wayne Krantz, Alex Machacek, Jimmy Herring, Mike Stern, Robin Trower, Ray Russell and Jan Hammer.

Ed DeGenaro - Holiday In Madras

Deep fusion with a strong Indian influence. Ed drops some amazing Shawn Lane-like runs as well. Personnel includes Ric Fierabracci and Marco Minnemann among others.

Steve Weingart & Renee Jones - Dialogue

This one's been out a while but I've been digging into it more lately. Super high-quality electric jazz album with great writing and playing. Features the always-tasty Mike Miller on guitar. Steve Lukather also guests on one track.

Tribal Tech - X

One of the greatest fusion bands ever is back with their first new album in 12 years. Features a good balance of group improv and composition. Scott Henderson's current, more blues-oriented approach gives the band a different flavor than it had in the old days.

Wayne Krantz - Howie 61

This won't be released until mid-April but I had the honor of writing the press release for it so I've been digging the tracks for awhile. Krantz, once again, strikes out in a new direction here with fresh take on composition and production. Line-up includes Vinnie Colaiuta, Tal Wilkenfeld, Keith Carlock, Pino Palladino, David Binney, John Patitucci, Anton Fig and many others.

Steve Lukather Europe and Africa Tour Dates

Here is a current list of Steve Lukather 2011 dates for Europe and Africa for his All's Well That Ends Well tour. Luke's band includes Renee Jones - bass and vocals, Steve Weingart - keyboards and vocals, and Eric Valentine - drums.

22 July 2011 Burg - Wilhelmstein , 52146 Wurselen (Germany)
23 July 2011 Zeltfest , Winterbach (Germany)
27 July 2011 Gru Village Blues Festival , Turin (Italy)
28 July 2011 Sconfinando Festival , re Genova (Italy)
30 July 2011 Festival Guitare en Scene , near Geneve (Switzerland)
03 August 2011 Rock On , Martirano Lombardo (Cz) (Italy)
04 August 2011 Guitar Legends Festival , Roma (Italy)
06 August 2011 Brienz Rock Festival , Brienz (Switzerland)
07 August 2011 Castello di San Giusto , Trieste (Italy)
11 August 2011 venue to be annonced , Mauritius (Republic of Mauritius)
12 August 2011 Theatre Luc Donat , Le Tampon (Island of Reunion, France)
13 August 2011 Kabardock , Le Port (Island of Reunion, France)
04 November 2011 Hirsch , Nurnburg (Germany)
05 November 2011 Live Music Hall , Köln (Germany)
06 November 2011 Substage , Karlsruhe (Germany)
09 November 2011 Backstage Werk , München (Germany)
10 November 2011 Colossaal , Aschaffenburg (Germany)
11 November 2011 Markthalle , Hamburg (Germany)
12 November 2011 Postbahnhof , Berlin (Germany)
13 November 2011 Tante Ju , Dresden (Germany)
15 November 2011 Stadtgarden , Erfurt (Germany)
16 November 2011 Arenberg , Antwerp (Belgium)
18 November 2011 Espace Horizon , Ozoir la Ferriere (Paris) (France)
19 November 2011 Les Arenes , Petite Foret (Valenciennes) (France)
20 November 2011 L'Atelier , Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
22 November 2011 Le Kursaal, Rue Guillaumie Maisier , Limbourg (Belgium)
23 November 2011 Sound Theatre , Wels (Austria)
24 November 2011 Millenaris , Budapest (Hungary)

Toxic Monkey at the Blue Note: New All-Star Band featuring Bill Evans and Steve Lukather

Sax legend Bill Evans has formed a new all-star band called Toxic Monkey which includes Steve Lukather on guitar, Will Lee on bass, Keith Carlock on drums, and Steve Weingart on keys. The band will take reseidence at the Blue Note in New York from January 11th through the 16th, 2011 for two shows a night. Visit the official show info page at the Blue Note for more info.

Updated Steve Lukather Band Tour Dates - Europe 2011

Below is an updated list of Steve Lukather European tour dates for 2011. Luke's band for these shows includes Renee Jones - bass and vocals, Steve Weingart - keyboards and vocals, and Eric Valentine - drums.

15 February 2011 Proxima, Warsaw (Poland)
Tickets
Tickets

17 February 2011 Conrad Sohm , Dornbirn (Austria)
Tickets

18 February 2011 Posthof , Linz (Austria)
Tickets

19 February 2011 Walterhaus , Bolzano (Italy)

20 February 2011 Magazzini Generali , Milan (Italy)
Tickets

23 February 2011 Lucema , Prague (Czech Republic)

24 February 2011 Fabrik , Ostrava (Czech Republic)

25 February 2011 Szene , Vienna (Austria)

26 February 2011 Venue tba , Brno (Czech Republic)

27 February 2011 Rockhaus , Salzburg (Austria)

01 March 2011 Moonwalker , Aarburg (Switzerland)

02 March 2011 Muhle Hunzigen , Nr Berne (Switzerland)

03 March 2011 Treibhaus , Innsbruck (Austria)

04 March 2011 Orpheum , Graz (Austria)

05 March 2011 A38 , Budapest (Hungary)

08 March 2011 La Laiterie , Strasbourg (France)
Tickets

09 March 2011 Ninkasi , Lyon (France)
Tickets

10 March 2011 Bikini , Toulouse (France)
Tickets

11 March 2011 Rock Star Live , Bilbao (Spain)
Tickets

12 March 2011 Carpa Municipal , San Javier (Spain)

13 March 2011 Sala Heineken , Madrid (Spain)
Tickets

15 March 2011 Atak , Enschede (Holland)
Tickets

16 March 2011 Boerderij , Zoetermeer (Holland)
Tickets

17 March 2011 Assembly Hall , Leamington Spa (United Kingdom)
Tickets
Box Office: 01926 523001

18 March 2011 Club Academy , Manchester (United Kingdom)
Tickets
Box Office: 0161 832 1111

19 March 2011 Picturedrome , Holmfirth (United Kingdom)
Tickets
Box Office: 0871 230 1101

20 March 2011 Village Venue , Dublin (Ireland)
Tickets
Box Office: 1890 200 078 / 0035314780766

Steve Lukather and Robben Ford - Live in Bangkok: 3/10/10

Steve Lukather and Robben Ford are currently touring Asia with a supergroup (named Soulbop) that includes Darryl Jones, Randy Brecker, Bill Evans, Steve Weingart and Rodney Holmes. The above clip is from their March 10th show in Bangkok. Upcoming dates and locations for this tour are below.

March 12 2010  Mapo Arts Center, Seoul, South Korea
March 15 2010  Mosaic Music Festival , Singapore
March 17 2010 Billboard Live Osaka , Osaka Japan
March 18 2010 Billboard Live Osaka , Osaka Japan

Steve Weingart Band changes name to Nu Jazz Alliance

NU JAZZ ALLIANCE

Steve Weingart, Frank Gambale, Tom Brechtlein & Carlitos Del Puerto are proud to announce "Nu Jazz Alliance" which previously performed under the name "the Steve Weingart Band" at recent shows in the LA area.

Nu Jazz Alliance will be performing tracks from Steve Weingart's "Dark Blue Dream" and classic compositions by Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Frank Gambale at La Ve Lee on March 6. For further information, visit www.lavaleejazzclub.com

Nu Jazz Alliance are:
Steve Weingart (Keyboards) www.steveweingart.com
Frank Gambale (Guitar) www.frankgambale.com
Tom Brechtlein (Drums) www.tombrechtlein.com
Carlitos Del Puerto (Bass) www.carlitosdelpuerto.com

A European tour is planned for September 2007, together with a Nu Jazz Alliance CD release later this year. Check out www.myspace.com/nujazzalliance for the latest news.

Review: Steve Weingart - Dark Blue Dream

Keyboardist Steve Weingart (Dave Weckl Band, El Grupo) recently released his second solo album, "Dark Blue Dream" (Skeewa Music). Joining Weingart on this album are Frank Gambale - guitar, Jimmy Earl - bass, and Tom Brechtlein - drums; with guest appearances by Ernie Watts - sax, Ronnie Gutierrez - percussion, and Renee Jones (Weingart's wife) - bass and vocals (there's no lyrics on the album, but Jones sings some supporting melodies on 2 tracks). I really liked Weingart's work with Steve Lukather's El Grupo band, and Frank Gambale is one of my favorites, so I was eager to check this disc out.

The album features full band tunes, plus some compositions that Weingart put together completely on the computer. The group performances on the band tunes were all recorded live in the studio; a cool approach for a fusion record. Weingart later added some effects while mixing the tracks. The whole album has a west-coast feel to it, but it's very fresh. The combination of Weingart's writing, his use of ambient sound effects, and the live band recordings give the album a very "new" sound.

The opening track, "Night Visitor", is one of the strongest tunes on the album. The main melody is great, and Gambale takes a nice solo over some cool changes. Plus, there's some intertwined guitar/keyboard lines in this song that almost give it a prog-rock feel in places. "3 Till Dawn" really shows Weingart's strengths as a composer and arranger as well. This tune is chock-full of great chords and melodies.

"Dark Blue Dream" has a cool deep-funk groove. I love the way Gambale builds his solo on this piece. He starts with a measured approach, playing some sparse bluesy phrases with lots of space, before kicking it up a notch with some nice sweep patterns. Gambale also sounds great on "Pursuit"; a wicked funk tune where the band sounds tight and well-rehearsed.

"Outside In (Part 1)" is a good example of how the live-in-the-studio approach really enhances the band tunes. Gambale and Weingart do some nice trading-off in the tune, and it definitely has a "live" feel. This is some of Gambale's best work on the album. For "Outside In (Part 2)", Weingart took some of Gambale's guitar lines from Part 1 and created an entirely new piece using drum loops and synth sounds. Pretty cool.

Overall, this is a very fresh-sounding album. A lot of keyboard-heavy jazz fusion records sound stuffy to me, but that's not the case here at all. Weingart's writing and playing are great, and his use of effects and different synth sounds always keep things interesting. And if you're a Frank Gambale fan, you'll definitely want to pick this up. He plays some great stuff here, and knowing his solos were done live with the band make them all the more impressive.

Visit Steve Weingart online at http://www.steveweingart.com

Rich

List all reviews

Favorite albums of 2006

This has been a great year for new guitar music. Since the year is coming to a close, I thought I would look back at my favorite discs of 2006.

Alex Machacek - [SIC]
One of the most compelling, original CD's I've heard in a long time, let alone this year.

Hugh Ferguson - A.D.D.
Great tones and writing in the Holdsworth vein.

The Michael Landau Group - Live
Great double-CD set of live Landau. Covers all facets of his musicality.

El Grupo - Live
Steve Lukather side project, similar to his Dove's Of Fire band. Awesome live set of crunchy fusion. Technically, this disc was first available in 2005 at El Grupo shows only, but I believe it was first officially "released" this year.

Paul Gilbert - Get Out Of My Yard
Gilbert's first instrumental album. It's the one you've been waiting for.

Guthrie Govan - Erotic Cakes
Debut solo album from the amazing UK guitarist. Stunning chops.

 

Steve Weingart - Dark Blue Dream
Sophomore solo release from keyboardist Weingart. Features Frank Gambale on guitar. Look for my review of this disc soon.

Hectic Watermelon - The Great American Road Trip
Wild prog-fusion from the San Diego-based trio. Sounds like a cross between Zappa and the Dregs.

Want to check out these discs? Follow one of these links:

Rich