http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/jazz_guitar_news en-us news@modernguitars.com 2007-10-24T09:32:24-06:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003924.html From the review by Rich Murray: School Of The Arts (Magnatude Records) is the latest album from keyboardist T Lavitz (Dixie Dregs, Jazz Is Dead, Widespread Panic). A great collection of acoustic jazz compositions, School Of The Arts is presented not as a Lavitz solo album exactly, but rather a project or band album, spearheaded by Lavitz. The roster of players on this release is quite impressive - Dave Weckl (Chick Corea) handles all drums and percussion, John Patitucci (Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter) is on bass, Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dixie Dregs) plays violin, and on acoustic guitar - Frank Gambale (Chick Corea, Vital Information, Nu Alliance), and Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple). Lavitz plays piano exclusively on the album, and wrote the bulk of the songs. 3924@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-10-24T09:32:24-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003864.html Mike Varney has a vinyl fetish. The founder and head of the Shrapnel Label Group started collecting records at the age of five or six and now owns over 40,000 vinyls and CDs, a collection that he's put to good use. You'd be hard pressed to find someone more knowledgeable about the history of metal, hard rock, progressive guitar instrumental, blues-rock, jazz-fusion, and the various sub-genres those styles have produced, especially with respect to the role the electric guitar has played in such music. Since the founding of Shrapnel Records in 1980, Varney has expanded the business into three imprints under the Shrapnel Label Group: Shrapnel Records, Blues Bureau Records and Tone Center Records, with each label having a focus on a different genre - metal, hard rock, guitar instrumental (primarily progressive) and rock tributes on Shrapnel, blues-rock and blues tributes on Blues Bureau and progressive-jazz-fusion and jazz tributes on Tone Center. More » 3864@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-10-11T06:13:49-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003820.html Larry Coryell has been, and continues to be, an innovative force of jazz guitar and is credited by many with being among the first players to champion the jazz-rock and fusion movements. After reviewing his new autobiography, Improvising: My Life in Music (Backbeat Books), I was asked by Modern Guitars to contact him and arrange an interview to discuss the book. The premise was to have one professional player talking to another about life experiences and music. Read » 3820@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-10-04T05:44:18-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003735.html From the review by Tom Watson: "Inner Constellation, Volume One (Nemu Records) is the latest album from guitarist and composer Bruce Eisenbeil. [The title track] 'Inner Constellation' is the focal point of the album and of this review. It is a unified piece consisting of 27 passages that are individually identified on the CD packaging and the disc's meta-data though, as pointed out in the liner notes: 'The track points are provided for the listener's convenience and do not indicate divisions of the work.' The 47-minute opener is engaging. It's essentially 27 sketches ranging in length from 0:19 to 5:55 in which six instruments connect the dots of an internal, metaphorical constellation. Each passage represents both a stopping-point star and a way station to its neighbor, with a variety of musical techniques, some rhythmic, some harmonic, some both, serving as the imaginary connecting line that gives the constellation its overall shape." The review includes an on-demand stream of the first 5:30 of "Inner Constellation." 3735@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-09-17T03:51:04-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003664.html Today marks the official release of a DVD from Reelin' in the Years Productions consisting of three 1965 television studio performances by jazz guitar icon Wes Montgomery in a quartet setting. In each case, Montgomery performs with a different rhythm section: in Holland (April 2) with brothers Pim (piano) and Ruud (bass) Jacobs and drummer Han Bennink; in Belgium (April 4) with Harold Mabern (piano), Arthur Harper (bass), and Jimmy Lovelace (drums); and, in England (May 7) with Stan Tracey (piano), Rick Laird (bass), and Jackie Dougan (drums). The DVD is available as both a standalone product and as part of a 7-DVD-plus-bonus-disc boxed set (Icons of Jazz, Series 2) that, in addition to the Montgomery DVD, offers rare live performance footage of John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Dexter Gordon, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Duke Ellington. Read review » 3664@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-09-04T08:23:43-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003568.html From the review by Rich Murray: Improvision (Abstract Logix Records) is a collaboration between three of the heaviest musicians on the jazz and fusion scene today; guitarist Alex Machacek, drummer Jeff Sipe, and bassist Matthew Garrison. Simply put, this is one of those rare albums that gets everything right. The playing from all involved is cutting-edge, and the compositions themselves are very deep, yet approachable. A lot of people are going to call this music "fusion". That's not an incorrect label to use for Improvision I guess, since it will get the point across. However, to my ears, this is jazz. Not straight-ahead jazz mind you; it's no-holds-barred, in-your-face, new jazz. Read review » 3568@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-08-05T08:21:45-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003531.html by Rich Murray. TruthJazz/blues guitar legend Robben Ford's latest album Truth (Concord Records) features a set of sophisticated blues songs that really shows his strength as a songwriter. Though much of his early work was in the jazz and fusion... 3531@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-07-27T19:35:02-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003522.html by Staff. Building on its almost 125 years of history and tradition, Gretsch will introduce two forward looking models at the 2007 Summer NAMM Show today. With a look reminiscent of its Gretsch hollowbody predecessors, the G6134T-LTV White Penguin is... 3522@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-07-27T08:22:02-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003517.html Press release Source: Gibson Guitar Larry CarltonGibson Guitar, the world’s premiere musical instrument manufacturer and Gibson’s distributor Rosetti hosted a special Larry Carlton guitar master class in the intimate setting of the Gibson Guitar Studio on Friday 13th July. Gibson... 3517@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Press Release Archive 2007-07-27T03:38:03-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003476.html Press release Source: DL Media Like every outstanding instrumentalist and jazz composer, Jay Azzolina is not the type to coast on the reputation he's won for himself. And so on Local Dialect, his new project for Garagista Music, the celebrated... 3476@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Press Release Archive 2007-07-16T16:43:11-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003393.html by Ignacio Gonzalez. 75th Birthday Bash Live!It’s not very often someone gets invited to a legendary jazz guitarist’s birthday party. Imagine such an invitation. After all, birthday parties are intimate affairs, everyone lets their guard down, and you leave getting... 3393@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-06-11T06:28:04-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003378.html by Rich Murray. Collection - Scott HendersonCollection contains an assortment of songs from the Tone Center Records catalog that feature fusion guitar great Scott Henderson. This is essentially a label "sampler", and shouldn't be viewed as a "Best Of" or... 3378@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-06-07T06:14:53-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003348.html by Tom Watson. Borrowed Time (U.S. and Canada cover)June 5, 2007, marks the United States and Europe release of Borrowed Time (Tiempo Prestado), a strongly Latin rhythm influenced CD from jazz guitarist Steve Khan, licensed for U.S. distribution by the... 3348@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-05-28T18:34:56-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003342.html Jazz guitar great Jimmy Bruno recently launched an online jazz guitar video instruction site, the Jimmy Bruno Guitar Institute, geared toward players of all levels interested in developing jazz guitar skills (skills applicable, though, to a wide variety of music styles in addition to jazz) through a series of instructional videos featuring Bruno explaining and demonstrating a wide variety of techniques and concepts. Though Bruno has offered personal instruction on a one-to-one basis for many years and teaches jazz guitar at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, the Jimmy Bruno Guitar Institute will allow students from around the world to study with Jimmy from their own home and at their own pace. “My guitar students will never outgrow the expanding body of course material. No matter how good he or she gets, I am continually adding more ways for the student to deepen their mastery of the instrument. I hold nothing back," says Bruno. 3342@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-05-26T06:05:21-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003248.html Press release Source: DL Media The NELS CLINE Singers - Draw BreathOn June 26, 2007, Cryptogramophone Records will release Draw Breath by the NELS CLINE Singers and will leak one track from the album weekly prior to the street date... 3248@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Press Release Archive 2007-05-09T14:43:55-06:00