http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/reviews en-us news@modernguitars.com 2008-04-04T02:37:58-06:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/004291.html I will admit that when I got the Bass Line instructional DVD for review, my expectations were low. Rev Jones is a great bassist, known for his work with “shredder” bands like the Michael Schenker Group and Paul Gilbert. However, I thought, many great players are either protective of their “secrets” or just not that good at teaching. I prepared myself to be subjected to an onslaught of obscure riffs that would be of little interest to a groove player, and would be difficult, if not downright overwhelming, to a beginning bassist. It turns out I was wrong. More » 4291@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2008-04-04T02:37:58-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/004188.html by Rich Murray. Michael Landau tunes up at the Baked Potato. Photo by Rich Murray.One of my favorite parts of attending the NAMM trade show in Anaheim, California, this year was getting to venture into some amazing live shows around... 4188@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2008-02-05T05:24:20-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/004123.html With his self-published instructional book Hybrid Picking for Guitar, jazz guitarist and hybrid picking guru Gustavo Assis-Brasil lays out a full curriculum for developing this technique that is applicable to both beginning and advanced hybrid pickers. A fine player with numerous recording credits, Assis-Brasil is the director of the Jazz and Contemporary Music department of the Cambridge School of Weston, and is a Berklee College of Music grad. Hybrid picking is a technique that combines the two most common methods of playing the guitar - finger picking and flat picking. Using a flat pick alone is a great technique, but large interval skips can be difficult, and you can't play all the notes of a chord at the same time. With finger picking, you can execute these intervallic leaps and chordal ideas with ease, but you lose the ability to perform many common flat picking techniques (funk rhythms, alternate picking, etc). By combining the techniques you get the best of both worlds. Full review » 4123@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2008-01-15T04:31:40-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/004061.html From the in-depth review by record producer and sound engineer Kevin Shirley: Led Zeppelin. Monday, December 10, 2007. London's O2 Arena. I came to be critical. I am just that way. I don’t enjoy live gigs as a rule, much preferring the sonics of records, so I came with arms folded across my chest – just the type of audience musicians hate. But, Led Zeppelin lived up to the hype. They are still the world’s greatest rock act. The one thing that struck me, which I know but was strongly reinforced, is the wonderfully tactile nature of musical instruments and how it's the players that make all the difference. In a world of computer generated music and digital perfection, nothing compares to fingers on strings, hands and feet playing drums and keys. The results are just as signature as a voice. But first, a little background before the details of the show. Review » 4061@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-12-11T12:54:32-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/004045.html From the review by Rich Murray: Like many Western musicians, the Indian rhythmic system known as Konokol has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I've heard the seemingly complex rhythmic-pattern language on many recordings, but as interesting as it sounds, the sometimes rapid-fire vocalizations (Takita, Taka Dimi, etc.) have always befuddled me. With the new instructional DVD The Gateway To Rhythm (Mediastarz Monaco; distributed in the U.S. by Abstract Logix), jazz guitar legend John McLaughlin and Konokol master S. Ganesh Vinayakram (who was a percussionist in McLaughlin's Remember Shakti band) not only explain and demonstrate the Konokol system in a way that's easy to understand, they illustrate how learning Konokol will give you a deeper understanding of rhythm in general. McLaughlin has advocated Konokol as a system for learning rhythm without drums for over 30 years. 4045@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-12-03T12:16:33-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003975.html Mike Keneally originally released hat. and Boil That Dust Speck in 1992 and 1994, respectively. They have been out of print for awhile, but thankfully, Keneally has obtained the rights and re-released them in an expanded format (i.e., additional tracks and/or track length, and an accompanying DVD) through his own Exowax Records. These reissues serve as a great introduction to the wacky yet musical world of the last in a string of brilliant “stunt guitarists” for Frank Zappa. If you want to delve into the musical genius that is Mike Keneally, start with these CDs. Review » 3975@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-11-08T08:15:56-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003927.html From the review by Ignacio Gonzalez: Love them or hate them, Mötley Crüe hit the nail on the head of the '80s revival craze with the release of their new live, double album Carnival Of Sins (Eleven Seven Music). Among other reasons, Carnival Of Sins is an enjoyable listen simply because it represents what the '80s glam metal experience was all about: live, high-octane, arena-rock madness. The Crüe’s 2005 Carnival of Sins tour may not have mirrored the outrageously well-attended shows in the '80s (20 to 30 thousand people a night was the typical minimum), but the band’s recording of the tour in this new album is the perfect way for fans to re-live the madness and for young generations to know that there’s more to Mötley Crüe than drummer Tommy Lee’s spousal-related exploits. 3927@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-10-25T03:43:55-06:00 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/003832.html by Rich Murray. Dog HouseDog House (Unfretted Records) is fretless-guitar whiz Ed DeGenaro's latest release. Though he plays plenty of fretted guitar as well, DeGenaro is one of the finest and most popular players on the fretless scene today. He... 3832@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-10-05T02:06:30-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003814.html by Ignacio Gonzalez. Immagine in Cornice: Picture in a FrameWhile Pearl Jam’s newest live concert film/DVD, Immagine in Cornice, (Monkeywrench Records, distributed by Rhino Entertainment) is a worthy piece of film and rock music, don’t expect the level of depth... 3814@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-10-02T07:15:20-06:00 http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003772.html Israeli-born guitarist Oz Noy has released his strongest solo album to date - a fine collection of jazz and funk instrumentals entitled Fuzzy (Magnatude Records, a division of Magna Carta). Joining Noy on this recording are Anton Fig, Will Lee, Keith Carlock, James Genus, Jimmy Johnson, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jim Beard, George Whitty and Shai Bachar. Based in New York, Noy is an in-demand session player with numerous television, film and album credits on his resume. His solo albums are where he really gets to spread his wings though, and Fuzzy is undoubtedly his most creative effort yet. Noy's previous releases, Live (2003) and Ha! (2005) (both on Magnatude) were, for the most part, stripped-down raw productions. On Fuzzy, Noy takes a different approach. Each song is augmented with sound effects and loops to add texture to the music. As a result, Fuzzy turns out to be a very unique-sounding album. While these songs would have worked fine as straight-up performances, the post-production enhancements make things more interesting. More » 3772@http://www.modernguitars.com/ News Archive 2007-09-25T07:24:24-06:00 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/003688.html by Rich Murray. Maryland-based drummer Marc Norgaard has released his debut solo album Tolerance (Call Sign Records). This collection of progressive-rock and jazz fusion instrumentals features an impressive array of great musicians. Joining Norgaard on this release are Brett Garsed... 3688@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-09-07T04:53:22-06:00 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/003661.html by Tom Watson. Blues Blast by Debbie DaviesBlues Blast (Telarc) is the latest release from blues singer, songwriter and guitarist Debbie Davies and represents Davies' 11th album outing as a group leader, or in the case of Blues Blast, a... 3661@http://www.modernguitars.com/ Reviews 2007-09-03T09:28:50-06:00