Those familiar with The Uptowner, the notable jazz club on the corner of Humboldt Avenue and Center Street, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are surely familiar with Jack Grassel. In addition to other establishments in his fairly tight touring schedule, the guitarist has been a regular there for over ten years.

Those present have had the opportunity to see and hear his trio, made up of fellow guitarist Kirk Tatnall and various percussionists, Ernie Adams, Dane Richeson, or Sam Belton. The set lists, past to present, have consisted of Jack’s compositions only, which are 62 songs written over a thirty-year period. Though he appears at the Uptowner on other occasions as well, often in the company of singer Jill Jensen and bassist John Price, it’s the dual guitar shows, spiced with instrumental inventiveness, that have prompted international attention.

Jack Grassel is a brilliant jazz guitarist. Schooled by the likes of Tal Farlow and George Van Eps, he’s a unique artist with an appealing playing style. Guitar One magazine voted Jack one of America’s ten best guitarists (that you may not know). To shine a light of irony on that award, one needn’t have to look too hard to see how renowned he really is. Besides the prominent author of many influential books and jazz columns, he’s the creator of numerous acclaimed recordings, including 2001's Guitar Smoke and 2002's Live At The Uptowner. Jack is also the worthy recipient of six WAMI awards (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) for Jazz Artist of the Year and Guitarist Of The Year. A Grammy Award nomination came in 1989 for his guitar work on a Lukas Foss composition. His resume fills a whole page on its own. Putting all that aside, it’s his invention that has been triggering a buzz in the guitar world, an amazing device called the Superax.

Jack spent a decade attempting to create a workable design that would turn any six-string guitar into a Superax. This device is exclusive to him and Kirk, mainly because it’s so difficult to play and hasn’t been marketed much.

What’s so amazing about it, you might ask?

The device enables the musician to play both guitar and bass simultaneously. In fact, Jack and Kirk have become so proficient at it that they’re able to improvise melody, bass, and chord rhythm simultaneously. Adding a drummer to this fine duo, one can only imagine the fullness of sound that’s obtainable in a live setting.

Essentially, the system works like this: The bottom strings, A and E, are electronically transposed an octave lower and the signal sent to a bass amp. The top four strings are isolated and that signal is sent to a guitar amp. A blocking apparatus separates the bottom strings from the top, halting any confliction between the two. His techniques (outlined in his books: Big Ax, Super Ax and 131 Axercises) are transferable to any standard guitar. The procedure is simple and devoid of alterations when playing. A click on a foot switch brings the bottom two strings up to standard pitch and back to normal again.

Jack uses a Guild Blues Bird with two circuits, one for bass and one for guitar. They're both standard Guild pickups, one going through an octave pedal. His other axe of choice is a Gibson Explorer. It utilizes a Fender Precision bass pickup, sending the two lowest strings through an octave pedal. He employs a stereo amp to enable separate EQs on the guitar and bass sections.

The amazing music that’s made with the Superax can be heard on Live At The Uptowner as well as in the club itself. The CD is comprised of seven Grassel compositions, all packed with breathtaking improvisational solos and amazing melodies. Below are some pictures of the amazing apparatus, as well as an mp3 stream and description of the CD.

Track listing for Live At The Uptowner

1. Jade Castles

2. Song For Bill

3. Last Dance Of The Samurai

4. Turning Back

5. Mom And Dad's Blues

6. Bossa Mama

7. Noctilucent Vectors

Jack Grassel: Superax
Kirk Tatnall: Superax
Ernie Adams: Drums

Produced by Kirk Tatnall and Jack Grassel

All compositions by Jack Grassel

Recorded and mixed by Kirk Tatnall

Links
Jack Grassel
Buy Live at the Uptowner