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Spring 2007
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JOHN
WILLIAMS &JOHN ETHERIDGE
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GUITAR
MASTERS VOL. 1
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TIMO KÄMÄRÄINEN
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BRUCE
GAITSCH |
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BRYON THOMPSON
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JOHN WILLIAMS
& JOHN ETHERIDGE
Places Between
(Sony Classical)
Its
a rare event when classical guitarist John Williams records a live album,
so its a real surprise that for his first ever album for Sony
he teamed with jazz guitar icon John Etheridge, who plays steel string
acoustic here. In addition to covering tracks from his recent albums
The Music Box (which also features Etheridge) and El
Diablo Suelto, Williams and Etheridge draw on their mutual fascination
and build bridges that span sounds from the countries of Africa and
South America to a cover of Billie Holidays God Bless The
Child. Other highlights include the three part Extra Time,
which Williams describes as an extended, altered version of a
well known Bach prelude, a pair of jazzy originals by Etheridge
and a specially commissioned three part suite composed by American composer
Benjamin Verdery, which also plays tribute to guitar hero Leo
Kottke. The camaraderie and musicianship these two guitar aces summon
up on Live In Dublin is a tribute to their unique stature in
the guitar world. Love, peace and guitars indeed. www.johnwilliamsguitar.com
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VARIOUS
ARTISTS
Guitar
Masters Vol. 1
(BHP Music)
Perhaps
the coolest thing about this first installment of the Guitar Masters
series on BHP is just the sheer diversity of guitar styles and
sounds in the running order of the 18 track CD. In his liner notes,
Guitar Player editor Mike Molenda touches on all the artists
appearing but clearly an album with this much scope requires two or
three pages of liner notes. Guitar heads will freak out at the number
of world classic guitarists here including Jeff Beck, Led Zeps
John Paul Jones, Steve Morse, Stanley Clarke, Joe
Satriani, John Scofield and many more including BHP founder
and series producer Brian Tarquin with his own Jack Hammer.
Its great to see the name Allan Holdsworth here and the
track by Hellecasters guitar giant Will Raya sterling fusion
rendition of the old Americana classic Shenandoahis
worth the price alone. Long Islands Steve Booke is in top
acoustic raga-rock form with his track, a version of Frankenstein
by Doug Stapp is spot-on and Rumba by Marcus Nand
will appeal to nuevo flamenco fans. Several lesser known names appearbut
that doesnt mean theyre not worth hearingcase in point
being a spacey cut by James Ryan called Space Talk.
With the exception of Jeff Beckwho lends his guitar on a vocal
track called 54-46 Was My Number from Toots & The
Maytalsthis all instrumental CD is just the ticket to put
guitar-centric fusion back on the map. www.bohemianproductions.net
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TIMO
KÄMÄRÄINEN
Unea
(TK)
Much
to the amazement of international music lovers around the world, back
in the 70s, the Finns invented a whole new language of music.
Hastened by the arrival of English singer-songwriter Jim Pembroke in
1967, Finland forged a new rock texture, creating a hybrid rock instrumental
sound, music without vocals that conjured up the national spirit or
Kalevela of Finland. Following their work with Pembroke, Pekka Pohjola
and guitar ace Jukka Tolonen can both take credit for introducing adventurous
music lovers to this new melodic instrumental rock sound. 30 years later
yet another new Finnish guitarist is forging a new sound that evokes
the spirit of Pohjola. On his 2006 nine track Unea CD
guitarist Timo Kämäräinen is supported legendary
Finnish players including pedal steel ace Olli Haavisto and as
such the music is wide scope prog rock instrumental with a solid jazzy
pop edge. Its been quite a while since Pekka Pohjola has made
any new music so its great that Kämäräinen is doing an
amazing job in his own way. www.beagon.net/unea/bio_e.html
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BRUCE GAITSCH
Sincerely
(Autumn)
Acoustic
guitarist Bruce Gaitsch puts his McPherson guitar to the test
and comes up a winner on his 2006 CD Sincerely. Theres
kind of a pastoral ECM vibe here and Gaitsch also benefits from some
well placed harmonica work from Howard Levy. Back in the 70s
Gaitsch worked with rock legends Jim Peterik, Richard Marx and numerous
other sessions. Gaitsch and Autumn Records are very much involved with
the great McPherson guitar company down in Nashville and commenting
on his guitars used on Sincerely, Gaitsch adds, My favorite
acoustic guitars are my McPhersons. I have an MG-4.0 Macassar Ebony
with Spruce top, an MG-4.5 Flamed Walnut with Bear Claw Sitka Spruce
top and an MG-5.0 XP Quilted Maple with Engelmann Spruce top. They are
the best guitars I have ever playedthe Ebony is my overall favorite
of the three. Bruces guitar-based expertise carries on with
release of Sincerelyan album that sounds great with repeat
spins. www.brucegaitsch.com
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FLASH
SHEEDY
Golden
Guitars From The Depths
(Saaahn!)
England
had The Shadows, America had The Ventures, Sweden had The Spotnicks
and Australia had The Atlantics. Funny enough Shadows guitar icon Hank
Marvin lives in Australia, where guitar Peter Flash Sheedy
is keeping the spirit of instrumental guitar alive and well. A mainstay
on the Aussie guitar scene for decades, Flash enlists a hot rhythm section
on his 15 track CD filled with originals and favorite guitar instro
tracks, including Flash covering two tracks from the 1961 Shadows Lp.
In his liner notes, Flash takes you on a sentimental guitar journey
describing how these early 60s classics changed his life in Australia.
For fans of vintage rock instro legends, let Flash get your foot tapping
with Golden Guitars From The Depths. email: flashsheedy3@hotmail.com
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BRYON
THOMPSON
Starting
Now
(BT)
Indiana
guitarist Bryon Thompson continues to pummel music fans with the good
vibes of his easy listening cinematic guitar instrumentals. Thompsons
D.I.Y. (do it yourself) approach means that this isnt some over
budgeted smooth jazz set on a major label, yet Thompson manages to more
than get across his driving approach to instrumental rock guitar on
his 2007 CD Starting Now, incorporating the influences of Hank
Marvin, The Dregs, Steve Howe and beyond. A highlight is a cover of
Danny Kirwans Fleetwood Mac classic Sunny Side Of Heaven
that fits in well alongside Thompson guitar classics like Says
Who and the title track. Thompson may be only doing music as a
side jobhe is renowned as a graphic illustratoryet one can
only ponder the potential that a top producer and studio would tap in
to this stuff. Starting Now is a good place to check out Thompsons
melodic instrumental guitar tracks. www.bthompson.net/cd
Attention Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed
in mwe3.com and 20th Century Guitar. Send to P.O. Box 630249, Little
Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249
Contact: rss54@mwe3.com
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Attention
Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed by mwe3.com.
Send to:
MWE3.com
CD Reviews Editor Robert Silverstein,
P.O. Box 630249, Little Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249
Copyright
©2000-2007 MWE3.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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