I have been listening a lot to Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) again lately. I have always admired his skill and phrasing as an improvisor. Guitarist Jim Hall said that he could improvise melodies that were better than the tune he was playing on and I think that is true. He also […]
I have pretty much been in a band of one kind or another since I was twelve years old.That is an absolute fact. Consequently, I have played with many players over the past 50 years. My dreams at night often center around scenes that involve rehearsals or that moment right before performance on stage. In these dreams, I am with
I have always thought that John Mc Laughlin (the guitarist and composer and not the somewhat “right” political commentator) was of legendary status. I am especially keen on Mc Laughlin’s acoustic guitar work. His early 1980’s albums like Belo Horizonte and Music Spoken Here are great records. But his 2003 record Thieves and Poets contains the three movement title track
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After many years of listening to mostly Jazz and guitarists I have gradually changed my listening habits. For over two years I have been mostly listening to and reading about classical pianists. Arthur Rubinstein is still a favorite but William Kapell, Dinu Lipatti, Alexis Weissenberg and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli are on my repeat listen list. The fact that their world
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The new album Quintessence will be out soon and the range of influences on the new songs range from Chopin and Ravel to Thelonious Monk and Django Reinhardt. There are both solo acoustic guitar pieces and solo acoustic guitar with small group. Stay tuned for details.
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My new album Quintessence is in the works. This new recording contains many new pieces I have written in the past year. Though much of the album is solo acoustic guitar the recording opens with a piece that was written and recorded for the upcoming documentary film A Life Well Played. This opening piece Up Town is done as a