Posts Tagged ‘ Electric Guitar ’

Roberto Restuccia – Lounge Katz

loungekatzEmerging guitarist Roberto Restuccia has already left his mark on the music business with his albums Exposure (2016), When The Smoke Clears (2017), and With Every Turn (2021).

With his new album Lounge Katz he continues his successful change of style towards smooth jazz. It’s no coincidence that well-known musicians from this genre include keyboardist Greg Manning, bassist Mel Brown, drummer Eric Valentine, saxophonist Andrew Neu, keyboardist Chris “Big Dog” Davis, keyboardist Michael Broening and many more.

Not soft at all is the opener Stand Up, which announces spring with a fresh wind and a strong brass section. A Matter Of Persuasion is a model of guitar virtuosity laced into a compact rhythm package. Roberto seamlessly joins the aegis of guitar greats like Larry Carlton.

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Norman Brown – Let’s Get Away

4060690-2791320The joy that emanates from guitarist Norman Brown while he is playing is palpable. The guitar is simply an extension of him. The multi-platinum selling and chart-topping musician is an artist who is truly in service of the music with the goal to be a force for positivity. “I wish to be of service to my fellowmen as I journey through life,” he explains. “I look upon my work as an opportunity to be overcome with joy and to make the most of it. I want to inspire others to search inside themselves for the silver-lining. We all have an opportunity to grow in gratitude for our lives and the blessings we have.” A dedicated meditation and Tai Chi practitioner, Brown confides that there are definite parallels between his practice of the aforementioned Ancient Art and his music.

Brown reveals that it comes down to one thing – “balance.” With all of the accolades that Norman Brown has amassed the past three decades, including Grammy and Soul Train Music Awards, he has stayed the course for one reason. “Knowing that I’ve been commissioned by the Most High to channel a message of inspiration and motivation, brings me happiness,” he states. The Atlanta based musician’s love affair with the guitar began at age eight. Watching his older brother play, Norman was drawn to the energy radiating from what he now calls his “Spirit Catcher,” the strings on the guitar. Waiting for his brother Roy Brown Jr., “Popsicle” to leave, Norman couldn’t wait to get his hands on his six string carefully stored in the closet.

Luckily for us Brown’s love affair with the guitar is still going strong. His technical wizardry, genre-bending facility, soulful finesse and charisma, have made him one of the most sought after internationally renowned musicians in Contemporary Jazz. Just ask his devoted and loyal fan base affectionately dubbed ‘Normantics.’ A musician’s musician, Brown has collaborated with everyone from George Benson, Brian McKnight, Kirk Whalum and Miki Howard, to Jeff Lorber, Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Peabo Bryson, and Chanté Moore, to name a few. Continue reading

The New Guitar Underground – Volume One

270309826_4473723002726712_628330307794745433_nJean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick is a British guitarist, bandleader, composer, and record producer. He’s led the British bandIncognito, since its formation in 1979, and was a founding member of Light of the World & Freeez. He is also the leader of Citrus Sun. In March 2013, Bluey released his first-ever solo album, Leap of Faith, he has since followed up in 2015, aptly entitled Life Between the Notes.

Bluey comments: “AS BAND LEADER and guitarist of Incognito and Citrus Sun, it gives me great pleasure to share with you this new collaborative project between the band’s Portuguese Lead guitarist Francisco Sales (A solo artist in his own right) and I. We are The New Guitar Underground.”

The album will be released January 22, 2022 on bandcamp.

Larry Carlton & Paul Brown – Soul Searchin’

SoulSearchinjpgWhen two guitar virtuosos of high renown play together, it is fair to expect something great. It was that way with Larry and Lee, and it’s no different with Larry and Paul.

This is not the first time the two have worked together. As Larry notoriety shot up through his period with the supergroup Fourplay, he decided to release the solo album Fingerprints. Paul Brown played on this album drums and also worked as composer, arranger, producer and recorder. It was not until twenty years later that the idea of recording a guitar album together matured.

The album opens with Miles and Miles to Go written by Wes Montgomery inspired guitar player Mark Carter. Paul and Larry are perfectly attuned to each other and the tone colors of their guitars are also very similar.

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Akio Sasajima – Images of Lennon / McCartney

71dC7XQ8oiS._SL1500_Akio Sasajima  is a jazz guitarist born in Japan and currently based in Sapporo. His playing style incorporates bebop, hard bop, and jazz fusion. He recorded several albums as a leader for Muse and Enja in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

His latest smooth jazz project is Images of Lennon / McCartney (2015) on which he transformed memorable songs of the Beatles to his stylish guitar arrangement.

Get this album on Amazon.com.

Bobby Broom – Soul Fingers

Heralded as “one of the most musical guitarists of our times,” by author and jazz critic Ted Gioia, Bobby Broom has spent the new millennium focusing on his musical output as a leader. He has recorded with both his Bobby Broom Trio and the disbanded, Deep Blue Organ Trio for the Premonition, Delmark and Origin labels. His Plays for Monk was released in spring 2009, The Way I Play in April 2008, and Deep Blue’s Wonderfu1! in 2011 and Folk Music in 2007. Bobby was recognized as one of the top guitarists in Down Beat magazine’s annual Critics Poll for 3 years, from 2012–2014. His Deep Blue CD, Wonderfu1!, reached number one on both US national jazz radio charts.

His latest BBT release, My Shining Hour (Origin, 2014), received a New York Times review and placed at number three on the US national jazz radio chart. Throughout his career, Broom has continued to garner praise and encouragement from his peers and elders. Sonny Rollins has said, “Bobby is the reason I like the guitar.” Fellow guitarists also laud Broom, including those that he admires such as John Scofield, George Benson and Pat Metheny, who cited Broom’s 2007 Song and Dance recording as “one of the best (jazz) guitar trio records ever!”

Broom’s latest recording is with his new organ group, the Bobby Broom Organi-Sation, which was the opening act for Steely Dan’s fifty-city, North American tour in 2014. The new recording, Soul Fingers, is arguably Bobby’s most ambitious to date. Produced by the legendary drummer/producer Steve Jordan, Bobby once again revisits the music of his youth, this time employing a wide range of instrumental palates, in addition to palpable group interplay and his own, always soulful and singularly personal sound and style.

The album is available on Amazon.com.

Denny Jiosa – Mueve Tu Cuerpo

Nashville-based guitarist Denny Jiosa is often compared with Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Stylistically he cannot be fixed, his creative field lies somewhere between Rock, Smooth Jazz and Latin Music.

Moving Pictures (1995), Inner Voices (1996), Jazzberry Pie (1998), Among Friends (1999), Body 2 Body (2002), Dreams Like This (2008) are his solo albums, followed by the band album JIOSA On the Edge (2011). Now Denny Jiosa has with Mueve Tu Cuerpo (2018) Latin tinged jazz in his focus.

Denny plays guitar on all tracks and adds his vocals on selected tracks. Further lead vocalists are Janet Kenyon and John Santos. Keyboardists are Kenny Zarider and Pat Coil, bassists Keith Kenyon, Chris Kent, Gary Branchaud, drummers Raymond Massey and Chester Thompson, percussionists Glen Caruba, Eric Darken and John Santos. Hollie Farris plays the trumpet, Roy Agee trombone and Phil Keaggy guitar.

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CGN Smooth – Diversity

CGN Smooth is the smooth jazz project by Cologne, Germany based guitarist Gerd Doppstadt. Gerd got a Gibson L5 from famous L.A. based guitarist and producer Paul Brown and was infected by the smooth jazz virus. After studying some Jazz Standards at the Jazzhausschule Cologne he started to write his own songs. Guitarists like Paul inspired him in producing a smooth jazz album.

Diversity is the name of the album, which is now available on CDBaby.

Andreas Varady – The Quest

Resonance Records is proud to announce the release of The Quest, the third recording from twenty-year old guitar virtuoso, Andreas Varady. With the release of Questions (2010) and his eponymous CD in 2014, the native of Slovakia, and resident of Ireland, emerged from thin air and put the guitar playing world on notice that there was a new force on the instrument to be reckoned with. On The Quest, Varady’s artistry has reached new heights, and it’s staggering to behold. His unadulterated command of the guitar, his highly-developed skills as a composer, his rhythmic facility (which speaks volumes about his roots in Gypsy music), and his ability to craft an astonishing flow of single-note lines while traversing chord changes, all by ear, has attracted the attention of many legends of this music, not the least of which is Varady’s mentor, manager, producer and friend, the esteemed Quincy Jones. The Quest, available on April 6, 2018, features Varady in the company of his father Ondrej Bandi on bass, younger brother Adrian on drums, fellow Slovak Radovan Tariska on alto saxophone, and Venezuelan native (and current New York City resident) Benito Gonzalez on piano.

At just twenty, Varady has already performed at major festivals and venues around the world. The next exciting new chapter in the journey of this uber-talented musician begins with the release of The Quest. Varady has expressed that this album, comprised of all original music, feels very much like his first fully realized artistic statement, and indeed it showcases Varady’s evolution from child prodigy to consummate artist, one with an abundance of fresh, bold energy. “I feel like I’m giving you a piece of me on this album,” said Varady. The album title, which also reads like a mission statement is, “about this whole quest that I’m on in music seeking cool things, playing cool music in cool places, enjoying it all and having fun and doing what you wanna do,” said Varady. The album is also his debut release on the boutique non-profit jazz label, Resonance Records, which signals a departure from his self-titled major label debut on Verve in 2014. Two other Quincy Jones protégés, Justin Kauflin and Alfredo Rodriguez, will also be releasing new albums in 2018.

Resonance EVP/GM (and executive producer on The Quest) Zev Feldman said about first hearing Varady, “Upon first listen, I was struck by his talent and artistry. Then getting a chance to meet him in Ireland, and spending some time talking with him, he just fits the mold of what Resonance is all about in terms of promoting younger artists and sharing their music. We’re very happy to have him on the label. It’s also a great honor to work with Quincy Jones and his team, and partnering with them to get Andreas’ music out there is something we’re very proud of. Resonance believes strongly in living artists also, not just those from a bygone era, and it’s going to be very exciting to continue to watch him develop and we’re thrilled to be able to add a chapter to his legacy on our label.”
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Tim Bowman – Into The Blue

Detroit based jazz guitarist Tim Bowman always followed his own way to musically express his feelings and ideas. Since his debut album Love, Joy, Peace in 1995 he constantly makes his contribution to the smooth jazz world. With his albums Paradise (1998), Smile (2000), This Is What I Hear (2004), Tim Bowman (2008) and The Collection (2010) he delivered gratefully accepted gifts to his fan community.

After a longer hiatus he returns this year with Into The Blue on I.M. Records / Purpose Jazz. The album is brimming with greater and catchier songs as if Tim would compensate his fans for the long absence. The Darren Rahn produced City Lights is the first single of the album presenting Tim on guitar in an exhilarated mood. His passion for melody finds its aptly expression in Benson-esque guitar chords.

The awesome song All I Need Is Love features vocalist Stokley Williams, best known as the lead singer and studio drummer of the band Mint Condition. He already graced with his vocal appearances Boney James’ Either Way (Futuresoul) and U-Nam’s Nature Boy (Weekend in L.A.). On Into The Blue Tim Bowman enunciates each note with absolute perfection. A third force to Peter White and Marc Antoine.

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