Something tells me that I'm not the only one who wants to follow Tinariwen into the Sahara desert after watching and listening to them play their mesmerizing and tranquil music. It's almost as if some spell comes over me and suddenly my current life doesn't matter any more and I want to explore their world with them. I don't think I've ever had that feeling with a band before ...
After years of session work in Los Angeles, Guitar Books with Mel Bay, and now with the new release of his 7th album (with notable guests such as Kirk Whalum, Alex Acuna, Abe Laboriel, and Chester Thompson), Jay Leach is definitely 'Cleared For Takeoff.' Where have you heard Jay? Episodes of American Idol including Kenny [...]
International recording artist/guitarist Patrick Yandall has released his eighth album titled New York Blues. The recording is a departure from what listeners have heard over the years from the versatile guitar wizard. Yandall has taken his music in a more straightforward blues direction yet he keeps some of his jazz fusion elements intact throughout the [...]
I had a feeling this was going to happen. Patrick Yandall has decided to play the blues after releasing a series of outstanding jazz releases. New York Blues is a welcome change for the guitarist and as I would expect, a fine recording straight on through. Jazz and blues are kissin' cousins and nobody knows [...]
A grand finalist in the nation's most respected guitar competition, Guitar Center's "Guitarmageddon," Jay Soto proved his talent immediately by winning the local, district and regional rounds and then made his way to the finals held at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar festival in Dallas to an audience of 15,000 people. In the end, Jay finished [...]
Late last night I was flipping through the channels and decided to check out The Sky at Night's 50th Anniversary show with Sir Patrick Moore. It was funny to see Dr. Brian May being interviewed on Mars in the year 2057! He talked about what life on Mars is like, showed viewers his personal items [...]
Recently, contemporary jazz award winning, Billboard Top 10 charting artist/producer Vernon Neilly took some time out to perform at a Los Angeles area school. Vernon who is a stickler for education and supporting music in public school programs, is always reaching out to young aspiring talent who are interested in learning about and pursuing professional [...]
Richard Zeier's Phenomenation is a cleanly produced, mostly instrumental album that incorporates sounds from rock, classical, new age, and electronica. The album is well composed and Zeier's guitar work is superb. Each of the thirteen tracks explores emotional locations that combine to create an overall sound that at once transcends time and location yet feels [...]
From the heart of the Big Apple Eric Kamen delivers his multicultural instrumental music to the world. Nearly a year and a half has passed since the incredible Native Unit made its mark upon our consciousness and now Eric 2.0 continues the journey of the tasteful Latin-World flavored instrumental compositions that have built a large [...]
Alex Bagagli & the Mojo Workin' Band The new album is now completely free and dowloadable from his blog http://www.openmusicfactory.com/jamrooms/bands/123/ at the "Music" section. This album is dedicated to all the people who don't fit "the editorial standards" of what the record companies want you to hear. Who I am? I'm a perfect Mister Nobody [...]