Jon Herington (Steely Dan Related)

Jon Herington - shine (shine shine) - 2010 - Decorator Records

"Guitarist Jon Herington has the most difficult job, having to paraphrase nearly every lead and rhythm guitarist who has ever played with Steely Dan while a thousand jealous guitarists examine each lick" - John L Walters - The Guardian, London.

In his latest outing, Shine (Shine Shine) Herington takes a less layered, "stripped down power trio" approach, which he describes as going back to his early blues-rock, bar band roots. His two bandmates, bassist Dennis Espantman and drummer Frank Pagano -- with whom he's been playing since the late 80s -- both contribute to the songwriting and singing in a club-friendly collection that also appeals to his fan base from the Steely Dan universe by featuring the guitar more prominently. © Joan K. Smith, Philadelphia-based artist, cultural critic, and independent curator: Posted: 04/19/11 11:53 AM ET © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-k-smith/steely-dan-_b_850265.html

In the late ‘90s, when Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were recording their "Two Against Nature" album, (winner of four Grammy Awards, including "Album Of The Year"), Walt and Don asked the great keyboardist, and friend of Jon, Ted Baker if he was aware of any guitarists who could add something different to the 2Vn album. Fortunately, Ted had a copy of Jon's "The Complete Rhyming Dictionary" with him. When Don and Walt heard Jon's album, they hired him. Playing with Steely Dan has taken up a large part of Jon Herington's career. Jon has said that “The great thing for me in playing with Steely Dan is that, even as their repertoire changes to some degree from tour to tour, I have this opportunity to explore the same kind of music really deeply. The freelancer’s curse, which I have suffered from for years and years, is that you may play in one style for a couple of hours during a session and then you’re not asked to play this style again for another six months. This makes it really hard to see any growth in any side of your playing, except for your ability to think on your feet. Freelancers can adapt very quickly, which is good, but you don’t get into something that evolves over time". “Sometimes I feel it would not hurt to have some more tricks in my arsenal,” explains the guitarist, “and I do a little bit of tapping and things like that. But it’s more natural for me when I am playing a solo to work with lyricism and melody. I like musical solutions. It’s one thing to have the technique to negotiate difficult harmonies and fast tempos, but often it’s harder to play something simple and really beautiful! “For me, the key to lyricism is the connection with the voice, to be singing through the guitar. That’s why I love bending strings, because it’s related to singing. It’s so expressive. The same thing with playing slide. When I’m away from the guitar and listen to a song, I often imagine the notes of a solo and what would sound like a vocal melody to me. All my guitar study has been about being able to immediately play what I hear in my head without a mistake. The closer you get to that, the more free you feel in music.” Definitions are irrelevant where Jon Herington' guitar playing is concerned. On this album, HR by A.O.O.F.C he covers blues, rock and jazz in his own unique style. This is not an album where Jon lets loose with too many stinging guitar solos, but the quality of his work is still terrific, as is the bass playing of Dennis Espantman and the keys of the totally brilliant Jim Beard. Some of the great albums featuring Jon include Donald Fagen's "Morph The Cat", Chroma's "Music on the Edge", Bob Berg's "Riddles", and Jim Beard's "Lost at the Carnival". Not a dud among them! Interestingly, Jon has said that he regards George Benson as "the greatest guitarist on the planet". George's 1965 "It's Uptown" album features some stunning guitar work, and should be heard by lovers of great jazz guitar. Jon plays on Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature" and "Everything Must Go" albums. Buy his "Pulse and Cadence" album and listen to a true guitar genius. [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 117 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 The Only Fool (J. Herington, F. Pagano)
2 Fabulous (J. Herington)
3 Thirteen Feet Of Rain (J. Herington)
4 Up For Grabs (J. Farmer, J. Herington)
5 She Reminded Me Of You (J. Herington)
6 In Love With Love (D. Espantman, J. Herington)
7 Say You'll Stay (J. Herington)
8 Dreaming (D. Espantman, J. Herington)
9 Everything (D. Espantman, E. Herington, J. Herington)
10 Aveline (D. Espantman, J. Herington)
11 Harsh Light (J. Farmer, J. Herington)

MUSICIANS

Jon Herington - guitars, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond organ, vocals
Dennis Espantman - bass, vocals
Jim Beard - keyboards on Tracks 3, 6: piano on Track 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11
Rob Morsberger - keyboards, Hammond organ, accordion
Ed Alstrom - Hammond organ on Track 11
Frank Pagano - drums, percussion, vocals
Stan Harrison - saxophones on Track 5
Amy Ralske - celli on Track 10
Jim Farmer - blues harp on Track 11

BIO (WIKI)

Jon Herington (born Jonathan Reuel Herington on April 14, 1954 in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer, most known for being a session musician. Currently, he is known for being Steely Dan's lead guitarist. He has been active on the New York City music scene since 1985. Herington was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in West Long Branch, New Jersey on the Jersey Shore. His first band (called Highway) opened for local Bruce Springsteen on several occasions. He started playing piano and then saxophone, but began playing guitar when his friends left their guitars at his house as a child. Herington studied guitar with Ted Dunbar while at Rutgers College and also studied privately with Harry Leahey and Dennis Sandole. In 1999, toward the end of the recording of their 2000 released album Two Against Nature, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan wanted to hire another rhythm guitar player for some tracks. Ted Baker, a close friend of Herington's, was playing keyboard for the band and Becker and Fagen asked for a recommendation for a guitarist. Baker played "The Complete Rhyming Dictionary," a 1992 solo album on Pioneer's Glass House Records that was released only in Japan, for Becker and Fagen. Soon after, Herington got a call to record Janie Runaway with the rest of the band. Herington then toured with the band to promote the album. In 2003, Steely Dan had Herington back to record their release, Everything Must Go, as well as to tour in promotion of the album. In 2006, Donald Fagen hired Herington to play on and tour for his solo album Morph the Cat. He appears on Walter Becker's latest solo album Circus Money. In 2000, Herington released a solo album, entitled Like So. In addition to Steely Dan, Herington has toured with Boz Scaggs, Bette Midler's "Kiss My Brass" 2005 tour, the Jim Beard group, The Blue Nile, Phoebe Snow, saxophonist Bill Evans, the contemporary jazz superband Chroma, Lucy Kaplansky (of Cry Cry Cry), and jazz/blues organ great Jack McDuff. He was the pit guitarist for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida on Broadway for several years. Some of Herington's other recording efforts have included Dennis Chambers' "Outbreak"; Michael Leonhart's "Slow"; Jim Beard's four recordings (three of which were co-produced by Jon); two Bill Evans records, Escape and Starfish and the Moon; Michael "Patches" Stewart's Penetration; Bob Berg's "Riddles" and "Virtual Reality;" Lucy Kaplansky's "10 Year Night;" Michael Brecker's "Now You See It...(Now You Don't); " Randy Brecker's "Toe to Toe;" Victor Bailey's "Bottoms Up;" Chroma's "Music on the Edge" (with Mike Stern and others); Robert Secret's "Waiting for Wood" and "Relativity [Blues]," and Lynne Robyn's "Red Bird in Snow." He shares a music studio in midtown Manhattan with Jim Beard.