Jon Finn Group

Jon Finn Group - Wicked - 1998 - SEP Records

The Jon Finn Group is a rock band formed and led by the Boston guitarist Jon Finn. The band plays instrumental progressive rock with a blues approach. There sound has been described as a mix between Dream Theater and Dixie Dregs. The band Jon Finn on guitar, Joe Santerre on bass, Ross Ramsay on keyboards, and Larry Finn on drums. All the band members have taught, or teach at the Berklee College of Music.

“Wicked [is] a more progressive effort that retained his signature sense of melody and zany sense of humor…and teamed it with bluesy energy and exalted harmonic and rhythmic awareness.” – Andrés Wilson, Boston Live

“Wicked rocks!” – Buzz Morrison, Guitar Magazine

Skilbovia on Amazon.com described Jon as “Steve Morse, Joe Satriani and Stevie Ray Vaughn all rolled into one with a fantastic pair of backers”. Jon, himself has noted that "You know the perception people have of rock guitarists—gunslingers and drug addicts. If there's one issue I get evangelical about, it's when I hear a lot of words from well-known rock players who say, 'Don't practice, be a rebel. Studying the instrument is bad for your creativity.' The mentality is that if you're too technically proficient, you're not rock 'n' roll; I'm not sure if I agree. My feeling is that it's possible to be a studied musician and maintain that primal energy—it's just not easy. I personally love players like Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Steve Morse, and Eddie Van Halen, the ones who can speak to my soul and challenge my intellect at the same time."

A really good and original instrumental progressive blues/jazz rock guitar album from the very underrated Jon Finn and his great band, and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Jon’s “Don't Look So Serious” album. Joe Santerre is a tremendous bassist and has performed with musicians that include the great John Petrucci of Dream Theater. He has written books and papers on bass guitar and has also released a solo album, “The Scenic Route”. Try and listen to some of these great musicians who are continually releasing great work that is completely ignored by the media [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 129 Mb]

TRACKS

1 General Sense of Well-Being 3:05
2 This Two 8:24
3 Two Monkeys Jump Back 5:48
4 Stinky 7:29
5 Ashley’s Star 5:30
6 Clockwork 4:42 *
7 Alien Autopsy 6:38 *
8 Return from Timbuktu 4:16 *
9 If Stevie Ray Vaughan Went to Berklee and Studied Jazz 5:16
10 Definitely Maybe 5:32

All tracks composed by Jon Finn except Two Monkeys Jump Back by Jon Finn & Joe Santerre, “Alien Autopsy” by Jon Finn, Joe Santerre & Dave Dicenso, and “Definitely Maybe” by Jeff Beck

N.B: * Tracks 6-8 are also entitled [Pompous music suite: 1st movement Clockwork, overture and prelude; 2nd movement Alien autopsy, largo and loud-o; 3rd movement Return from Timbuktu, a tempo mon trippo

MUSICIANS

Jon Finn - Guitar
John Petrucci - Guitar on “Two Monkeys Jump Back”
Joe Santerre - Bass
Ross Ramsay - Keyboards
Dave DiCenso - Drums

BIO

A guitarist since age six, Jon Finn has been a professional musician for most of his life. Today, he’s been repeatedly acknowledged within the international community of musicians as being a clear leader in Modern Rock Guitar as a performer, composer and educator. Joining the guitar faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1988, he started the Jon Finn Group later that same year. To date, they have three internationally released CDs, Don't Look So Serious (Legato Records 1994), Wicked (SEP Records 2000), “Bull in a China Shop” (SEP Records 2010) several independent releases, and countless performances worldwide under their belts. For over three years, Jon wrote a monthly instructional feature for a national magazine called Guitar. Jon has also authored several books for Mel Bay Publications: Advanced Modern Rock Guitar Improvisation, One Guitar, Many Styles, Blues/Rock Improvisation, Riffs: Volume One, and a few more currently in production. In his freelance pursuits, he's played guitar for the national touring companies of many contemporary musical theater productions such as Rent, Aida, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, High School Musical, Grease, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Copacabana, and many others. Today Jon frequently performs and records with the Boston Pops Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. With them he’s performed with Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Rockapella, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Natalie Cole, Carly Simon, Bernadette Peters, New York Voices and many others. He’s been involved in a plethora of concerts and recording sessions, including 6 CDs (two of which were Grammy nominated), 8 US concert tours, and one tour in Asia. Jon has also performed with some of the world’s premier guitarists as a co- featured performer: John Petrucci, Guthrie Govan, Carl Verheyen, Dweezil Zappa, Dave Larue, Andy Timmons, Vinnie Moore, Steve Morse, Tom Scholz, Barry Goudreau, Tom Morello and others. One of his songs, “Berlin Wall” appears in the motion picture release “Refusenik”, a documentary about Soviet Jews and their struggle to escape to the US during the Cold-War era. Jon’s guitar is heard on the NFL Theme Song during the football season. Jon spends his spare time with his family. © http://www.jhme.org/data/contentfiles/Jon%20Finn%20Bio%20w%20pix.pdf