Miguel Mega

Miguel Mega - Coastline - 2001 - Sonopress

Born in Portugal, Miguel began playing the guitar at age 15, and has been trying to really understand what "music" means since then. He recorded on his first album in 1992 with his band Last Joker. After the breakup of Last Joker in 1994, Miguel traveled to Los Angeles to study guitar, recording and the music business. He studied guitar with Joey Tafolla and Jean Mark Belkadi and took production and recording courses at the Music Box Studios in Hollywood. Upon returning to Brazil, Miguel began recording, completing the instrumental album "Miguel Mega" in 1997, then beginning work on the tracks that would make up Intuitive in 1998. © 1996-2013 Guitar Nine All Rights Reserved http://www.guitar9.com/undiscov29c.html

Miguel Mega first started to play acoustic guitar in 1983. At the age of 15, he expanded his experience to include playing electric guitars. From 1992 through 1994 he played with his band- Last Joker. After the band broke up, Miguel moved to Los Angeles, California and studied guitar with Joey Tafolla and Jean Mark Belkadi who lectures at and at MI (GIT) Musicians Institute as well as taking some production and recording courses at the Music Box Studios in Hollywood, California for two years. Wanting to develop this music talents by using his musical education, Miguel returned to his native Brazil and recorded the solo album “Miguel Mega.” In 1999 he released his second solo cd titled "intuitive". The feature of this review is Miguel Mega’s third album- "Coastline". Overall “Coastline” is a well balanced collection of Jazz/Rock mixes and a slow instrumental ballad. I enjoyed the variety of the songs but I felt that it could still use more expansion on the themes. However, the quality of the music was good and clear. I personally enjoyed guitar riveting “Vaibration.” The timing was excellent and the rhythm captured my attention as well as stimulated my imagination. Speaking of the guitar specific, Mr. Mega plays with a very strong and aggressive style. This is definitely a strength. However, when it comes to the slow ballad, “While You Were There”, his strength was “turned on too high.” He should try to play with more gentleness and softness to the cords. All in all, I really enjoyed “coastline” and I hope that this artist receives the recognition that I believe that he has earned. This album has appeal to the Jazz fan, 80’s style rocker, or even those who like the guitar solo ballads. If you are especially a fan of the musical style of Carlos Santana, then I would definitely add this to your up-and-coming artists’ collection. The good quality of the music on this CD is a positive testimonial to the talent of Miguel Mega’s guitar playing. Personal favorites: “Maresias”, “Moonstruck”, and “Vaibration”. Rating 6.2/10 © crusader © 2003 Web Wyzard Studios All Rights Reserved http://hardrockhaven.net/hrharchive/2003/reviews/coastline.htm

Brazilian guitarist Miguel Mega is slowly making his mark as an independent musician in instrumental guitar music. He has released three solo albums, including "Coastline", and he has recently recorded three tracks for the Boosweet Records compilation CD "G-Fire" (Guitarists On Fire). He has written instructional articles for several worldwide guitar publications. Miguel has said that “My stepfather is a great jazz guitar player, and ever since I was a little kid I used to hear his Brazilian jazz and world jazz records. I was introduced to pop and rock by a friend that showed me some Queen, AC/DC, Police, Michael Jackson and KISS records, among others, when I was 10 years old. I was about to turn 11 when I saw a Queen show on TV, and that blew me away. In 1984 I heard the record that just changed my life: Yngwie J. Malmsteen`s Rising Force. Since then I have been an instrumental music lover”. When asked what he was trying to achieve musically, Miguel said, “I am actually going deeper into the fusion field. I think this is the best word to describe my music because I really fuse all types of music into my style such as jazz, blues, rock, Brazillian and Latin music, and a bit of classical, funk and country. I would love to get to the point where I could just play my music and tour, but I have been playing in Top 40 bands for more than 10 years and I learned a lot playing all kinds of music. Now I just try to come up with good stuff mixing all these different influences and styles”. Speaking about the commercial/mainstream music scene Miguel said, “When I got back to Brazil from California in '97 I realized that if I did not do everything by myself, nobody would do it, because the major record companies just care about the mainstream. Back then Internet was getting popular and I figured that I could make a lot of contacts because we can reach the whole world through the net, so I decided to take the independent path into the music business”. Miguel prefers straightforward arrangements that make space for soloing and improvisational moments. “Coastline” is very well played spirited Latin style jazz rock fusion by a very talented guitarist who is influenced by artists like Soul Live, Carlos Santana,Van Halen, Scott Henderson, Angus Young, Ritchie Blackmore and others. The material on the album is not breaking any new ground, but there’s a great dynamic to Miguel’s playing and he deserves a bigger audience. Has anybody any info on Miguel’s “Intuitive" album? [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 119 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Under Any Circumstances 4:27
2. Coastline 6:19
3. ¡Como Yo! 3:32
4. Maresias 4:30
5. Street Dog Bone 4:24
6. Moonstruck 4:37
7. Vaibration 3:45
8. Inside Out 4:30
9. Changes 5:59
10. While You Were There 2:52

All songs composed by Miguel Mega except Track 3 by E.Abrao & F.Girao

MUSICIANS

Miguel Mega – Electric & Acoustic Guitars: Vocals on Track 3
Eduardo Ardanuy – 2 x Guitar Solos on Track 2
Mazzeo – Bass except Tracks 2,5
Claudio Medeiros – Bass on Tracks 2,5
Marco Santana – Additional Bass on Track 1
Daniel Teles – Keyboards
Andre Pinguim – Drums except Track 1
Jose Joannes – Drums on Track 1
Mauricio Fernandes – Tenor & Alto Saxophone
All Band Members – Occasional Vocal Sounds