Laurence Juber and Preston Reed

Laurence Juber and Preston Reed - Groovemasters - 1997 - Solid Air Records

An exceptional album of ten original acoustic guitar duets from two of the world’s most talented and revered guitarists. A brilliant recording with an authentic, live, in-studio sound and a wonderful spontaneous atmosphere [All tracks @ 256 Kbps: File size = 77.4 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Groovemasters - 3:33
2 Commotion - 4:19
3 Shoganai - 3:31
4 Hurricane - 5:02
5 Private Dick - 3:04
6 Bad Attitude - 4:16
7 Airborne - 5:00
8 Ricochet - 4:17
9 Dirty Boy - 4:24
10 Last Train - 4:55

All songs composed by Laurence Juber and Preston Reed

MUSICIANS

Preston Reed – Guitar
Laurence Juber – Guitar

Liner Notes:

Groovemaster - "Sounds like it's in two keys at once... but somehow it makes sense." - PR
Commotion - "Probably the meanest tune on the record... Acoustic Metal... I love Laurence's stuttering machine gun entrance." - PR "One of my favorites, a little surfy." - LJ
Shoganai - "A word I learned in Japan. The feeling of sadness that sometimes goes with doing what you have to." - PR "I'm a sucker for a pretty nylon string melody." - LJ
Hurricane - "I grabbed the Baby Taylor and tuned it to almost open A. This one hit me like a Hurricane. I had so little time to think about it." - LJ "Reminds me of U2." - PR
Private Dick - "Early 60's spy/martini music." - PR "A lounge-jazz-detective style thing" - LJ
Bad Attitude - "A funky groove thing" - LJ "Would have been a good cop show theme." - PR
Airborne - "A moody excursion in 7/8 time." - PR
Ricochet - "I don't remember taking a breath during this one." - LJ "A one-take jam." - PR
Dirty Boy - "Easy ridin' cowpoke finds himself in the big city." - PR "I like the distant dog bark at the end." - LJ
Last Train - "A good ending tune. I like the way it builds, layer by layer." – PR

The Art of Spontaneous Composition

After several days of playing their fingers off at the NAMM show we stuck these two weary Acoustic Warriors in a small studio and told them to make a record. Grant Headley (a very experienced engineer) turned to me and said, "You're telling me we only have a few days to make this record and we don't have any songs?" I am not going to tell you it was all magic; these guys had to work to make this happen, and this CD is as big a testament to their professionalism as it is their talent. Laurence described it this way: "Playing with Preston presented some serious challenges. Keeping up with his raw energy for one. Having to concentrate on my own parts, instead of simply delighting in the close up experience of such technical wizardry for another. Most of the time I felt like I was working with a rhythm section rather than another guitarist. Because his technique and tunings are so unusual and Preston's left hand would generally not offer me anything recognizable, I found myself relying on my ear to follow his advanced harmonic concepts (those college ear-training classes can be useful after all)." We found that due to Preston's use of low tunings that Laurence's Collings OM model worked better than his normal trusty Taylors. For variety and color we also utilized LJ's old Gutter nylon string, a metal Dobro, and the funky Baby Taylor used on "Hurricane" (note to Taylor: They're not just for kids). I would like to take credit for this music, but producing this record meant staying out of harm's way for the most part. Interrupting the flow of ideas would have been unforgivable. We had the most unusual weather, but the storm clouds outside the studio couldn't match the thunder inside from Preston's propulsive riffing and Laurence's symbiotic return volleys. During mastering, Doug Doyle was heard to say more than once during the playback of "Commotion", "I hear a kick drum and a tabla! I thought this was just an acoustic guitar record." Did I say producing this CD meant being like a fly on the wall? Here's the buzz: "I got it!", "Is that too vanilla?", "My intellectual side needs to have it work harmonically.", I'm tired of perfect fives, how about an ambiguous five?", "Let's try this... works good... I like that chord!... but does it work?... Let's go with it... It's pretty sick... It's nice... It has potential, we can refine it", and my favorite post take comment, "You know we're in different tunings?" It was a lot of pressure, but a lot of fun to bring this CD to you, enjoy, and keep grooving." - JJ

Personnel:
Preston Reed - Guitar
Laurence Juber - Guitar

Produced by James Jensen: Recorded and engineered by Grant Headley at The Sign of the Scorpion, Studio City: Mastered by Doug Doyle at Digital Dog and Digital Bros: Photography by Nathan York: Art Direction by James Jensen in association with Todd Ellison and Shadowfoot Studio: All compositions © 1997 by Laurence Juber/Juber Music ASCAP, and Preston Reed/Suite Hodeet Music ASCAP. Preston Reed appears with the kind permission of Dusty Closet Records.
© http://www.prestonreed.com/releases/groovemasters.html

PRESTON REED (BIO)

Reed's entry into this guitar odyssey was inauspicious enough, his path thereafter largely self-discovered. A few chords learned from his guitar playing father, a brief, very brief, flirtation with the ukulele, clandestine practice sessions of his favourite Beatles and Stones songs on dad's guitar .... and then a too-strict classical guitar teacher led to premature retirement. At 16, however, Reed heard Jefferson Airplane's rootsy blues offshoot, Hot Tuna. His interest was rekindled big time. Acoustic guitar heroes John Fahey and Leo Kottke were studied, their styles absorbed but not imitated, and at this point things really begin to get interesting because, at 17, Reed, by now precociously proficient, played his first live gig, supporting beat poet Allen Ginsberg at the Smithsonian Institute. Just getting on a train from his native Armonk in New York State to Washington was a cool adventure. And it was just the first of many, not least of which was the one which resulted from his signing his first deal with a major record company, MCA, through the auspices of his friend, country singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett. Determined to make the most of this opportunity, Reed pushed himself to go beyond the standard fingerpicking styles he'd perfected. The result was the beginnings of Reeds startlingly innovative style, with its percussive, two-handed fretboard attack, that you hear today and which has caused guitar luminaries such as Al DiMeola and the late Michael Hedges to describe Reed as "phenomenal" and "inspiring". His playing has spawned a generation of imitators, yet Reed remains one of a kind. Reed's compositional talents extend to film soundtracks and prestigious commissions for the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, and as well as appearances alongside Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt his major performances include an historic live satellite broadcast on Turkish National Television in 1997 with renowned saz player and composer Arif Sag which reached an audience of 120 million in 17 countries, prompting a flood of international telephone calls to the station from stunned viewers. Since 1979, he has recorded thirteen albums and three videos and charmed audiences on three continents. He continues to tour with the same hunger and relish that informs his guitar playing. The secret, he says, is to relax and let the guitar patterns run by themselves. Which explains how, at full tilt, he may sound like a full-on heavy metal band but he still won't have broken sweat. © http://prestonreed.com/bio.html

LAURENCE JUBER (BIO)

Laurence Juber was born November 12, 1952 in Stepney, East London, England. By his own account, Juber began playing guitar the week that "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles was released. Beginning on a cheap acoustic guitar, he learned to read music early, figuring out the system of music notation for himself. He began to earn money playing the guitar at 13, and began to study classical guitar at the age of 15. Enraptured by the sounds on records of the mid- to late-60's, he set his sights on becoming a session guitarist in London's music studios. He earned his music degree at London University (Goldsmith College) where he expanded his horizons playing the lute. Upon graduation, he immediately began work as a session guitarist, working on his first project with producer George Martin on an album for Cleo Laine. Juber gave up a lucrative and highly successful studio career when invited to join Paul McCartney and Wings. He played on recordings that were to become Back to the Egg, as well as the subsequent tour. From these sessions he garnered his first Grammy Award, winning Best Rock Instrumental for the track "Rockestra Theme" from Back to the Egg. He was miscredited as Lawrence Tuber on the album sleeve. From this period dates his first solo album Standard Time (only released on vinyl) on which ex-fellow Wings members Paul McCartney and Denny Laine also played along on the track Maisie. When Wings disbanded in 1981, Juber moved to the United States of America. In New York City he met his future wife, Hope, and soon moved to her native California and embarked on a career as a solo artist, composer and arranger, and soon developed a reputation as a world-class guitar virtuoso, being voted #1 by Fingerstyle Guitar magazine. He has released 14 critically acclaimed solo albums, including "LJ Plays the Beatles","Guitarist" and "PCH". "I've Got The World On 6 Strings", is a collection of solo guitar arrangements of classic tunes by Harold Arlen. Juber's DVD "Guitar Noir" is DVD Etc. magazine's top pick for surround-sound 5.1 audio and earned a 2005 CEA "Demmy" award for sonic excellence. His solo guitar arrangement of "The Pink Panther Theme" is featured on the Best Pop Instrumental GRAMMY-winning album "Henry Mancini-Pink Guitar". His arrangement of "Stand By Me" was featured in the "Diamonds Are Forever" TV commercial. Folios and DVDs of his compositions and arrangements are published by Alfred Publications. The venerable C.F. Martin Company currently offers an 'LJ' Signature model guitar and GHS Strings market Juber's Signature guitar strings. His latest release "Wooden Horses" showcases LJ's composing for solo guitar. Laurence also played guitar for numerous television shows, including Happy Days and Family Ties, and for movies, perhaps most famously playing the James Bond theme for the movie The Spy Who Loved Me. In 1990, he released his second solo album, Solo Flight. During the next decade he would begin to explore altered tunings. In 2000, Juber released the solo album LJ plays the Beatles and The Collection and in 2003 the album Guitarist was released to critical acclaim. Juber's credentials as a top-tier fingerstyle guitarist continue to grow. Having been voted "Guitarist of the Year" by readers of Fingerstyle Guitar magazine as well as one of the top acoustic players of all time by Acoustic Guitar magazine, Juber is an ambassador for his instrument as well as his own music. He has released fourteen critically acclaimed CD's to date, and has earned a second Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental for his solo guitar arrangement of "The Pink Panther Theme" on the CD Henry Mancini - Pink Guitar. Juber has also released a series of instructional CD's that teach basic music theory and arrangement techniques for guitarists. In addition to his own recording and performances, Laurence Juber has produced and played on Al Stewart's albums Between the Wars (1995), Down in the Cellar (2000), A Beach Full of Shells (2005) and Sparks of Ancient Light (2008), and occasionally performs with Stewart. © http://www.macca-central.com/bio/Laurence_Juber_Biography.php?TB_iframe=true&height=600&width=800