Jimmy McIntosh - Orleans To London - 2007 - Arizona Club Records
It's high time we had another rock guitar hero. Jimmy McIntosh is by no means a newcomer, having honed his chops as a sideman in Las Vegas for the past 25 years. But Orleans to London is no slick pop affair. With gritty grooves, chops-laden but always tasteful guitar work and just the slightest hint of jazz, it's as potent an instrumental rock guitar debut as you're likely to find. Recorded in New Orleans and London, McIntosh has collected an A list of players—most notably three Nevilles (organists Ivan and Art alongside percussionist Cyril), as well as Neville Brothers drummer "Mean Willie Green—for a collection of largely original songs that simmer with a greasy funk, providing a visceral backdrop for McIntosh's bluesy, overdriven tone. McIntosh also brings in other friends—Rolling Stone's Ronnie Wood guests on five tracks, and also brought in Jeff Beck for three tracks, credited here as "Hot Rod. But while both of these high-profile players add substantially to tunes like the Allman Brothers-ish "It Was a Virus (the album's sole vocal track, featuring Ivan Neville), it's still McIntosh who's front and center. That said, while there's plenty of in-the-gut playing, McIntosh never grandstands. There's precious little shredding to be found, just energetic solo work that fits hand-in-glove with the strong rhythm section anchored by bassist Rochon Westmoreland and, on a handful of tracks, drummer Pepe Jiminez. McIntosh augments his jam-centric material, with a mid-tempo take on The Rolling Stones' "Slave and a 10-minute look at Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun. It's always risky to tackle Hendrix, but McIntosh replaces Hendrix's psychedelic musings with some of his most reckless playing and an impressive solo spot for Westmoreland—the disc's other unexpected surprise. McIntosh cites a wide range of influences, from Jim Hall and Wes Montgomery to Mike Stern and Scott Henderson. There's little direct jazz-centricity here, but every now and then McIntosh throws in a line that tells you his language extends beyond a blues and rock vernacular. The dark "Woody is the album's most harmonically rich tune, with a set of changes that would give any self-respecting jazzer plenty to work with. He demonstrates further breadth on the album closer, a brief solo acoustic guitar reading of the traditional "The Minstral Boy. Slight stylistic departures aside, Orleans to London is really all about the funk. That and the arrival of a guitarist on the scene who, if there's any justice, will be heard more from in future. That McIntosh has a quarter century of experience behind him but is only now stepping out into the spotlight just means that sometimes one has to wait for the right time. By & © JOHN KELMAN, Published: April 18, 2007 © 2012 All About Jazz and/or contributing writer/visual artist. All rights reserved http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=25293#.UIxz4G8rWSo
Jimmy McIntosh is a Las Vegas-based session guitarist who, if the lineup on his solo debut is any indication, has racked up some serious I.O.U.s in the course of his 25 years of professional guitar-slinging. Sidemen on this enjoyable album include Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck (playing pseudonymously as Hot Rod) , drummer "Mean" Willie Green, and a solid quorum of Neville Brothers, most of whom play on most tracks. The tunes are all blues-funk guitar instrumentals except for "It Was a Virus" (on which Ivan Neville sings lyrics written by Penn Jillette) and the album's final track, a sweet acoustic arrangement of the Irish melody "The Minstral Boy," which McIntosh played at his father's funeral. Highlights include the slippery second-line groove of "Mama Funk," the snappy Mike Stern tribute "Fifty Five," and the bluesy "Biker Babe." "Woody," another tribute to McIntosh's father, is minimalist and sharp with a powerful groove, but maybe just a little bit too long, while the greasy Hendrix-goes-to-New-Orleans workout "A.K.A. Papa Funk" is equally sharp and bluesy, but busier and more concise as well. Overall, this is a very satisfying album -- guitar fiends and tone freaks will have a ball with it. © Rick Anderson © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/orleans-to-london-mw0001056850
A great album of jazz rock, and New Orleans flavoured blues funk. Jimmy is a talented Las Vegas-based session guitarist influenced by players that include Scott Henderson, Mike Stern and John Scofield, but at times on this album he is overshadowed by guitar greats like Ronnie Wood and Jeff Beck who between them, play on five of the album's tracks. This is a relatively small issue. These guys are legends and will inevitably put their stamp on whatever album they play on. The album is
HR by A.O.O.F.C. Jimmy McIntosh is a very underrated guitarist and deserves a wider audience. Watch out for any new releases from this guy, and support real music.
[All tracks @ 192 Kbps: File size = 82.7 Mb]
TRACKS / COMPOSERS
1 Biker Babe - Jimmy McIntosh 4:48
2 It Was a Virus - Jimmy McIntosh, Penn Jillette 4:57
3 Mama Funk - Jimmy McIntosh 5:02
4 G-Spot - Jimmy McIntosh 3:31
5 Woody - Jimmy McIntosh 7:16
6 A.K.A. Papa Funk - Jimmy McIntosh 3:34
7 Slave - Keith Richards, Mick Jagger 5:45
8 Fifty Five - Jimmy McIntosh 3:41
9 Rogent - Jimmy McIntosh 8:05
10 Third Stone From The Sun - Jimi Hendrix 10:29
11 The Minstral Boy - Trad. 1:16
MUSICIANS
Jimmy McIntosh - Guitars, Acoustic Guitar (11)
Ronnie Wood - Guitar (2, 9), Baritone guitar (3, 4, 7)
"Hot Rod" aka Jeff Beck - Guitar (2, 4, 9)
Ivan Neville - Organ (1, 2, 4, 6-8), Vocal (2)
Rochon Westmoreland - Bass (1-8, 10)
Tom Warrington - Acoustic Bass (9)
Art Neville - Organ (3)
"Mean" Willie Green - Drums (2-4, 6-8, 10)
Pepe Jiminez - Drums (1, 5, 9)
Cyril Neville - Percussion (1-8, 10)
Phil Wigfall - Tenor Saxophone (7)
ABOUT JIMMY MCINTOSH / ALBUM
A working professional over the past 25 years with an impressive list of credentials as a sideman, Las Vegas based guitarist Jimmy McIntosh finally steps out as a solo artist in his own right on Orleans To London, his long overdue debut as a leader. A hard-grooving, swaggering collection of N’awlins flavored funk, slamming rock and searing blues tunes, this formidable collection features such heavyweights as Art, Cyril and Ivan Neville of the Neville Brothers along with Nevilles drummer “Mean” Willie Green, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and guitar hero Jeff Beck, who makes an uncredited mystery guest appearance on three tracks (listed under the sobriquet “Hot Rod”). McIntosh more than holds his own in such illustrious company, unleashing potent licks that run the gamut of six-string influences from bluesmen B.B. King and Albert Collins to rockers Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Jimi Hendrix to a whole host of jazz guitar greats. And while McIntosh has plied his trade over the years for innumerable shows and studio work as a first-call guitarist on the Vegas scene, he reserves his personal playing for this auspicious showcase. “As a working pro I do whatever it takes to make the gig work and keep the leader happy,” says McIntosh. “But on my own, I do my own thing. So there’s music I play for a living, which is great. But then there’s more creative music that I listen to and play for my own enjoyment.” He cites the Stones, the Nevilles, Miles Davis, reggae and guitar greats Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Scott Henderson and Mike Stern as personal favorites. The collection opens on a funk-laden note with the earthy, The Meters-influenced “Biker Babe,” an organ-fueled groover that features both the guitarist’s jazzy fluency and his blues-rock sting. “It Was a Virus” (with lyrics penned by Penn Jillette) is a catchy pop-rock offering sung by Ivan Neville and featuring both Ronnie Wood and “Hot Rod” on guitars interweaving little gem-like melodic phrases with Ivan’s vocals on the long outro vamp. “Mama Funk” gets knee deep into the funk, N’awlins style, with “Mean” Willie Green powering the infectious second line groove and Art Neville laying down his signature B-3 organ cushion. Bassist Rochon Westmoreland, a longtime bandmate of Jimmy’s in the Vegas-based fusion band After Burner, offers some solidly funky electric bass underpinnings in the spirit of The Meters’ George Porter Jr. while Wood adds some slick low end fills on baritone guitar. McIntosh cuts loose here with a barrage of chops, alternately wailing on single note licks and augmenting the harmony with sophisticated chordal voicings. “G-Spot,” a slow-grooving N’awlins flavored funk throwdown, features some particularly nasty, toe-curling guitar work from guest star “Hot Rod” while the mysterious, reggae flavored “Woody,” named for McIntosh’s late father, features some of Jimmy’s most luminous, lyrical and harmonically adventurous playing on the record. “A.K.A. Papa Funk” (Jimmy’s ode to the great Art Neville) is more N’awlins styled jamming, this time with a harder edge and featuring some incendiary Hendrixian six-string work from McIntosh. Wood joins in on an extended instrumental cover of The Stones’ “Slave,” which is powered by Green’s slamming backbeat and features some urgent tenor sax work by Phil Wigfall. McIntosh breaks out the wah-wah pedal and serves up some sizzling fusion licks on the aggressive “Fifty Five,” his personal tribute to one of his own favorite guitarists, Mike Stern. “Hot Rod” returns for a captivating solo on the slow blues “Rogent,” named for a childhood friend of Jimmy’s. McIntosh adds his own six-string fire to the bluesy proceedings here, exchanging pyrotechnic licks with the remarkable “Hot Rod.” Jimmy soars into the stratosphere on a cathartic reading of Jimi Hendrix’s turbulent landmark, “Third Stone From The Sun,” which also features scorching contributions from drummer Green and bassist Westmoreland. And the collection closes on a poignant note with a sparse solo acoustic rendition of “The Minstral Boy,” an old Irish folk tune that Jimmy performed at his father’s memorial service in November of 2001. “It’s a couple hundred years old and was played at Winston Churchill’s funeral,” he explains. “I worked up that arrangement and it came out nice. My brother had always wanted me to record a copy for him to have, so I put this on here as a kind of surprise for him.” Recorded partly in the Crescent (at Piety Street Recording) and partly in London (at Ronnie Wood’s home studio), the aptly-named Orleans To London may not be a cross-section of all the styles that McIntosh has been called on to play in his capacity as first-call guitarist on the Las Vegas show and studio scene, but it fully represents the depth of his own musical interests as both a player and lifelong listener of music. Currently teaching part-time at the University of Nevada and working full-time in the Vegas production of the popular Broadway musical “Mamma Mia,” the guitarist has had a long and circuitous route to the making of his auspicious debut as a leader. “It’s like a dream come true having Ronnie Wood and Jeff Beck on my record,” says Jimmy. “These are heroes of mine, guys I’ve admired for over 30 years. And Art Neville is a hero as well.” Born on October 14, 1958 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, McIntosh grew up in the small town of Temperance, Michigan, where his family moved when he was seven years old. He played French horn (on an instrument given to him by Duke Ellington, a close family friend) in the junior high school band before picking up the guitar at age 14 and beginning private lessons the following year. “I was a Beatles fan as a kid until I saw the Rolling Stones’ movie ‘Gimme Shelter’ in 1970,” he recalls. “At that point I became a huge Stones fan. That became an influence that’s lasted to this day.” In 10th grade, he began studying with John Justus, the local jazz guitar guru in Toledo, Ohio. “I started studying with John in the Spring of 1974,” he remembers. “And I was working with John on a chord melody of an Ellington tune about the time Duke passed away (May 24, 1974).” While studying with Justus, McIntosh met and befriended fellow guitarist Scott Henderson, who had moved to Toledo to work in a Top 40 band. “I met him at a music store in Toledo,” he recalls. “We both used to sit in with a local jazz band and hung out together. Scott was already an incredible player.” After graduating from high school in 1976, Jimmy attended the Berklee College of Music for two years and later got a bachelors degree in music arts with a major in guitar performance from the University of Michigan. In 1981, he moved to Las Vegas, a place with deep roots for the McIntosh family. “In 1905 my grandfather built the first saloon in Las Vegas, a place called The Arizona Club, which was literally the first permanent structure in Vegas,” he explains. Since relocating to Las Vegas, he’s been an in-demand guitarist on the music scene. Over the years McIntosh has played with R&B singer Doris Troy (of “Just One Look” fame) and Little Anthony & The Imperials, backed up Buddy Hackett and Ben Vereen, and also had a longstanding gig with the popular Vegas show “Legends In Concert.” He has also included work on more than 40 national tv shows, appearing in the house band for Penn & Teller’s “Sin City Spectacular,” which aired for 24 one-hour episodes on the FX network (performing with the likes of Slash, Lyle Lovett, Weird Al Yankovic, Eric Idle, Jennifer Holliday and Clarence Clemmons). He also played in the house band on Comedy Central’s “Viva Variety,” and The WB network Ron White show. For 15 years, beginning in 1990, McIntosh also played in a popular after-hours band called the Lon Bronson All-Stars Band, a powerhouse horn band that had a longstanding weekly residency at the Riviera, where they entertained crowds ‘til the wee hours and featured such special guests sitting in as Tower Of Power, former Doobie Brothers guitarist and producer Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, guitarist Joe Walsh, comedian (and sometime trumpeter) Drew Carey, Penn Jillette and The Tonight Show guitarist, bandleader and Jay Leno sidekick Kevin Eubanks. In 1999, following his longstanding engagement with the “Legends” show, McIntosh moved to the Rio Hotel to perform in a show with pop stars Sheena Easton and David Cassady, then worked for the following two years in Cassady’s touring band. Jimmy first got turned on to the Neville Brothers from a 1981 Rolling Stone interview with Keith Richards, in which the Stones’ guitarist mentioned Fiyo on the Bayou as being one of the best albums of the year. “I hunted that record down, brought it home and fell in love with it,” he recalls. “And then I purchased everything I could find by the Meters as well. I met Art and Willie Green when they started coming to Las Vegas around 1994, and we’ve been really good friends ever since.” Through Art Neville, Jimmy met Ronnie Wood in 1999. More recently, Wood heard about Jimmy’s project and expressed an interest in playing on it. So McIntosh and his wife Carol flew to England with basic tracks he had recorded with the Nevilles and company and had Wood overdub guitar parts. “Initially, Ronnie was only supposed to play on ‘It Was a Virus’,” says Jimmy, “but he ended up playing on five tracks. I always felt that Ronnie was one of the most underrated musicians, and boy was I right. His musicality was just amazing. Everything he did was first take and just brilliant. He’s a great improviser.” During the recording of “It Was a Virus,” Wood explained to Jimmy that a friend of his might drop by for the session. “Ronnie said 'I told Jeff Beck about your record with the Nevilles and he might drop by and want to play on it.' Well, I didn’t even react to that because I was in shock when he said it.” Beck did indeed show up and was so inspired by what he heard that he ended up applying his six-string magic to “G-Spot,” “Rogent” and the vocal number “It Was a Virus” before the night was over. “This was like I died and went to heaven,” says Jimmy. “The only way it could’ve gotten any better is if Mick and Keith would’ve stopped by.” Maybe that’ll happen on his followup CD. But for now, McIntosh is still immersed in the afterglow of his serendipitous debut as a leader, Orleans To London. It’s a project that should have immense appeal to funk fans and fretboard aficionados alike. It stands as the crowning achievement to date in Jimmy’s ongoing career as a working guitarist. © http://www.jimmymcintosh.com/bio.html
