Wayne Krantz and Leni Stern

Wayne Krantz and Leni Stern - Separate Cages - 1996 - Alchemy Records

Leni Stern, the great Munich born jazz and jazz fusion guitarist has recorded many albums and collaborated with many great musicians including Paul Motian, Alain Caron and Bob Malach. Despite being an excellent composer, lyricist, and guitarist, her name remains unfamiliar to many people. "Guitarist Wayne Krantz is just about the hippest thing on six strings, as his blue-chip side- man credits attest. His own solo projects, meanwhile – daringly original, genre-bending improvisational affairs – have put him in a category of one". © CORMAC LARKIN The Irish Times - Friday, June 29, 2012 © 2012 irishtimes.com

"This month's absolute must-have is Separate Cages (Alchemy ALCD 1007; 58:23), a collection of tightly constructed, intimate guitar duets by Wayne Krantz and Leni Stern. The duo spins detailed and nuanced "conversations"-from the melancholy, overtone-driven tone painting of Stern's "Leave Softly," to the dark, bluesy rock tones of Krantz's "Claudine," with Stern on dobro. Krantz's "Nicole" features a beautifully executed point-counterpoint between his dizzyingly fast-paced, dark background and Stern's long-lined, pining solo. The best of these pieces generate palpable emotion-where "November"'s soft-touch, musing solo and light-toned accompaniment is sad, powerful and full of regret, the duo's interpretation of Larry John McNally's "Something is Wrong in Spanish Harlem" is hopeful and gentle, with a smoky vocal by Stern ("if music has the power to change things/even in the smallest of ways/I send these notes to the night/like a prayer to the light"). McNally's heartening lyric is at the emotional center of this fine, thought-provoking effort. By & © Hilarie Grey October 1997 © 1999–2012 JazzTimes, Inc. All rights reserved http://jazztimes.com/articles/9747-separate-cages-wayne-krantz-and-leni-stern Listen to Leni's "Words" album and Wayne's phenomenal guitar playing on Chris Potter's "Underground" album. Check this blog for other Wayne Krantz releases and check out Leni's "Black Guitar" album on this blog. Spare a thought for the late, great Emily Remler who was another exceptional jazz guitarist. Listen to her great "Firefly" album sometime [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 127 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS / INSTRUMENTATION

1. Saturday Morning (5:04) [Leni Stern]
Leni, stratocaster; Wayne, steel string acoustic
2. Claudine (3:33) [Wayne Krantz]
Leni, dobro; Wayne, steel string acoustic
3. Something Is Wrong In Spanish Harlem (5:00) [Gary Willis, Larry John McNally]
Leni, voice, stratocaster; Wayne, steel string acoustic
4. Point Falling (6:33) [Leni Stern]
Leni, stratocaster; Wayne, steel string acoustic
5. Nicole (3:56) [Wayne Krantz]
Leni, nylon string acoustic; Wayne, electric baritone guitar
6. King's Cross (For Emily Remler) (7:02) [Leni Stern]
Leni, stratocaster; Wayne, telecaster
7. Veronique (2:21) [Gary Willis, Wayne Krantz]
Wayne, stratocaster
8. Keep My Heart (5:52) [Wayne Krantz]
Leni, stratocaster; Wayne, voice, steel string acoustic
9. Leave Softly (4:53) [Leni Stern]
Leni, stratocaster; Wayne, steel string acoustic
10. Silver Line (6:00) [Leni Stern, Tim LeFebvre]
Leni, stratocaster; Wayne, steel string acoustic
11. November (For LJM) (7:51) [Leni Stern]
Leni, nylon string acoustic; Wayne, steel string acoustic

ABOUT WAYNE KRANTZ

Born 26th July 26 1956, WAYNE KRANTZ was raised in Corvalis, Oregon, Krantz. He discovered the Beatles at 14, and soon after started playing guitar. Having previously been subjected to piano tuition and hated it, KRANTZ found with the guitar he enjoyed not being told to practice. Early musical development included playing in rock and country groups. Shortly before leaving high school he discovered jazz in his father's record collection, in particular guitarist BARNEY KESSEL: this music became his main interest. To quote from KRANTZ's own web biography: "My first musically important job was with a band in Boston, the D SHARP GROUP - which also had guitarist BILL FRISELL. Afterwards I went on the road with CARL BLEY and that's where I really learned how to play chord changes. LENI STERN heard me playing at a club with CARLA and started hiring me to play gigs around town and later I went to Europe with LENI for several tours, clubs and festivals. Guitar-wise I guess I have been influenced one way or another by all the guys I respect. In that long list have to be TERRY HAGGERTY (The SONS OF CHAMPLIN), MICK GOODRICK, PAT METHENY, MIKE STERN, BILL FRISELL, KEVIN EUBANKS and JOHN SCOFIELD. Way off in the distance, the mountains that inspire all of us are JOHN MCLAUGHLIN and GEORGE BENSON; those are the guys that have taken their own the farthest. The immediate goal for me is to fulfill the promise of making my own music". In 1991 WAYNE KRANTZ released his first solo album, 'Signals', which included a number of well known session jazz musicians. He then formed his own trio with LINCOLN GOINES (bass) and ZACH DANZIGER (drums), recording 'Long To Be Loose' (1993), and the first of several live albums the excellent '2 Drink Minimum', (1995). During this period through to the mid noughties, WAYNE KRANTZ gained the reputation of being a New York guitar-fusionist, playing periodically at the 55 Bar jazz club in New York City. In 1996, KRANTZ released an acoustic album with LENI STERN, 'Separate Cages' (1996). WAYNE KRANTZ formed a new trio in 1997, which further demonstrated his outstanding guitar abilities complimented with a huge bag of jazz and rock riffs, allowing attractive improv to be played live night after night. In fact to use the term 'riffs' is far from precise when KRANTZ has outlined in his book, 'An Improviser's Operating System', his approach to improvisation, which relies not on licks or memorised fretboard patterns but an awareness of 'musical formulae' using the guitar. In doing so KRANTZ was producing new sounds that have changed his musical style drastically. His electric bass-player and drummer, respectively TIM LEFEBVRE and KEITH CARLOCK, contributed well the immediate inspiration and fluidity so that such live improv to be generated in many of KRANTZ's later albums well illustrate this type of jazz fusion. (It should be noted that TIM LEFEBVRE and ZACH DANZIGER, formed the innovative jazz drum'n'bass group BOOMISH as a side project in the late 90's - their second album 'Clearance Sale' includes contributions from KRANTZ and FRISELL. With some growing disillusionment and impatience with the mainstream record industry, KRANTZ's next three albums were produced and sold independently: 'Greenwich Mean' (1999), 'Your Basic Live' (2003), and 'Your Basic Live '06' (2007), being only available for sale at gigs or mail order via KRANTZ's website. During this time WAYNE KRANTZ cemented a well earned reputation worldwide, through tours (for instance appearing several times at Wales' Brecon Jazz Festival. In addition he has been in demand as a touring sidesman and session guitarist, working with STEELY DAN, MICHAEL BRECKER, DONALD FAGEN ('Morph The Cat', released 2006), CHRIS POTTER ('Underground', also in 2006), TAL WILKENFELD ('Tranformation' 2007) with perhaps the earliest session appearance on JASPER VAN'T HOF's 'Blue Corner'(1993). In June, 2007, KRANTZ played his last regular gig at the 55 Bar (at least for the time being), announcing ?he had a desire to move towards a louder thing requiring bigger rooms, with stages and sound systems to pull it off.?? However, the most recent announcement tells us of a August 2009 release 'Krantz, Lefevbre, Carlock', the first studio album recording in 13 years. (Biography compiled from various sources, quotes from Wayne Krantz). © Prog Archives, All rights reserved http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4613

ABOUT LENI STERN

Leni Stern, who has received more recognition for her composing than her guitar playing, has managed to carve out her own musical personality despite being married to fellow guitarist Mike Stern (a potentially dominant influence). She began classical piano lessons when she was six, but was much more inspired a few years later when she discovered a guitar in the attic and taught herself to play jazz. Stern's early years were actually spent as an actress in her native Germany, featured on a national television show. However, she took a summer off in 1977 to enroll at Berklee, and she never returned to acting. Stern lived in Boston until 1980, moved to New York, and has worked steadily in clubs ever since, recording for Passport (now defunct), Enja, and Lipstick. Primarily an instrumentalist in the past, with 1997's Black Guitar she revealed her prowess as a vocalist, and began releasing a series of albums that mixed jazz, pop, and rock on her own LSR imprint, including Kindness of Strangers (2000), Finally the Rain Has Come (2002), When Evening Falls (2004), and Love Comes Quietly (2006). © Scott Yanow © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/leni-stern-mn0000242721

LENI STERN BIO (WIKI)

Leni Stern (born Magdalena Thora in Munich, Germany) is an electric guitarist, and singer. She was interested in music from an early age, beginning piano studies at the age of six and taking on the guitar age of eleven. Forming her own acting company at the age of seventeen, Stern attracted media attention and performed her radical productions in front of sold-out European crowds. In 1977, Stern chose music over acting, and left Germany for the United States to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, studying film scoring. She gave up film scoring in favor of the guitar and moved to New York City in 1981, playing in various rock and jazz bands. In 1983, she formed a band of her own with Paul Motian on drums and Bill Frisell on guitar. She has released twelve solo instrumental recordings, of which 1985's Clairvoyant was the first. Her most recent releases – Alu Maye, Africa, Spirit in the Water and Sa Belle Belle Ba – juxtapose Stern's trademark inventive guitar and vocal explorations with the indigenous sounds of accomplished African instrumentalists and singers. Her cover of Laura Nyro's song "Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp" appeared on Time and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro, the Laura Nyro tribute album. Leni Stern Recordings (LSR) was established in 1997. The record label seeks to put out music from the most creative artists in jazz and songwriting. LSR's first release was Stern's first full-length vocal release, Black Guitar. Ted Drozdowski of the Boston Phoenix described Stern's voice sounding "something like Marlene Dietrich borrowing Billie Holiday's phrasing." She is married to guitarist Mike Stern

Ernie Graham

Ernie Graham - Ernie Graham - 1971 - Liberty

Ernie Graham's 1971 self-titled solo album is one of the lost jewels of its era, but the CD reissue is even better -- the sound is remastered in state-of-the-art digital audio, and it's thoroughly annotated, but even better, the subsequent 1978 single A- and B-sides "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" (authored by Phil Lynott) and "Only Time Will Tell" are appended to the original eight songs. The result is a one of the most rewarding and enjoyable pieces of roots/folk-based rock of its era, and a must-own CD for anyone who loves either of those genres or the pub rock sound of the 1970s. © Bruce Eder, allmusic.com

This is one of the most hauntingly beautiful solo albums to come out of the whole English pub rock scene, and references to Bob Dylan and the Band are appropriate because the rootsy/folk-like intersections with their work are here. It's also a rival to the best work of Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, Eggs Over Easy, et al. (and no surprise -- the Brinsleys played on this album). Opening with the gorgeous, Dylanesque "Sebastian," built on a lyrical acoustic guitar part, Graham reveals himself a songwriter and player of extraordinary sensitivity -- he might easily have been another Alan Hull, or even bigger than that, had he been able to join a band with legs or hold his own career together. As it is, from that Dylan-like start, he and the Brinsleys deliver a brace of full electric numbers that rival the classic sound of the Band, starting with "So Lonely" -- the roots rock sound here is so authentically American that it will fool lots of listeners about its origins and source. For this album, "The Girl That Turned the Lever" and "For a Little While" are two of the finest working-class/folk-style compositions this side of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and "Blues to Snowy" takes Graham into Lynyrd Skynyrd territory. "Belfast" finally takes listeners to Graham's real roots, in a bracing, fiddle-driven folk-based piece from that side of the Atlantic. © Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Ernie Graham was a member of Eire Apparent, whose claim to fame was their Sunrise album, produced by Jimi Hendrix. His brilliant 1971 solo record often gets the ‘pub rock’ tag, but sounds closer to genuine Americana, like The Band record that never was. It doesn’t feel like most pub rock (even considering Nick Lowe’s Brinsley Schwarz filled out the backing band); it may just be because Graham hailed from England that we call it pub rock. Labels aside, this is a pretty much perfect record. “Sebastian” is a wonderful folksy opener, but overtly dylanesque. “Belfast,” the closer, is the other anomaly on this disc, definitely a good number but drastic in its divergent Irish style. All the tunes in between are delicately produced gems and true lost classics. Thankfully, the Dylan impersonation tones down as Ernie lets his natural voice shine through. “So Lonely” kicks in with that mellow groove and tunes like “Girl That Turned The Lever” etch their melody into your mind. A laid-back combo: acoustic guitar, touch of organ, the bass and drums sound warm and wooden, with doubled electric guitar punching it up. Even the harmonies are low key, just barely there, lending to the album’s lovely, lulling mood. The “la la” refrains to “For A Little While” and “Don’t Want Me Round You” are positively anthemic and the psyched-out shuffle of “Blues To Snowy” and dreamy feel to “Sea Fever” seal the deal. It’s hard to believe this record could fall so far through the cracks. Beautiful growing melodies, choruses that resonate before you even know the song. Bruce Eder calls this “perhaps the greatest unknown album of the 1970s” and I tend to agree. After this record, Graham would play guitar and pen tunes for Help Yourself, who released their own Cali-flavored gem from the pub rock scene, and would later form his own band, Clancy, who released two albums in 1975. Written by & © Brendan | July 14th, 2008 © http://therisingstorm.net/ernie-graham-self-titled/

The late Irish singer songwriter, Ernie Graham was a member of the Irish sixties psychedelic pop rock band, Eire Apparent, whose "Sunrise" album was produced by Jimi Hendrix. He also played with Help Yourself, Clancy, and with artists like Nick Lowe and the late, great Phil Lynott.. This does not sound like an album of British rock or "Pub Rock", despite Ernie Graham's associations with people like Nick Lowe, and bands like Help Yourself, Clancy, and Brinsley Schwarz. There are albums on this blog by artists like Jim Kweskin, who play Americana style folk blues roots rock, and some of Ernie Graham's songs are in that vein. There is soulful blues, but also electric rock in the eight great tracks on this vastly underrated album. There are also Dylanesque elements on the album. There is not one dud track on this wonderful album. The arrangements for the rhythm section, guitar and piano, are superb. Richard Treece's guitar work is especially good. Also included in the line-up are members of two great British "Pub Rock" bands already mentioned here, Help Yourself, and Brinsley Schwarz.. Bruce Eder calls this “perhaps the greatest unknown album of the 1970s". The album is V.H.R by A.O.O.F.C, and your comments are welcome. The album is now available on CD, with two bonus tracks. Listen to Eire Apparent's "Sunrise" album, and also, if you can find them, Help Yourself's "Strange Affair", and Clancy's "Seriously Speaking " albums. Read more about this album @ http://irishrock.org/irodb/bands/graham-ernie.html [All tracks @ 224 Kbps: File size = 65.1 Mb]

TRACKS

A1 Sebastian 5:40
A2 So Lonely 5:25
A3 Sea Fever 4:40
A4 The Girl That Turned the Lever 6:15

B1 For a Little While 6:35
B2 Blues to Snowy 4:05
B3 Don't Want Me Round You 4.27
B4 Belfast 5.39

All songs composed by Ernie Graham

MUSICIANS

Ernie Graham - Guitar, Vocals
Brinsley Schwarz, Richard Treece - Guitar
Bob Andrews - Guitar, Accordion, Piano, Organ, Background Vocals
Ian Gomm - Guitar, Background Vocals
Malcolm Morley - Guitar, Vocals, Piano
Nick Lowe, Ken Whaley - Bass Guitar
Dave Charles - Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals
Billy Rankin - Drums
Chris Cunningham - Fiddle
J. Eichler - Vocals

BIO

Singer/guitarist Ernie Graham was an active part of the British pub rock scene during the first half of the '70s, shuffling between several bands and also recording solo. Graham started out in Belfast during the mid-'60s in professional music when he joined Tony & the Telstars, a local band, as their rhythm guitarist, working as an apprentice auto mechanic during the day. Eventually, Graham and two other members of the band decided to leave Belfast for England, and potentially bigger rewards. It was there that he met guitarist Henry McCullough and the two, on returning to Ireland, began putting together their own band, which was initially known as the People. They saw some serious success in the swinging London music scene of the second half of the 1960s, enough that they were persuaded to change their name to Eire Apparent in a bid for major stardom. That didn't quite happen, but they came close, the psychedelic-flavored band touring with Jimi Hendrix, who also played on their only album, Sunrise (1969). McCullough left the group -- to form the Grease Band -- and Eire Apparent later dissolved, Graham signed with UA/Liberty as a solo artist, just at the time that the British arm of the label had begun building a new, bold roster of acts representing a new generation of performers. It was all a happy coincidence that brought Graham into the studio backed by no less an act than Brinsley Schwarz, and the result, coupled with Graham's exceptional singing and songs, was one of the finest albums of the entire decade. Ernie Graham failed to sell, however, and soon after, he joined Help Yourself as a guitarist, entering the studio for their second album, Strange Affair, but departing the group before the record was completed. Sad to say, the rest of Graham's career was a similar study in unfulfilled promise. In 1973, Graham formed another band called Clancy, along with ex-Help Yourself bandmate Jojo Glemser. Clancy signed to Warner Bros. in 1974 and issued two albums the following year; however, the group imploded following one last Warner single in 1976 and Graham drifted away from performing. His personal demons, including a strong alcohol dependence, gradually got the better of him, and his health began to fail late in the 20th century. He passed away in 2001, forgotten by all but the most loyal fans and serious music scholars. The following year, his 1971 album was reissued on CD in Japan. © Bruce Eder & Steve Huey, All Music Guide

BIO (WIKI)

Ernie Graham (b Ernest Harold Graham, 14 June 1946 in Belfast, d 27 April 2001 in London) was a singer, guitarist and songwriter, active from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s Ernie Graham was born in Belfast, and was training to be a mechanic, when he joined his first band Tony & the Telstars in 1965, as rhythm guitarist. When the band split Graham and two other members moved to England, where Graham met Henry McCullough. Graham and McCullough returned to Belfast and formed The People, with George O'Hara, Davey Lutton and Chris Stewart. In 1967 the band moved back to London where they came to the attention of Michael Jeffery and were signed by him and Chas Chandler. In 1968 they changed their name to Eire Apparent and toured with Soft Machine, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. Eire Apparent only recorded one album Sunrise (1969), which was produced by Hendrix, who also played on the album. Shortly after McCullough left, to tour with The Grease Band, Eire Apparent disbanded. Graham moved in with McCullough and recorded four songs with The Grease Band, but these were never issued. Graham was then signed to Liberty Records as a solo artist, by Andrew Lauder. Sharing management with Brinsley Schwarz and Help Yourself, they all toured together as "The Down Home Rhythm Kings" package and lived in the same commune in Northwood. Both bands also backed Graham on his eponymous solo album Ernie Graham (1971). The album was well received, described as "one of the most hauntingly beautiful" albums of the pub-rock scene, and "one of the more distinctive and memorable solo albums of the period", but sold poorly. Graham and 'JoJo' Glemser then joined Help Yourself appearing with them at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971 and playing on their second album Strange Affair (1972), although Graham had left the band before the album was released. In 1973, Graham formed pub rock band Clancy, who were initially signed to Island Records, but issued two albums and a single on Warner Bros. Records. When Clancy broke up in 1976, Graham played with Nick Lowe and tried to go solo, issuing Phil Lynott's "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" as a single in 1978, which was his last release. In the early 1980s, he tried forming a band with Larry Pratt, who had briefly been a member of Clancy, but when this failed, he gave up being a professional musician, worked on the railways, including as a guard on the Orient Express, and was training to become a counsellor, but his "strong alcohol dependence" caused his health to fail, and he died in April 2001.

Kid Ramos

Kid Ramos - Kid Ramos - 1999 - Evidence

"...His vintage guitar sound never comes from an axe later than '61, which explains why his lean playing is so stylistic but not at all overpowering.... [Kid Ramos] is a bluesman all the way through." - Dirty Linen (4-5/00, p.81

With his second album (self-titled, as if it were his debut), Kid Ramos turns in a solid set of greasy roadhouse blues that hits harder than most contemporary blues albums from the '90s. Ramos not only knows how to select his material (all 15 songs are covers, but only "Three Hundred Pounds of Joy" is overly familiar) and can play all variations of blues, but he keeps the record loose and raw, never polishing the sound too much and letting the music breathe. The result is a thoroughly engaging, entertaining set that sucks you in with "Dead Love," keeps your interest through the extraordinary version of James Harman's "Walk-Around Telephone Blues" (the writer contributes harp here), and doesn't let go until the end. An appealing effort that establishes Ramos as a worthy artist in his own right even after years of winning audiences as a member of Roomful of Blues, the Red Devils and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved

Two great blues harpists and vocalists, James Harman and Kim Wilson, guest on the self-titled solo debut by Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Kid Ramos (Evidence 26104-2; 56:43). Ramos acquits himself nicely in a variety of vintage '50s blues, R&B and soul settings on this horn-oriented project, including the organ-fueled Grant Green-ish funk of "Leave Me Alone," Pee Wee Crayton's jump blues "Fidde De Dee," the Stax/Volt flavored "One Woman, One Man" and a hot rockin' "The Jig's Up." Ramos demonstrates a stinging touch on the Albert Collins-inspired instrumental "Cold Chicken and Beer," the jaunty New Orleans stroll "No More Alcohol" and on a raucous rendition of Howlin' Wolf's "Three Hundred Pounds of Joy," with appropriately raspy vocals by Cesar Rojas of Los Lobos. Other guest vocalists on this all-star affair include Willie J. Chambers of the Chambers Brothers and the soulful Janiva Magness. Ramos himself makes his first ever vocal appearance on "I Would Be a Sinner" and he conjures up fond memories of simpler times with a briskly swinging rendition of "Bandstand Boogie," the longtime theme song for Dick Clark's American Bandstand TV show. A groovy debut from the Kid. - Originally published in December 1999 By & © Bill Milkowski © 1999–2012 JazzTimes, Inc. All rights reserved http://jazztimes.com/articles/10711-kid-ramos-kid-ramos

L.A. native Kid Ramos’ reputation as a fiery guitarist began, when at 21 years of age he joined James Harman’s band where he stayed for eight years, often playing four sets a night, five nights a week. On this s/t second album he is backed by some of the best blues musicians in the business including Kim Wilson, James Harman, Los Lobos’ Cesar Rosas, Lynwood Slim, Janiva Magness and Willie Chambers of the Chambers Brothers. A great album with two Ramos originals and covers of songs by artists including Willie Dixon, Pee Wee Crayton, Otis Rush, Don Robey, and Jimmy Liggins. Ray Agee and James Harman contribute two songs each. Kid Ramos does not always get the credit he deserves for playing the real blues for so many years now. "Kid Ramos" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Kid's "West Coast House Party" album and support The Blues, and real, worthwhile music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 136 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Dead Love - Milton Campbell / Oliver Sain 4:03
2 No More Alcohol - Jimmy Liggins 3:01
3 Leave Me Alone - Ray Agee 3:03
4 Three Hundred Pounds Of Joy - Willie Dixon 4:01
5 Walk-Around Telephone Blues - James Harman 3:44
6 The Jig's Up - Jerry "Boogie" McCain 3:33
7 Open Up Your Heart - Ray Agee 3:32
8 Cold Chicken And Beer - Kid Ramos 3:18
9 Fiddle De Dee - Pee Wee Crayton 3:46
10 One Woman, One Man - Kid Ramos 4:17
11 It Takes Time - Otis Rush 4:16
12 I Don't Believe - Don Robey 3:09
13 Helsinki Laundromat Blues - James Harman 6:17
14 Bandstand Boogie - Charles Albertine 3:30
15 I Would Be a Sinner - Jerry West 3:07

MUSICIANS

Kid Ramos - Guitar, Harmonica, Background Vocals
Willie J. Campbell - Bass, Upright Bass
Jeff "Big Dad" Turmes - Upright Bass, Baritone Saxophone
Gene Taylor, Rob Rio - Piano
Dave Mathews - Hammond B3
Richard Innes - Drums
Stephen Hodges - Drums, Congas
Steve Marsh - Alto & Tenor Saxophone
Anne King - Trumpet
James Harman - Harmonica, Vocals
Kim Wilson, Janiva Magness, Cesar Rosas, Willie Chambers - Vocals
Lynwood Slim - Vocals, Background Vocals
Marc Thijs - Background Vocals

SHORT BIO

Born on January 13, 1959, in Fullerton, CA, blues-rock guitarist David "Kid" Ramos inherited his love of music from his parents, who were both professional opera singers. When his father grew tired of life on the road, he settled down with his family, buying a gas station in Anaheim. One day, when Kid was eight, he bought his son an electric guitar and amplifier from a customer passing through. By his teenaged years, Ramos was playing friend's parties and nightclubs on a regular basis, joining harmonica expert James Harman's blues-based band in 1980 (all its members sported sharkskin suits), playing up and down California alongside such punk bands as X, Oingo Boingo, the Blasters, and the Plimsouls. Kid played with the Harman Band for most of the '80s, until his departure in 1988, and although he filled in as the guitarist for the outfit Roomful of Blues, decided to put his musical career on the backburner to focus on his home life and start a family (for the next seven years, Ramos was employed as a water delivery man). Eventually though, his desire to play music returned and Ramos formed the Big Rhythm Combo with singer Lynwood Slim (issuing The Big Rhythm Combo in 1994), in addition to releasing his first-ever solo album, Two Hands One Heart, in 1995. The same year, Ramos was invited to join one of his favorite all-time bands, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, at the personal request of their singer, Kim Wilson. Ramos promptly accepted and he returned back to the road. In addition to his work with the T-Birds, Ramos has continued to issue solo albums on a regular basis, including 1999's self-titled sophomore effort, 2000's West Coast House Party, and 2001's Greasy Kid's Stuff. © Greg Prato © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/kid-ramos-mn0000072335

Davey Johnstone & John Jorgenson

Davey Johnstone & John Jorgenson - Crop Circles (Groovemasters Vol. 2) - 1998 - Solid Air Records

Twelve original acoustic instrumental compositions recorded while Davey and John were touring as part of Elton John’s band during his 1997/8 Big Picture Tour. The album showcases Davey and John's backgrounds and techniques in bluegrass and folk music, but similar to guitarists like Laurence Juber, these guys can play anything. The two unique guitarists explore the vast spectrum of dynamics possible on an acoustic guitar and the diversity of sounds on this album should appeal to all lovers of great music, not just great guitar. "An acoustic outing that shows just how inventive and intuitive these guys can be with just two guitars at their disposal. Recorded on the Sony Mini-Disc system, the 12 track album sounds as clear as a bell. You’d be hard pressed to find a record as likeable and as listenable as Crop Circles.” - 20th Century Guitar "Crop Circles" is VHR by A.O.O.F.C. This kind of pure music is rare. Try and listen to John Jorgenson's "Ultraspontane" and Davey Johnstone's "Smiling Face" albums [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 109 Mb]

TRACKS

1. 3rd Neck From Now 3:42
2. Crop Circles 4:00
3. She's Gonna Cry Soon 4:37
4. Reel It In 5:13
5. Exercise In Fertility 2:16
6. Bernadette's Rose 4:17
7. Fat Slag Rag 3:49
8. Grooves And Lands 4:00
9. Beyond Ohm 2:49
10. LaVoya 4:54
11. Scarabride 3:32
12. Sacred Path 5:02

All tracks written, arranged & performed by John Jorgenson on guitar and Davey Johnstone on guitar and vocals

DAVEY JOHNSTONE BIO

Although guitarist Davey Johnstone is best known for being a longtime member of Elton John's band, he has guested on numerous other artist's recordings over the years and is widely regarded as one of rock's most versatile players. He began first as an acoustic/folk player doing session work in England, when one day producer Gus Dudgeon asked Johnstone to play on Bernie Taupin's self-titled 1970 solo album, which resulted in a meeting with John and playing on his 1971 classic Madman Across the Water. Johnstone and John hit it off and he was automatically welcomed into John's band full time, playing on many of his best-known hits over the years; Johnstone's playing could adapt from serene ballads ("Candle in the Wind"), to pop ("Crocodile Rock"), and even raging riff rockers ("Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"). Word quickly got out to other artists about Johnstone's talents, resulting in numerous sessions from the '70s all the way to the next millennium, including Joan Armatrading, Kiki Dee (Johnstone's future wife), Leo Sayer, Alice Cooper, the Who, Meat Loaf, Stevie Nicks, Yvonne Elliman, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, George Jones, Belinda Carlisle, and Vonda Shepherd, among many others. But despite all of his extracurricular work, Johnstone has always made working with Elton John his top priority, playing on over 20 albums with the flamboyant piano man. Johnstone has issued a lone solo album during his career, the obscure 1973 release Smiling Face. © Greg Prato © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/davey-johnstone-mn0000630248

JOHN JORGENSON BIO

Southern California native John Jorgenson, a three-time winner of the Academy of Country Music award for Guitarist of the Year, was destined to be a part of the music business from an early age. Classically trained as a child, his father conducted for Benny Goodman. John, who idolized Goodman, played with his hero while his father was leading the way. Later, he went on to work for eight years as a member of the jazz and bluegrass group at Disneyland. While employed at the "happiest place on earth," John contributed his skills on a number of instruments, including mandolin, saxophone, guitar, and clarinet. At another point in his career he was the featured bassoonist for the L.A. Camerata. Still, it was Jorgenson's expertise as a guitarist that brought him fame and respect as he recorded with the groundbreaking Byrds as well as Rose Maddox, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Bonnie Raitt, Dan Fogelberg, and even Michael Nesmith. In spite of the number one hits, the classic covers they brought back to life, and all the Top Ten singles, the Desert Rose Band began to crumble by 1992. Jorgenson left to pursue other interests, including his guitar work with the Hellecasters, a band that came together after a one-time-only gig in 1991. Comprised of Jorgenson and fellow Telecaster disciples Will Ray and Jerry Donahue, the Hellecasters were made up of three lead players and no vocalist. The Return of the Hellecasters, their debut recording, was voted both Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year in 1993 by the Guitar Player magazine Reader's Poll. A second Hellecasters project in 1995, Escape From Hollywood, continued to refine and redefine guitar techniques. Jorgenson recorded and toured with Elton John during 1995, and one year later recorded a bluegrass project with the legendary Rose Maddox at Mad Dog Studios. Released in 1996, The Moon Is Rising was also produced by Jorgenson. Emotional Savant followed in 1999. © Jana Pendragon © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-jorgenson-mn0000230160

Janis Ian

Janis Ian - The Secret Life Of J. Eddy Fink - 1968 - Verve

Janis Fink is Ian's real name, and her concerns moved more toward the personal on her third album. "42nd St. Psycho Blues" was her unhappy commentary on what having a pop music career had been like, while "When I Was a Child" found her reminiscing regretfully about what had happened to her. Other songs waxed poetic, and producer Shadow Morton kept recreating the folk-rock sound of "Society's Child," but nothing here caught fire, and this album failed to chart, seeming to confirm that Ian would be a one-hit wonder, over the hill at 17. With a few years to think about it, of course, she'd have some trenchant things to say about that age. William Ruhlmann © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved © http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-secret-life-of-j-eddy-fink-r41164

"The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink" is an 11 track collection of "challenging" folk rock songs by the great Janis Ian. This album is now 43 years old. In 1968 Janis Ian was only 17, and this album was her third release. The album barely registered with the American record buying public. Some people called the album "pretentious", a word that really doesn't fit in with the character of Janis Ian. Her songs are intense, passionate, intelligent, and powerful, and often concentrate on serious social and personal themes. There are few songwriters who can write about these topics, while backing her often serious lyrics with beautiful, wistful melodies. Janis' songs were never overly commercial, and perhaps this aspect of her songwriting has halted the success she has always deserved, but never really achieved. Like so many great songwriters who have many great songs to their credit, Janis Ian is unfortunately best remembered for her two songs, "Society's Child", and "At Seventeen". Yet, this great New York songstress, has released many great albums, some of them classics, but not recognized as such. She has never fully received the recognition she deserves for her utterly brilliant songs, and marvellous guitar technique. The late, great Chet Atkins once called Janis "a genius", not just for her guitar talents, but also her songwriting ability. Janis Ian remains one of today's great singer/songwriters. From her teenage days she has remained faithful to her uncompromising songs, and has never sold out to commerciality. There are enough well structured and melodic songs on the album to make it HR by A.O.O.F.C [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 97.4 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Everybody Knows
2 Mistaken Identity
3 Friends Again
4 42nd Street Psycho Blues
5 She's Made of Porcelain
6 Sweet Misery
7 When I Was a Child
8 What Do You Think of the Dead?
9 Look to the Rain
10 Son of Love
11 Baby's Blue

All songs composed by Janis Ian

MUSICIANS

Janis Ian - Guitar, Piano, Organ, Vocals
Carol Hunter - Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar
Buddy Saltzman - Trap Drums
Richie Havens - Conga Drums
Joe Price - Bongo Drums
Phil Ramone - Mixer

BIO (WIKI)

Janis Ian (born Born Janis Eddy Fink in New York City on April 7, 1951) is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumental musician, columnist, and science fiction fan-turned-author. She had a highly successful singing career in the 1960s and 1970s, and has continued recording into the 21st century. At age thirteen, she legally changed her name to Janis Ian, her new last name being her brother's middle name. At the age of fifteen, Ian wrote and sang her first hit single, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)," about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers; the girl ultimately decides to end the relationship, claiming the societal norms of the day have left her no other choice. Produced by melodrama specialist George "Shadow" Morton and released three times between 1965 and 1967, "Society's Child" finally became a national hit the third time it was released, after Leonard Bernstein featured it in a TV special titled Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The song's lyrical content was too taboo for some radio stations, and they withdrew or banned it from their playlists accordingly. In the summer of 1967, "Society's Child" reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently "Society's Child" was too hot for Atlantic Records as well at the time. Ian relates on her website that although the song was originally intended for Atlantic and the label paid for her recording session, the label subsequently returned the master to her and quietly refused to release it. Years later, Ian says, Atlantic's president at the time, Jerry Wexler, publicly apologized to her for this. The single and Ian's 1967 eponymous debut album were finally released on Verve Forecast; her album was also a hit, reaching #12. In 2001, "Society's Child" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which honors recordings considered timeless and important to music history. Her most successful single was "At Seventeen," released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the maturity of adulthood. "At Seventeen" was a smash, receiving tremendous acclaim from critics and record buyers alike — it charted at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It even won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female beating out the likes of Linda Ronstadt who was nominated for the classic Heart Like A Wheel album, Olivia Newton-John and Helen Reddy. Ian performed "At Seventeen" as a musical guest on the very first episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975. The song's album, Between The Lines, was also a smash and hit #1 on Billboard's Album chart. It was quickly certified Gold and later earned a 'Platinum' certification for sales of over one million copies sold in the US. Another measure of her success is anecdotal - on Valentine's Day 1977, Ian received 461 Valentine cards, having indicated in the lyrics to "At Seventeen" that she never received any as a teenager. "At Seventeen" can also be heard playing in the background in one scene in the 2004 movie Mean Girls. The movie, like the song, addresses the topic of teenage cruelty and alienation; the film features a character named "Janis Ian" who was not a lesbian but was called one nonetheless by some of her classmates in an attempt to demean her. The character was played by actress Lizzy Caplan. "At Seventeen" is also mentioned in Jeffrey Eugenides's 1993 novel The Virgin Suicides, where the song is used by four girls imprisoned in their own home and essentially cut off from normal adolescent experiences to communicate with the narrator and his friends. "Fly Too High" (1979) was her contribution to the soundtrack of the Jodie Foster film Foxes. It earned her a Grammy nomination and became a hit single in many countries, including South Africa, Belgium and the Netherlands. Another country where Ian has achieved a surprising level of popularity is Japan. She had two top 10 singles on the Japanese Oricon charts, "Love Is Blind" in 1976, and "You Are Love" in 1980; and her album Aftertones was a #1 best-seller there in October 1976. By contrast, in the U.S., Ian made the pop charts only once more after "At Seventeen" ("Under the Covers," #71 in 1981), though she had several more songs reach the Adult Contemporary singles chart through 1980 (all failing to make the Top 20, however). Ian spent much of the 1980s and early 1990s without a record deal; her label dropped her in 1981 following the disappointing sales of Miracle Row (1977), Night Rains (1979), and Restless Eyes (1981). "Basically, I didn't do anything from 1982 to 1992. Ian finally resurfaced in 1993 with the album Breaking Silence, its title song about incest. She came out as a lesbian with that release. Also in 1993 was her infamous Howard Stern Show appearance where she performed a "new" version of "At Seventeen" about Jerry Seinfeld. Ian has released five albums since (including one live album, 2003's Working Without A Net). Ian's most recent album, Folk Is The New Black, was released jointly by the Rude Girl and Cooking Vinyl labels in 2006. It is the first in over twenty years where she did all the songwriting herself. She still tours and has a devoted fan base. Other artists have recorded Ian's compositions, most notably Roberta Flack, who had a hit in 1973 with Ian's song "Jesse" (also recorded by Joan Baez; Ian's own version is featured on her 1974 album Stars). Ian also co-wrote "What About The Love?", featured on Amy Grant's 1988 album Lead Me On. She is an outspoken critic of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a record industry organization which she sees as acting against the interests of musicians and consumers. As such, she has willingly released several of her songs for free download from her website. She was not only one of the first artists to do this but also was one of the first, along with author Eric Flint, to show conclusive evidence that free downloads dramatically increased hard-copy sales, contrary to the claims of RIAA and NARAS. Ironically, Ian's signature tune At Seventeen sold over two million singles in the United States alone yet was never certified. "I've been surprised at how few people are willing to get annoyed with me over it," she laughs, "there was a little backlash here and there. I was scheduled to appear on a panel somewhere and somebody from a record company said if I was there they would boycott it. But that's been pretty much it. In general the entire reaction has been favorable. I hear from a lot of people in my industry who don't want to be quoted, but say 'yeah, we're aware of this and we'd like to see a change too'." In addition to being an award-winning singer/songwriter, Ian writes science fiction. A long-time reader of the genre, she got into science fiction fandom in 2001, attending the Millennium Philcon. Her works have been published in an assortment of anthologies, and she co-edited, with Mike Resnick, the anthology Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian, published in 2003. When her schedule permits, she occasionally attends science fiction conventions. Ian has been a regular columnist for, and still contributes to the LGBT news magazine, The Advocate. She has a selection of her columns available on her website. On July 24th 2008, Janis Ian released her Autobiography: Society's Child (published by Penguin Tarcher) to much critical acclaim. An accompanying double CD "The Autobiogrphy Collection" has also been released with all Ian's best loved songs. Ian currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with attorney Patricia Snyder, whom she married in Toronto, Canada on August 27, 2003.

MORE ABOUT JANIS IAN

A singer/songwriter both celebrated and decried for her pointed handling of taboo topics, Janis Ian enjoyed one of the more remarkable second acts in music history. After first finding success as a teen, her career slumped, only to enter a commercial resurgence almost a decade later. Janis Eddy Fink was born on May 7, 1951, in New York City. The child of a music teacher, she studied piano as a child and, drawing influence from Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and Odetta, wrote her first songs at the age of 12. She soon entered Manhattan's High School of Music and Art, where she began performing at school functions. After adopting the surname Ian (her brother's middle name), she quickly graduated to the New York folk circuit. When she was just 15, she recorded her self-titled debut; the LP contained "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)," a meditation on interracial romance written by Ian while waiting to meet with her school guidance counselor. While banned by a few radio stations, the single failed to attract much notice until conductor Leonard Bernstein invited its writer to perform the song on his television special Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The ensuing publicity and furor over its subject matter pushed "Society's Child" into the upper rungs of the pop charts, and made Ian an overnight sensation. Success did not agree with her, however, and she soon dropped out of high school. In rapid succession, Ian recorded three more LPs -- 1967's For All the Seasons of Your Mind, 1968's The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink, and 1969's Who Really Cares -- but gave away the money she earned to friends and charities. After meeting photojournalist Peter Cunningham at a peace rally, the couple married, and at age 20, she announced her retirement from the music business. The marriage failed, however, and she returned in 1971 with the poorly received Present Company. After moving to California to hone her writing skills in seclusion, Ian resurfaced three years later with Stars, which featured the song "Jesse," later a Top 30 hit for Roberta Flack. With 1975's Between the Lines, Ian eclipsed all of her previous success; not only did the LP achieve platinum status, but the delicate single "At Seventeen" reached the Top Three and won a Grammy. While subsequent releases like 1977's Latin-influenced Miracle Row, 1979's Night Rains, and 1981's Restless Eyes earned acclaim, they sold poorly. Ian was dropped by her label and spent 12 years without a contract before emerging in 1993 with Breaking Silence (the title a reference to her recent admission of homosexuality), which pulled no punches in tackling material like domestic violence, frank eroticism, and the Holocaust. Similarly, 1995's Revenge explored prostitution and homelessness. Two years later Ian returned with Hunger; God & the FBI followed in the spring of 2000. A live set, Working Without a Net, appeared from Rude Girl Records in 2003, and a DVD, Live at Club Cafe, saw release in 2005. Folk Is the New Black appeared as a joint release from Rude Girl and Cooking Vinyl in 2006. © Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Pete Drummond

Pete Drummond - Identity Crisis - 2006 - Ind.

With his wealth of expertise and experience, deep-rooted musicality and artistic pop/rock sensibility, Pete Drummond is the movement and the beat of the Aaband. Pete is hailed as the up-and-coming force on drums in Australia, and as one of Pearl Drums and Zildjian Cymbals major Australian artists regularly conducts clinics and master classes throughout the country. Pete's greatest influences are: Virgil Donati, Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, Terry Bozzio, Jeff Porcaro and John Robinson. Other recent credits are a testament to Pete's growing reputation, performing with many prominent artists: Joan Rivers (USA), Kasey Chambers, Vanessa Amorosi, Iota, Not The Question and Jeff Duff. Pete Drummond is the 'drummer's drummer'...and by the way...he plays in the Aaband (Adam Alexander & The Aaband)! © http://www.adamalexander.info/engine.asp?topic=aaband

The great Australian drummer Pete Drummond has already caught the attention of many of the world's top drummers including Virgil Donati, Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, Chad Wackerman, Jojo Meyer, David Jones, Jon Otto, Jonathan Mover, Darryn Farrugia, Andrew Gander and Gordon Rytmeister. Pete has performed at drumming festivals alongside the world’s greatest drummers, Virgil Donati, Dave Weckl and Thomas Lang. In 2004 he recorded and toured with the band Zinc and has also toured and recorded with a multitude of artists including, Choirboys, Wendy Mathews, Glenn Shorrock and many more. He is a member of the iconic band Dragon and a former member of The Bushwackers. "Identity Crisis", Pete's first solo album consists of eight tracks covering funk, electric jazz, progressive rock and complex fusion. His phenomenal drumming combines world-class technique and interdependence with a deep understanding of polyrhythmic concepts. The album also features the amazing talents of keyboardist Steve Weingart from the Dave Weckl Band , Bill Risby, James Muller, the brilliant guitarist Jeremy Barnes and others. The great drummer Thomas Lang said that "Identity Crisis’ is an inspiring musical self portrait, full of inventive and creative ideas, fantastic songwriting and Pete’s incredible drumming. This is a hugely impressive musical statement and a rare example of “super advanced 21st century high-end drumming” applied in a band context in it’s most musical and creative form." Read more about Pete @ http://www.patdrummond.net/thechessset/Shared%20Files/PeteDrummond.html Pete Drummond is a magnificent drummer and multi-instrumental genius and a guy well worth promoting but if you want to buy this album you may find it very difficult. This is ridiculous as the album has received numerous great reviews. Try and listen to Jeremy Barnes' debut solo album 'ON'. [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 84.2 Mb]

TRACKS

1.Rise of the Machines 3:29
2.Sleeper 4:07
3.Spirals 5:20
4.Sidewalk 4:35
5.Nemesis 4:35
6.Thread 6:35
7.9:13 4:23
8.Track #1 4:15

All tracks composed by Pete Drummond

MUSICIANS

Pete Drummond - Drums, Drum Programming: Guitar on Track 8: Bass on Tracks 1,5,8: Additional Keys on Tracks 1,2,3,6,7,8
Jeremy Barnes - Guitar on Tracks 1,3,5,7
James Muller - Guitar on Tracks 2,6
Matt Drummond - Guitar on Track 4
Craig Larid - Guitar Solo on Track 8
Emile Nelson - Bass on Tracks 2,4,6,7
Joe Manton - Bass on Track 3
Steve Weingart - Keyboards on Tracks 3,6,7
Bill Risby - Keyboards on Track 2
Gary Daley - Keyboards on Track 4

SHORT BIO

Pete Drummond is one of Australia's most phenomenal drummers. His relentless pursuit of technical mastery, and his deep-rooted musicality have captured the attention of many of the world's great drumming artists including: Virgil Donati, Dave Weckl, Thomas Lang and Mike Mangini. As a solo drumming artist, Pete's mind-blowing performances at major drumming festivals both in Australia and overseas, have established him as one of the rising stars of the next generation of drummers. As Thomas Lang (Drumming superstar) stated in Modern Drummer magazine: "Pete Drummond is an amazing Australian Drummer". As a sideman Pete has worked with a host of great artists, spanning a wide array of musical styles including: The Temptations (US Motown Legends), Dragon, Glenn Shorrock (Little River Band), Wendy Matthews, Doug Parkinson and Dead Ringer Band (with Kasey Chambers) and Jeremy Barnes (The World's Fastest Guitarist). Pete Drummond as a session drummer, Pete has appeared on a multitude of albums, commercials and soundtracks, inc. Dead Ringer Band's ARIA award winning album 'Homefires', Channel 10, NRL, ABC TV and many more. Pete's performance at The Ultimate Drummers Weekend 2003 received widespread acclaim, and subsequently Pete is a cover artist on the internationally released DVD of the event; alongside Thomas Lang, John Blackwell JR. (Prince) and Jimmy Degrasso (Megadeth). © http://dragononline.com.au/pete-drummond

Jacques Stotzem

Jacques Stotzem - Catch the Spirit - 2008 - Acoustic Music Records

"Belgian guitarist Jacques Stotzem is captivating American listeners with his fluid, driving, melodic and impressionistic fingerstyle playing. On stage, Stotzem plays with heartstopping intensity, drawing the audience to the edge of their seats." - Acoustic Guitar - USA - 12/1995

"Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Neil Young, U2, Sting, Radiohead or even Rory Gallagher all cast a light on my life as a musician at one time or another. So for years, I've been excited by the idea of doing a retrospective album, exclusively featuring tracks by artists whom I admire and who have influenced me. This project represented a fascinating challenge, which resided in the need to restore the spirit of the original genre without actually forgetting my own style. In other words, to be able to revisit, tame and even permeate works by adding my own grain of salt, certainly with some daring arrangements, but especially with a great deal of respect and even tact, in order to try to find the right measure and equilibrium." - Jacques Stotzem

Twelve wonderful covers by an amazing guitarist played with a unique harmonic knowledge. Jacques covers songs by Rory Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, U2, The Beatles, Radiohead, and Sting. The great Larry Coryell said that "Jacques Stotzem is a unique artist. ... I would definitely not say Jacques is making guitar music - it happens to be pure music - it's just that the instrument he uses is the guitar, which he plays very, very well." This album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Jacques' "In Concert" album and support Grade A acoustic guitar music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 121 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Fire - Jimi Hendrix 4:06
2 After the Gold Rush - Neil Young 4:22
3 One - Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. 4:43
4 Come Together - John Lennon & Paul McCartney 4:09
5 No Surprises -Thomas E.Yorke 3:44
6 Moonchild - Rory Gallagher 4:34
7 The Shape of My Heart - Gordon M.Sumner (Sting) & Dominic Miller 5:02
8 With or Without You - Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. 4:15
9 Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix 4:30
10 Heart of Gold - Neil Young 4:31
11 Fields of Gold - Gordon M.Sumner (Sting) 4:24
12 Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix 4:43

SHORT BIO

In the acoustic guitar world today, Jacques Stotzem is one of the "fingerstyle" guitarists with the most diversified style. Born in 1959 in Verviers, the Belgian guitarist has recorded 12 CDs and is high up on the list for fans of the acoustic guitar. Readers of the influential German acoustic guitar magazine Akustik Gitarre have likened Stotzem to artists such as Leo Kottke, Paco De Lucia, Neil Young and Keb' Mo'.That's not really astonishing. His unique and highly refined playing style combines a well-developed melodic sense with a rare dynamic approach to the instrument that speaks directly to the listener. Jacques, unlike many guitar players today, possesses an in-depth sense of harmonic knowledge, which is evident throughout his compositions. All of this is cemented together by his perfect command of the instrument and by his optimistic personality. Jacques Stotzem has become a regular guest at European and American festivals and is often invited for tours in Japan, China or Taiwan. Since 2006, the famous American guitar company "Martin Guitar", produces an "OMC Jacques Stotzem Custom Signature Model", a dream for every guitar player, a consecration for Jacques. In 2009, his CD “Catch The Spirit” entered the Belgian pop charts and stayed for 43 weeks. His guitar-playing colleague Larry Coryell described Jacques as follows : "What he plays is pure music. As an instrument he uses the guitar, which he knows very, very well." © http://www.stotzem.com/

Janis Ian

Janis Ian - God And The FBI - 2000 - Windham Hill

Janis realized that if album sales didn't pick up, this would be her last recording for a major label. "Nobody gets a fourth career, and I've gone through three." Since she had nothing to lose, she felt that "if I'm going down, I'm going down in flames". So she decided to act as though this were her last album, and stop worrying about what people would think. The first decision was to record the entire album in a house rather than a studio "so we could experiment without watching the clock". They lived there through the recording process. "The goal was to create a bunker mentality - us and them - we almost made it. Not quite, but almost." The second decision was to have the core group play everything. "What we couldn't play, we created". When Janis wanted a tuba part on "Boots Like Emmy Lou's", no one was willing to learn the instrument - so it's actually co-producer Jim Cregan singing a tuba part, which is then electronically dropped an octave lower. When she wanted a full choir for the Requiem at the end of "On the Other Side", everyone learned the parts in Latin and sang in various octaves, doubling and tripling until the effect was achieved. And when she wanted electric guitar solos, she was forced to take them herself! The only song to have outside musicians is "Memphis", which features the same band used on Revenge plus Marc and Philip. It's also, by the way, a duet with Willie Nelson, and features a guitar solo by the great Chet Atkins. "I lucked in and met Chet when I first came to Nashville; he's been a staunch friend ever since. And Willie… well, I didn't think he'd do it, not in a million years. I figured he wouldn't have heard of me. But he told me he loved the song, and he loved my work, so I jumped at the chance. He was everything I'd hoped he'd be; outside of Swami Satchitananda (her neighbor in New York during the '60's), Willie's the most there person I've ever met. A real gentleman, and an honest-to-goodness legend." The album's title is taken from the song "god & the fbi", about Janis' early life with her parents and the FBI's effect on her. "My dad was a chicken farmer who made the mistake of going to a meeting about the price of eggs; they picked him up for questioning the next day. We were on the watch list from then on. It took me nine years to get our FBI files. Mine was disappointingly thin - I'd hoped I was more of a threat than that! But it's scary to look at that period in our country's history, and discover that you were being watched by informers through binoculars while you played at summer camp. I hope that whole organization is more like The X-files portrays it than our experiences with them." Asked if she'll get into trouble for referring to "J. Edgar Hoover in a pink tutu, investigating anyone who thinks like you", she laughs and says "Trouble seems to find me, but it never gets a good grip." © Janis Ian http://store.janisianstore.com/godfbi.html

It's been many years since she learned the truth "At Seventeen," but the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist -- who tackles guitars, keyboards, upright bass, and even banjo here -- is still a sharp lyricist who makes her points amid a stylistically diverse playground. Thank God her lyrics don't run as ridiculously stream of consciousness as her liner notes, because part of the fun here is imagining her tongue firmly planted in her cheek as she expounds on various themes. She tackles social paranoia on the bluesy title track; gentle spirituality on "On the Other Side," a tribute to Memphis featuring Mark Twain imagery and Willie Nelson's harmony voca; the powerful pain of love on "When You Love Someone"; and even women's lib on "Plays Like a Girl." That last tune sounds like something you'd hear at the Lilith Fair, a proclamation that girls may be denied membership in certain boys' activities, but the musical boundaries are breaking down. There is a wistful sense of hope on many of the tunes ("The Last Comeback" brims with optimism), but she chooses to close the set with the throbbing, percussive "Murdering Stravinsky," which laments the way people disregard the importance of traditions as they forge ahead. A solid commentary on modern times with a lot of musical joys to be found. © Jonathan Widran © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/god-the-fbi-mw0000051596
Check this blog for other JI releases and info [All tracks @ 192 Kbps: File size = 64.1 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 God & the FBI - Janis Ian
2 On The Other Side - Janis Ian
3 Memphis - Janis Ian & Deana Carter
4 Jolene - Janis Ian & Jess Leary
5 When You Love Someone - Janis Ian
6 Play Like a Girl - Janis Ian
7 Days Like These - Janis Ian
8 Boots Like Emmy Lou's - Janis Ian
9 She Must Be Beautiful - Janis Ian & Kye Fleming
10 The Last Comeback - Janis Ian & Philip Clark
11 Murdering Stravinsky - Janis Ian & Philip Clark

MUSICIANS

Janis Ian - Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Upright Bass, Keyboards, Vocals, Background Vocals
Jim Cregan - Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Background Vocals, Harmony
Marc Moreau - Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Background Vocals, Spoken Word
Philip Clark - Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Drums, Background Vocals
Chet Atkins - Guitar
Willie Weeks - Bass
Matt Rollings - Piano
Steve Gadd - Drums
Willie Nelson, John Cowan - Vocals

Janis Ian

Janis Ian - Unreleased 1: Mary's Eyes - 1998 - Rude Girl

The magnificent singer/songwriter Janis Ian was born in a Bronx hospital on April 7th 1951, and raised in Farmingdale, New Jersey. She has produced an astonishing body of work in an amazing career which has flourished for over 50 years. She has been described as "a female songwriter to stand beside Bob Dylan". She has recorded over 30 studio albums, has producd many short stories, science fiction novels, and composed songs for film and TV. Her first song ‘Hair Spun of Gold’ was published when she was 12. She played her first NY show at The Villageg Gate, NY when she was thirteen. She was nominated for a Grammy award for her self-titled debut album in 1967. Her songs including Jesse’ and ‘Stars’ have been covered by artists as diverse as Mel Torme and Cher. Her classic ‘At Seventeen’ earned her five Grammy nominations in 1975 of which she won the Grammy for ‘Best Pop Vocal performance’. Janis has received nine Grammy nominations. The great Ella Fitzgerald called Janis ‘The best young singer in America’. Chet Atkins said ‘Singer? You ought to hear that girl play guitar; she gives me a run for my money!” Leonard Bernstein described her as “remarkable”. Janis has received countless accolades and awards for her music. Her live performances are passionate, and powerful. In 2008 she released ‘Societies Child; My Autobiography’, which tells of her life in the music industry. From parties with Jimi Hendrix, to death threats, to losing love and finding it again. The book gives a vivid insight into the explosive life that she has lead since her early teens. Her great music is still influencing and enthralling generation after generation. Janis runs a foundation, in her mother’s name, which raises scholarship funding for people wishing to return to college. In 1998 Janis posted a note on her website asking her fans which songs they would most like to see offered on special fan only albums. She asked her fans to send in lists of the songs they most wanted to hear. Janis compiled this album using their suggestions and a few of her own from her personal archive of studio and live recordings. Janis had played these songs at gigs and recorded the songs at various times between 1971 and 1997, but these versions were not on any of her official releases. Many of the tracks are spare demos, using just voice and guitar. "Unwinding" and the mid-70s "Make A Man Of You" are voice and piano. On "On The Way To Me", "La Cienega Boulevard" and the live "Cosmopolitan Girl", Janis uses a full band. Many of the songs are well constructed, pleasant tunes like "Way Of The Land" and "Paris In Your Eyes", and other tracks like "Lone Ranger Days", "Forever Young" and "We Endure" rely less on melody and more on narrative. If you are a Janis Ian fan you will hardly complain, as Janis always wrote songs from the heart and was never concerned with writing "poppy", commercial tunes to please record companies. “It was good to start young,” says Janis. “It was good to learn, early on, that what matters is the music. I got most of my big mistakes over with before I was twenty-one. When people say ‘Didn’t you miss having a teenage life?’ I just say ‘I only know the life I lived. I was a teenager, working. A hundred years ago, no one would have thought anything of it. At least I got to do something I loved! I could have been working in a factory, or a day job where every day is the same thing, day in and day out. Instead, I got to deal with everything from doing coke with Jimi Hendrix to death threats". Speaking about people like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, Janis has said "Nobody knew who was going to be a legend… they were just people who were very good to me when I was young, They didn't let my age interfere and they taught me what they could. I don't know how to explain what Janis and Jimi were like, but I certainly didn't look at them as icons, because they were my friends and because they weren't iconic back then. I remember doing cocaine with Hendrix, but it was a mistake, because I actually turned out to be allergic to cocaine. I was really fortunate, because I think coke would have been the perfect drug for me - more speed and more energy. I have so many memories. I probably played with Jimi 15 or 20 times during the time that I knew him, and I would absolutely love to hear that stuff, because I certainly never heard it back then. Janis said "I lived an entire life in my teen years, and I don’t regret a second of it.” "Janis Ian is not an artist for the faint of heart, for timid souls who prefer Britney Spears’ auto-tuned vocals to the voice of real experience". Fourteen years ago, the WWW and computer technology was not nearly as advanced and as readily available as it is now. Back then, many of Janis' American fans were not on line, and very few of her overseas fans were. As a result, "Unreleased 1: Mary's Eyes" (The song "Mary's Eyes" is a tribute to the Irish folk singer Mary Black|) released on her own "Rude Girl" label became out of print almost immediately after it's release. A further two of these fan releases were released up to 2001.They were "Unreleased 2: Take No Prisoners", and "Unreleased 3: Society's Child". "Unreleased 1: Mary's Eyes" was re-issued in 2008 with a bonus track "Morning Alone After You". Listen to Janis' brilliant "Aftertones" album, and Check out Janis' "Society's Child", "Hunger", "Night Rains", "Who Really Cares", and "Stars" albums on this blog. Read a detailed bio of Janis @ http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/pawtrait/folkville/biographies/JanisIan.html [Tracks @ 224-320 Kbps: File size = 76 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Roses For The Damned - Janis Ian (4:03)
2. Tune That In - Janis Ian (1:49)
3. Do Wrong Do Right - Philip Clark/Janis Ian (2:28)
4. Mary's Eyes - Janis Ian (3:34)
5. Way Of The Land - Janis Ian (3:58)
6. Make A Man Of You - Janis Ian (2:48)
7. Paris In Your Eyes - Janis Ian (4:09)
8. We Endure - Janis Ian (3:27)
9. Lone Ranger Days - Janis Ian/Kent Robbins (2:54)
10. Forever Young - Janis Ian (3:16)
11. Unwinding - Janis Ian/Kye Fleming (4:07)
12. On The Way To Me - Janis Ian (3:34)
13. Cosmopolitan Girl - Janis Ian (3:25)
14. La Cienega Boulevard - Janis Ian/Jane Street (5:49)

SHORT BIO

A singer/songwriter both celebrated and decried for her pointed handling of taboo topics, Janis Ian enjoyed one of the more remarkable second acts in music history. After first finding success as a teen, her career slumped, only to enter a commercial resurgence almost a decade later. Janis Eddy Fink was born on May 7, 1951, in New York City. The child of a music teacher, she studied piano as a child and, drawing influence from Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and Odetta, wrote her first songs at the age of 12. She soon entered Manhattan's High School of Music and Art, where she began performing at school functions. After adopting the surname Ian (her brother's middle name), she quickly graduated to the New York folk circuit. When she was just 15, she recorded her self-titled debut; the LP contained "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)," a meditation on interracial romance written by Ian while waiting to meet with her school guidance counselor. While banned by a few radio stations, the single failed to attract much notice until conductor Leonard Bernstein invited its writer to perform the song on his television special Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The ensuing publicity and furor over its subject matter pushed "Society's Child" into the upper rungs of the pop charts, and made Ian an overnight sensation. With 1975's Between the Lines, Ian eclipsed all of her previous success; not only did the LP achieve platinum status, but the delicate single "At Seventeen" reached the Top Three and won a Grammy. While subsequent releases like 1977's Latin-influenced Miracle Row, 1979's Night Rains, and 1981's Restless Eyes earned acclaim, they sold poorly. Ian was dropped by her label and spent 12 years without a contract before emerging in 1993 with Breaking Silence (the title a reference to her recent admission of homosexuality), which pulled no punches in tackling material like domestic violence, frank eroticism, and the Holocaust. Similarly, 1995's Revenge explored prostitution and homelessness. Two years later Ian returned with Hunger; God & the FBI followed in the spring of 2000. A live set, Working Without a Net, appeared from Rude Girl Records in 2003, and a DVD, Live at Club Cafe, saw release in 2005. Folk Is the New Black appeared as a joint release from Rude Girl and Cooking Vinyl in 2006. © Jason Ankeny © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/janis-ian-mn0000213212

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Janis Ian [real name Janis Eddy Fink] was born in a Bronx hospital on April 7th 1951, and raised in various locations in New Jersey. Janis began taking classical piano lessons from the age of two, and quit eight years later. Discovering the portability of a guitar [as opposed to a grand piano], at the age of twelve Janis began writing songs – “Hair Of Spun Gold” was her first, and the Fink family settled in Manhattan the following year. “Hair Of Spun Gold” was published in Broadside Magazine. Janis went on to enrol at New York's High School of Music and Art, but only remained there for six months. By then however, Janis Ian had been born. Aged thirteen her brother’s middle name became her adopted surname, as a songwriter and performer, and Janis went on to adopt it legally. By the age of fourteen Ian was performing in school shows etc. and Greenwich Village folk clubs. Although Elektra Records initially showed interest the deal ran aground, and in 1966 Janis was signed by the Verve/Forecast label resulting in her, George “Shadow” Morton produced, debut album “Janis Ian.” The album gained Janis her first Grammy nomination in the category, Best Folk Performance. Her debut single “Society’s Child,” featured a, for-the-times, controversial lyric concerning interracial love and was released in August 1966. Ignored on that occasion, when Ian appeared, almost a year later, on the Leonard Bernstein special “Inside Pop : The Rock Revolution” the reactivated single reached # 14 on the US Pop Chart. Ian went on to record three more albums for Verve Folkways, but no further hit singles resulted. Barely eighteen by the time “Who Really Cares” appeared, in the liner booklet to “The Verve Recordings,“ Janis recalls that having moved out of her parent’s home, and living in a hotel [probably The Chelsea], the period was, for her, exceedingly unhappy. Her relationship with Verve/Forecast deteriorated, and after losing her recording contract Janis spent some time at Bell Sound in Philadelphia learning studio engineering. Moving on to California to study composition and orchestration, a sole album for Capitol Records, “Present Company,” appeared in 1971. Signed next by CBS, in the period 1974 – 1981, the imprint released seven studio albums by Janis. In addition, in Japan and Australia only, a live double album titled “In Concert” appeared in 1978. The first CBS album “Stars,” included Ian’s song "Jesse," which had been a US Top 30 chart single, the previous year, for Roberta Flack. At the 1975 Grammy Awards, the platinum selling album “Between the Lines" Janis won the "Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female” category for the track “At Seventeen" and the disc also scored in the "Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical” category. Released as a single, "At Seventeen" scored Janis a Top Three single on the US Pop Chart. Not restricted by one particular genre of music, the Mel Torme album “Mel Torme & Friends” scored Janis and Mel a 1978 Grammy nomination for "Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group” for Ian’s song “Silly Habits." In 1978 Janis married Tino Sargo, a Portuguese by birth, and the couple remained together for five years. In 1982 Janis sang “Ginny The Flying Girl” on the CBS children’s album, “In Harmony 2,” and the disc scored a “Best Children's Recording” for producers Lucy Simon and David Levine. Through the eighties Ian was silent as a recording artist, apart from the album “Uncle Wonderful,” which, until the following decade, was only available in Australia. By way of broadening her compositional skills, during this time Janis studied various facets of the arts with Stella Adler and other teachers. By 1986 Janis was commuting to Nashville to write songs, initially with Rhonda Kye Fleming, and in 1988 Ian settled in Music City, Tennessee and remains a resident to this day. In 1989 Janis met Patricia Snyder and they became a couple. Having been cast aside by CBS in 1981, in Europe, it was that label which released the album that marked the beginning of Phase III [or was it Phase IV] of Ian’s recording career in 1993. In truth “Breaking Silence” possessed a dual meaning, and the album subsequently gained a Grammy nomination for “Best Folk Performance.” Co-produced with John Jennings “Revenge” was issued by Beacon Records. “Live On The Test 1976” appeared only in the UK courtesy of BBC Records, while the 2CD collection “Society’s Child : The Verve Recordings” featured Ian’s four 1960’s albums for Verve. The studio albums “Hunger” and “God & The FBI” were made for Windham Hill/BMG, while the famous New York venue issued “The Bottom Line Encore Collection : Janis Ian – Live 1980.” Annually, since 1999 Janis has self-issued CD’s featuring, mostly, previously unavailable songs, namely “Unreleased 1 : Mary’s Eyes,” “Unreleased 2 : Take No Prisoners” and “Unreleased 3 : Society’s Child.” Last year’s “Lost Cuts 1” was a five song, mini album. “Working Without A Net,” a 2 CD live recording was issued in the States by Oh Boy Records and in the UK by Cooking Vinyl in the early Fall of 2003, and was followed in February 2004 by her latest studio album “Billie’s Bones.” The title track was a tribute to the late Billie Holiday. Janis has scored or contributed songs to movies such as “Four Rode Out” [1969], “Betrayal” [1977], “Virus” [1980] “Falling From Grace” [1992] and more. Produced by Giorgio Moroder "Fly Too High," a cut on “Night Rains,” was featured in the Jodie Foster movie “Foxes” [1980], and scored an international single hit for Janis. In 2001, proving that some things have changed for the better, the song "Society's Child" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Ian’s songs have been covered by Stan Getz, Bette Midler, Glen Campbell, Cher, Joan Baez, Vanilla Fudge and many others. In August, 2003 in Toronto, Canada Janis and Pat Snyder were married. Featured in Issue 1 [July/August 1993], since 1994 Janis has been a regular columnist for Performing Songwriter magazine. The Cooking Vinyl label, in the U.S.A. and the U.K., simultaneously released “Folk Is The New Black” in late February 2006. When Ian toured the U.K. during the late Spring of 2006 she intimated to audiences that she would be taking some time ‘off the road’ to write her autobiography. Curiously, but also intentionally, “Folk Is The New Black” featured a track titled “My Autobiography.” Janis’ book, “Society’s Child: My Autobiography” [ISBN: 978-1-58542-675-1] was published by Penguin/Tarcher in late July 2008. Released concurrently by Ian’s own label, Rude Girl Records, “Best of….The Autobiography Collection” was a 2CD collection that reprised her four decade recording career and included previously unreleased material. © Arthur Wood © Kerrville Kronikles 10/03, 02/04, 01/06, 10/08 & 10/10 http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/pawtrait/folkville/biographies/JanisIan.html

Nuno Mindelis

Nuno Mindelis - Free Blues - 2010 - Beastmusic

Free Blues, by internationally acclaimed Blues guitarist Nuno Mindelis, celebrates a Blues Phoenix arising from the ashes. Blues music has undergone rediscovery and rebirth as it is passed from generation to generation. Eric Clapton and others helped deliver Blues reborn in the 1960's and 1970's. The Blues deserve more than a rote replay in exactly the same way as we have heard it for over 40 years. There is more to Blues than merely Blues Rock. To honor those who have kept the Blues alive, Nuno first looked back to twelve themes which touched him deeply in his early teenage years. Tributes to the icons of the Blues, like Steve Cropper ("Get Stax, Jax"), are served, with tasty versions of the Blues classics ("Dust My Broom," "The Thrill is Gone," and many others, ending with a blistering rendition of Hendrix' "Red House"). Some tracks, like George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "Feelin' Alright" by Dave Mason, are not part of the traditional Blues canon, but are critical to the development of the Blues nonetheless. Nuno follows these early mentors, who injected electricity and rock into the origianal rural blues form. They triggered an explosion of innovation and revolution in the language of the Blues, making it accessible to new generations. Indeed, without this innovation, the Blues might now be found only in a museum. Free Blues continues the rebirth of the Blues, but now infusing the contemporary musical language instead of the Rock themes of the 60's. The true art is maintaining the traditional format of guitar and vocals as the foundation upon which Free Blues is crafted. Nuno creates a stunning and energized journey through the Blues that will both please Blues traditionalists and introduce this vital music to a new generation, just as the rock artists did decades ago. Make no mistake-- Free Blues is not electronica, hip hop, or some watered down Blues-tinged bouillabaisse-- it is the real Blues. Find out what Guitar Player Magazine's Best Blues Guitarist has created, building on his two CD's with Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section, Double Trouble, and what audiences from the Montreal International Jazz Festival to Austin have been talking about. Sit back, take a deep breath, and take in Free Blues. © http://www.reverbnation.com/nunomindelis#!/page_object/page_object_blogs/artist_853786?blog_id=666174

Angolan-born Brazilian guitarist/singer/songwriter Nuno Mindelis is nicknamed "The Beast from Brazil" in his home country. Speaking about his first musical memories growing up in Angola / Brazil, Nuno said that "In the very early years, I used to listen to the classical music that my parents were listening to. When I was six my mother gave me a Beatles single, A side was Hey Jude, and B side Revolution. At the age of nine I heard Otis Redding, as per advice of an older mate who noticed my literal obsession for music. So I indirectly took acquaintance with Booker T & The MGs at that time too. By extension I heard James Brown, Wilson Picket and others, as I was very interested (and much impressed) by soul music. At eleven I remember having heard Big Bill Broonzy, and from then on I literally heard everything that was being recorded on the planet, US and English bands and artists, Spanish and Brazilian guitarists, jazz, fusion, everything. When I was 14, I was invited to play the guitar in one or two tracks for a prestigious Angolan band's album, the producer's idea was to mix their African music with psychedelia, Hendrix etc. That was my first paid work, I was in school (still wearing trunks), just a child, and a car (from Philips/Polygram?) was sent to pick me up, all my little mates were very proud of me. During the learning phase I was copying The Beatles, Otis,Santana (I copied Santana's version intro of Black Magic Woman's note by note at the age of 11). A bit later (14/15 years old) I founded a trio (Cavanah Blues Band) and we used to play Taste (Sugar Mama), Stephen Stills (Go back home), Big Bill Broonzy (Hush), The Bluesbreakers (All your love), Blind Faith (Had to Cry Today), Dave Mason (Feeling Alright), Ten Years After (I'm going home), Supersession (Kooper, Stills, Bloomflield), Rolling Stones (Lady Jane), etc. Then the war came and I had to take a long break... I guess that Steve Cropper, Santana, Hendrix, Clapton and B.B. King had a lot of influence in the way I play. Guys like Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, John Fogerty and bands like The Faces, Fleetwood Mac (early years) and Canned Heat too. As for the Rhythm Guitar, I had a lot of influence from piano players like Otis Span and Memphis Slim. I tend to use more piano typical lines and chords than guitar ones. Practically all the songs in my most recent album Free Blues have a special meaning to me. This was actually the main idea of the album, to do songs that somehow changed my life when I was a kid, while adding a more contemporary feel to it. Messing with the Kid, (also in Rory Gallagher's "Live in Europe" version) All Your Love, Feeling Alright , Red House, Thrill is Gone, Bullfrog Blues, Rock Me Baby, etc." Speaking about the recording of "Free Blues", Nuno said "It was a different process from what I am used to doing. In general I get to the studio with the band, count to four and record "live in the studio", no overdubs except for the vocals at the end. So basically we play together and have fun. In Free Blues, however, I did everything separately, first recorded the drums, (or used several drums samples sometimes combined with electronic drums or real drums played real time), then I would record the bass myself (in most of the songs) or would invite my bass player to do a track or two, etc. In this process I had time to think, to decide on the arrangements, if a song should go electric or acoustic, slide guitar or acoustic piano, things like that. In other words, a lonely (and less fun) process, because time generates doubts, and doubts generate anguish. (-: I also had to learn new technologies in music recording, electronic, samplings, beat loops etc. etc. It took me about three years of isolation and much loneliness to do Free Blues. But I think it was worth it. Everything has to evolve, and so does the blues. There is definitely something about the blues, some magic. I think that the Blue note has an addictive component, the same you find in drugs and when people fall in love. (-: Also, very deep roots, impossible to get away from. I have been wondering whether another "Blues messiah" would again appear. We had the blues boom in the 60s, (lasted until the very early 70s) then we had another rebirth with Steve Ray Vaughan in the early 90s which lasted until what, 2000, 2001... Meanwhile music changed a lot, either the way of doing it, selling it or listening to it. The blues that is getting produced these days is just repeating old formulas, the guys smoke and know the rules as nobody else, but simply won't change them. In case its language doesn’t get reinvented (by the ones who know it's rules very well, this is mandatory of course), the blues may become like rare paintings: priceless, but confined to museums or private collectors. Like traditional jazz (Jazz Festivals don't play jazz anymore, with a few exceptions). Note that the evolution (and revolution) of the blues was only possible because people like Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Stones, Zeppelin, Hendrix and all the many others we know injected electricity, psychedellia and rock & roll into it. It was already a reinvention by then ("real thing" people like Muddy came to disagree with such changes at the time). I'd say we’re living a similar moment, and the injection should also include electronic, and other contemporary elements. That's how things keep going from generation to generation and stay alive". Some of Nuno's career highlights include playing The Montreal International Jazz Festival, alongside people like Prince, Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson, George Benson, John McLaughlin and many others. Also, touring withTommy Shannon and Chris Layton, (and Uncle John Turner, Johnny Winter's first drummer), playing the Antone's 20th Anniversary in Austin/TX alongside Storyville (Chris, Tommy, David Grissom), Doyle Bramhall, Junior Wells etc.

“Nuno goes from good to better to best on an album that mixes blues and rock classics… while kicking in a few of his own songs. Both as a guitarist and singer, Nuno is sort of reminiscent of Clapton while his low key, understated and bluesy singing style is sort of a reminder of a modern J.J. Cale… Free Blues will have you coming back for more”. (www.mwe3.com) Nuno counts Larry McCray as his biggest influence on guitar playing. "Free Blues" is a a really good blues/rock/soul album with a touch of electronica from a talented guitarist who is not afraid to keep the blues alive by throwing in a few ideas of his own. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to Nuno's "Long Distance Blues" album, and read an interview with him @ http://www.burnleycitizen.co.uk/leisure/3598110.Interview__Nuno_Mindelis/ [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 101 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Messing With The Kid - Mel London 3:55
2. Feeling Alright - Dave Mason 3:38
3. Get Out of My Life, Woman - Allen Toussaint 3:40
4. All Your Love - Otis Rush 4:52
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - George Harrison 4:31
6. Thrill is Gone - Roy Hawkins & Rick Darnell 4:54
7. Dust My Blues (Dust My Broom) - Aaron “Pinetop” Sparks & Milton “Lindberg” Sparks 5:19
8. Rockin' Daddy - Chester Burnett 3:17
9. Rock Me Baby - Trad. 4:18
10. Think Stax, Jax - Nuno Mindelis 4:28
11. Bullfrog Blues - Trad. 4:01
12. Red House - Jimi Hendrix 5:06

MUSICIANS

Nuno Mindelis - Guitar, Vocals on all songs except Track 9: Bass Guitar on Tracks 1,3 (First Half), 4,5,6,9: Kork keyboards, machine drum & effects on all tracks: General Programming, Sampling & Editing
Rodrigo Mantovani - Bass on Tracks 2,3 (Second Half), 7,8
Lomiranda - Hammond B3 on Tracks 2,3 (Second Half), 11: Clavinet on Track 2: Additional Programming
Flavio Naves - Hammond B3 on Track 3 (First Half): Fender Rhodes on Track 9
Jax Baird - Hammond organ on Track 10
Endrigo Bettega - Acoustic Drums on Track 2
Humberto Ziegler - Acoustic Drums on Tracks 3,10
Guillherme Chiapetta - Programming of Drums, Bass, Percussion, Effects on Track 12, except Guitars, Vocals
Mike Bowden - Vocals on Track 9

BIO (WIKI)

Nuno Mindelis (born August 7, 1957, Cabinda, Angola), nicknamed "The Beast", is an Angolan-born Brazilian blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. Most of his recorded work has been sung in English; however, he recorded his 2006 album Outros Nunos in Portuguese, his native language. He has recorded two albums with the band Double Trouble. Mindelis counts Otis Redding and Johnny Winter among his musical influences. Mindelis became a guitar enthusiast at the age of 5. By the age of 9 he began building and playing self-made guitars. A primary influence at that time was Otis Redding and his rhythm section, Booker T. & the MG's. In 1990, an independent recording he had made began to receive airplay on local radio stations. In 1991, he recorded his debut solo album, Blues & Derivados, which received positive reviews in Brazilian media. In 1992, he recorded his second solo album, Long Distance Blues for Movieplay Records. In this album Mindelis was joined by Larry McCray, and the French harmonica player, J.J. Milteau. As part of his promotional tour for the album, Mindelis played at a blues festival in São Paulo, featuring Robert Cray, Otis Clay, Ronnie Earl, Lonnie Brooks and Bo Diddley. In 1994, Guitar Player magazine profiled Mindelis. In the article, Jas Obrecht (the editor at the time) compared Mindelis to Jimmy Page. Further recognition came in their May 1998 issue, as Mindelis was selected as "Best Blues Guitarist" in the 30th Anniversary Guitar Player competition. In 1995, Mindelis played at Antone's 20th Anniversary in Austin, Texas, opening for Guy Forsite and Junior Wells others. Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Storyville also performed at the event. Later that year, Mindelis recorded his album Texas Bound, featuring Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, of Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section, Double Trouble. Texas Bound was the 12th best selling album seller in Benelux. In 1999, Mindelis released Blues On The Outside. Mindelis appeared at the 25th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2001, and did other presentations in Quebec, Ottawa. Mindelis played at the festival again in 2004, after the release of his album Twelve Hours, and again played Quebec and Ottawa, and also the Montremblant Blues Festival, sharing the stages with Keb' Mo' and Jimmie Vaughan. Andy Grieg in Canada's Real Blues magazine asked, "Is the new King of the blues a man based in Brazil?" In 2005, Mindelis recorded the album, Outros Nunos, dedicated to Brazil, with all of the songs sung in Portuguese and including versions of Brazilian music standards.

Wayne Horvitz & Zony Mash

Wayne Horvitz & Zony Mash - Cold Spell - 1997 - Knitting Factory Works

"...There have been a bunch of organ discs released over the last couple years, but COLD SPELL is one of the most unique. Horvitz's B-3 musings bypass some of the genre's stylistic stereotypes, offering an anxious funk rather than torrid swing..." - Down Beat (5/97, p. 61) - 3. 5 Stars (out of 5)

"...Combine more or less traditional jazz instrumentation, a decidedly funky rock vibe, a healthy portion of musically unorthodox twists and turns, and you have what Horvitz's Zony Mash (named after a Meters tune) is all about..." - JazzTimes (6/97, p. 120)

Cold Spell was released in 1997 as the debut of composer/keyboardist Wayne Horvitz's newly-formed instrumental band Zony Mash. This solid record set the tone for future releases with it's remarkable Hammond B3 organ work, controlled jams, sneaky muted guitar riffs, and jazz-funk beats. The album demonstrated the group's abilities with improvisation and technique, as well as their knack for keeping themes concise and accessible. Numerous musical ingredients can be found throughout this work. Timothy Young (guitar) who generally keeps things light, at times lets loose with a blues-rock outburst, as on "Let's Get Mashed." And Andy Roth (drums) delivers jazz, straight-up funk beats, and odd time signatures. The song "Withdrawal Symptoms" could be the background music for a 100 mph car chase scene, while "Cold Spell" soothes the listener with it's relaxed pace. Horvitz's B3 touches on jazzy, funky, and psychedelic. The recording has a mellow quality, perhaps even slightly muted, but overall it works by giving the album a smooth tonality. With remarkable musicianship and themes you just can't forget, this debut album established Zony Mash as a modern jazz force to be reckoned with. © Solar Marquardt © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/cold-spell-mw0000019855 Listen to Zony Mash's "Brand Spankin' New" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 104 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 With The Space On Top - Wayne Horvitz 2:53
2 Happens Like That - Wayne Horvitz 5:19
3 Sex Fiend - John Zorn 3:38
4 Prudence RSVP - Wayne Horvitz 7:07
5 Cold Spell - Wayne Horvitz 4:37
6 Mel - Fred Chalenor 3:12
7 Let's Get Mashed - Wayne Horvitz 4:06
8 Smiles - Wayne Horvitz 5:06
9 The Gift - Wayne Horvitz 3:14
10 Withdrawal Symptoms - Timothy Young 2:33
11 Daylight - Wayne Horvitz 3:18

MUSICIANS

Timothy Young - Electric Guitar
Fred Chalenor - Bass
Wayne Horvitz - Hammond B-3 Organ
Andy Roth - Drums

BIO

With their precisely executed, angular, twisting keyboard/guitar riffs and their locked-up groove-oriented bass/drums beats, the instrumental quartet that is Zony Mash has created a signature sound which is both technical and fun. Established in 1997 by veteran composer, pianist, and keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, their debut album, Cold Spell, put this Seattle-based group on the map alongside other jazz-funk groups such as Medeski, Martin & Wood. Horvitz, a man who had worked with the likes of John Zorn, would now focus his energies on a more accessible sound. Guitarist Timothy Young would bring a bluesy/rock tone to the band, while Fred Chalenor (bass) and Andy Roth (drums) would anchor the rhythm section. In 1998, the group released their sophomore album, Brand Spankin' New, which featured even tighter performances, as well as a slicker production by their longtime engineer Tucker Martine. In 2000, the group put out two very different full-length albums. Upper Egypt consisted of the traditional Zony Mash sound with Keith Lowe replacing Fred Chalenor on bass guitar, while American Bandstand featured a stripped-down acoustic version of Zony Mash drawing attention to Horvitz's unique compositions. © Solar Marquardt © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/zony-mash-mn0000854611

ABOUT WAYNE HORVITZ (WIKI)

Horvitz, a "defiant cross-breeder of genres", has led the groups The President, Pigpen, Zony Mash, and the Four Plus One Ensemble. He has recorded or performed with John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Elliott Sharp, Danny Barnes, Tucker Martine, Butch Morris, Fred Frith, Julian Priester, Philip Wilson, Michael Shrieve, Carla Bley, Timothy Young, Bobby Previte, Skerik, Douglas September and others. He is perhaps most famous for being the keyboardist of the band Naked City. He has produced records for the World Saxophone Quartet, Human Feel, Marty Ehrlich, Fontella Bass, The Living Daylights, Bill Frisell or Eddie Palmieri. As a composer, Horvitz has been commissioned by The Kitchen, The Kronos Quartet, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New World Records, The Seattle Chamber Players and Earshot Jazz. He has received commissioning grants from Meet the Composer, The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Arts Council, The Mary Flagler Carey Trust, The Seattle Arts Commission, The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and The Fund for U.S. Artists. In 2002 he was awarded a Rockefeller MAP grant for the creation of a new piece, Joe Hill, for chamber orchestra and voice, which premiered in October 2004 in Seattle. His 2003 composition, Whispers, Hymns and a Murmur for String Quartet and soloist, funded in part by a Seattle City Artist grant, premiered in March 2004. This composition and his earlier string quartet, Mountain Language are released on the Tzadik label. His newest string quartet composition, These Hills of Glory, was commissioned with support from 4Culture and the Mayors Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. His recent collaboration with Tucker Martine, Mylab, was on the top 10 CD list for 2004 in jazz in both the New Yorker and Amazon.com. In February 2005 he received the Golden Ear award from Earshot Jazz for "Concert of the Year." Works for theater and dance include music for the 1998 production of Death of a Salesman for Seattle's ACT theater (directed by Gordon Edelstein); productions of Ezra Pound's Elektra and the American premiere of Harold Pinter's Mountain Language, both directed by Carey Perloff. In 1992 choreographer Paul Taylor created a new work, OZ, to eleven compositions by Wayne Horvitz in collaboration with the White Oak Dance Company. Other theater and dance works include music for Bill Irwin's Broadway show, Strictly NY, and productions by the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Ammi Legendre, Nikki Apino and House of Dames and the Crispin Spaeth Dance Company. Horvitz has also composed and produced music for a variety of video, film, television and other multimedia projects, including two projects with director Gus Van Sant, a full length score for PBS's Chihuly Over Venice, and two films about the creation of Seattle’s EMP museum. His 85-minute score to Charlie Chaplin's film The Circus, for two pianos, two clarinets, and violin premiered in January 2000 in Oporto, Portugal. As of April 2007 Horvitz performs with Gravitas Quartet, Sweeter Than The Day and Varmint. Horvitz was born in New York City and currently lives in Seattle with his wife, composer Robin Holcomb, and their two children.