Mundell Lowe

Jazz All Around

Mundell Lowe is arguably the most successful jazz guitarist of his era. He routinely performed with such luminaries as Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughn,…

Michael Landau

Raging Honkie

“Michael Landau is an undiscovered gem… one of God’s guitar players,” were the quiet words of praise by noted producer/guitarist Steve Lukather. “Hell, I grew up playing with him, and…

Bob’s Playboy Pickers

Bob Wills was, first and foremost, a fiddler. But he began his career in childhood, strumming guitar and mandolin chords at rural Texas parties and dances behind his father, ace…

Steve Knight’s Vibey Jazz

 Chicago native leans into the Benson/Green playbook on “Suspects” Chicago-based jazzer Steve Knight used his Benedetto 16B to play this version of “Suspects” (from his new album, “Persistence”) exclusively…

Mr. Smith goes to Rudy’s

“Upstairs” at a famed NYC guitar boutique

Nashville has Music Row and London has Soho, but if your heart starts palpitating at the mere mention of carved wood, PAFs, and steel strings, it’s hard to beat New…

John Ellis

John Ellis, proprietor of Ellis Guitars, died January 6 in Temple, Texas. He was 75. Ellis was born near Amarillo before his family moved to California when he was a…

Pop ’N Hiss: The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet

Feast Your Ears

The Rolling Stones were back. Well, they’d never really gone anywhere, but most fans thought they’d lost their way with 1967’s psychedelic experiment Their Satanic Majesties Request. Widely considered rivals…

Del Casher

Checking in with L.A. studio stalwart

Casher with actress Brooke Shields at a soundtrack recording session. He’s called “The Papa of the Wah-Wah Pedal” and has been a top session cat since the early 1960s, introducing…

Chris Spedding

Convergence of Legends and Friends

The career of guitarist Chris Spedding has spanned more than four decades and included a commendable solo career, a stint in bassist Andy Fraser’s first post-Free venture (Sharks), and later,…

Luther Dickinson

Smooth Sailing

The North Mississippi Allstars have always moved forward. With an expanded lineup and fresh songwriting, guitarist Luther Dickinson is in musical heaven. Set Sail displays Dickinson’s penchant for building atmosphere…

John Leventhal

Ready to Rumble

“I’ve been lucky enough to make a career co-writing and producing records with great singers and lyricists, John Leventhal explains. “But I’ve always had all this other music in me.…

John Wetton

Back In Asia

Bassist/vocalist John Wetton has exhibited his solid chops and plaintive baritone voice through the decades in King Crimson, Asia, and several other successful British bands, including Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash,…

Steven Wilson

Guitar Harmony

Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson isn’t a guitar hero, but his playing fits his compositions perfectly – as exemplified by his latest solo offering, The Harmony Codex. Showing once again that…

Woody Harris: Fingerstyle a la Fahey, Basho

Reemergence With a Rare Guitar Woody Harris used his ’76 John Mello guitar (“It has dimensions of a classical guitar, but made for steel strings.”) to play a piece of…

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols

Ruffian Riffs

Grown men wearing capes. Stadium concerts with self-indulgent instrumental solos. Lyrics that had nothing to do with reality. Rock stars living in castles. By the mid ’70s, all of it…

Tony Rice

1951-2020

Tony Rice, the guitar master and vocalist whose skills and eclecticism took him far beyond his bluegrass roots, died unexpectedly at his North Carolina home on December 25, 2020. He…

Rocco Prestia

The Power of Tower

Rocco Prestia Photo: Neil Zlozower. Bass great Jeff Berlin calls him “my all-time favorite groove player.” The equally formidable John Patitucci proclaims, “The guy has not only been a serious…

Bob Devos

Update on the Organ Trio

Bob Devos says the idea for his new record, Shifting Sands, was pretty basic. “I wanted to record something that takes the organ trio or quartet sound into the future.…

Christopher Thorn

Alt-Rocker/Studio Guru

Best known as half of the guitar tandem in the ’90s alternative-rock band Blind Melon (that’s his rhythm on “No Rain,” using his Gibson J-30), Christopher Thorn has since recorded…

Joe Satriani

Satch's Surfin' Turns 20

Photo: Lisa Sharken. It’s been 20 years since the release of Joe Satriani’s landmark album, Surfin’ with the Alien , the instrumental platter that put “shred guitar” on the map…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Redd Volkaert

Season 03 Episode 03 In Episode 3.3 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Redd Volkaert, one of modern country’s foremost pickers. Any fan of Western swing and…

Fretprints: Cream’s Disraeli Gears

Supergroup Alpha

Jack Bruce claimed Cream was two bands – live trio and studio group. Live, bassist Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker were renowned for their highly improvisatory, powerful…

Mick Box

Deep Heep

It’s hard to believe, but there is only one member still with us from the classic early-’70s Uriah Heep lineup that gave us classic albums like Demons and Wizards, The…

Rob Fleming

From Bowie to KillerStar

KillerStar is no David Bowie cover band. Instead, it’s an uncanny project from U.K. guitarist Rob Fleming and drummer James Sedge, who brought in musicians from many of Bowie’s bands…

Dan Wilson

Akron’s Finest

On Things Eternal, jazz-guitar wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs of Stevie Wonder into a satisfying musical journey. The album is a celebration of those who have…

Marc Ford

The Vulture

Fans of The Black Crowes remember Marc Ford as the gifted guitarist who played on what many consider the band’s best albums, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, Amorica, and…

Have Guitar Will Travel 073 – Crimson Apple’s Shelby Benson and OTTTO

Episode 73 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” is a two-fer starting with guitarist Shelby Benson from the dark-pop band Crimson Apple, who dishes on how she learned to play, her…

Pat Travers

Full Blast

It’s an elite class – rock guitarists who crossed the Atlantic to achieve their rock-star dreams. Somewhere between the mid-’60s sojourn of Jimi Hendrix and that of Brian Setzer in…

Nancy Wilson

Sister Act

After the release of the acclaimed Red Velvet Car in 2010, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band, Heart, could have rested on their laurels. Instead, the sisters went…

Julian Taylor’s draw-you-in style

Rich voice, intriguing compositions Folk singer/guitarist Julian Taylor draws you in with his rich voice and intriguing compositions. His new album, “Pathways,” was co-produced with fellow Canadian Colin Linden, who…