Month: October 2012

With his new album, Matt Panayides makes a case for being mentioned among the best jazz traditionalists playing guitar these days. Boppers like “Seoul Soul” show how he easily navigates complex changes while soloing. His accomplice is saxophonist Rich Perry, and Panayides lays down the perfect layer of changes for Perry to do his thing.

The guitarist also shows he’s at home with contemplative pieces like the beautiful, mid-tempo “Out of My Hands,” where he weaves a nice, imaginative solo. The ballad-chord work in the first 90 seconds of “Different Place” gives an idea just how well-formed are Panayides’ harmonic ideas. The song shifts to a light swing where he and Perry trade gorgeous solos. “Why Bail Them Out?” is a funky tune with a snapping beat and bop changes. While his soloing is on-the-money, Panayides truly shines with funky
comping underneath Perry’s solo. “Sketch” clocks in at almost 10 minutes, but the floating feel and soulful melody, coupled with great playing by all concerned, ensure it’s never boring. In its midsection, Panayides and Perry play a fascinating game of chase while the band’s well-defined dynamics are showcased. Panayides, Perry, bassist Steve LaSpina, and drummer Dan Weiss have fashioned a record of great songs, great playing, and empathetic musicianship.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s July ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Rock and roll doesn’t get much grittier than Hill Country Revue, the band started by North Mississippi Allstars member Cody Dickinson.

The group is Dickinson and Kirk Smithhart on guitars, Daniel Robert Coburn on vocals, and Doc Samba on bass. And with Zebra Ranch, they’ve made a record with tons of Southernrock attitude. That’s obvious from the start with “Raise Your Right Hand.” It’s a stomping rocker with big, funky chords and loud guitars that grow into a cacophony of sounds. Before it ends, you realize this is going to be one fun guitar roller coaster. It continues with “Chalk It Up,” a punchy rocker that starts loud, then quiets in the middle with a fine solo that evolves into a dual lead. After that is a big Southern-rock solo that could only come from a Les Paul.

Those elements are part of every song here. “Where You Belong” has unexpected guitar changes and a melodic lead. Cuts like “My Baby Don’t Know” are funky, with loud slide darting in and out. “Hill Country” is an electric county blues with a deep, low sound that highlights slide again, while “Second Street” opens with Allman-esque twin guitars. And the title cut is an instrumental with a dreamy side.

It’s tough not to love this record. In a time when plain-old guitar rock is on the wane, there’s irony in the fact that traditional-sounding bands like Hill Country Revue are a breath of fresh air.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s May ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Bruce Brown, whose day job is filling the guitar chair for Charlie Daniels, offers up an eclectic mix of music on his new solo disc, Off the Edge.

Immediately impressive is the taste and patience with which Brown plays. He’s not in your face with solos, as the melody of soul tunes like “Trap Jaw” are often the highlight. The song features Brown and saxophonist John Heinrich teasing the melody until it’s very stuck in your head. No dazzling displays of virtuosity, just a great song.

Most of the tunes make obvious nods to pop music of the past, along with soul and some country. Harmonized guitar parts highlight songs like “Opposites Attract,” which sounds like a breezy pop hit from the West Coast circa ’78. Atmospheric slide is the highlight of the pop ballad “Before the Fall.” Some jazz influences enter the picture on cuts like “Where’s Migs?” with its guitar and sax interplay and the tasty, popping solo from Brown. And “How Does It Feel” is a breezy tune with the lovely melody being stated by Brown on guitar and Casey Wood on vibes. It’s a song that has “smooth jazz hit” written all over it.

After years in the business, Off the Edge is a perfect release from a guitarist with diverse tastes and influences.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s May. ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli’s Hot Club both blended early 20th century blues and jazz with the folk music of their culture. Both featured hot-shot fiddlers and guitarists, and both operated in their classic form from 1934 to 1948-’49, so they may have been aware of (and influenced by) each other, as well.

The Hot Club Of Cowtown pays tribute to both bands by its name and with a disc of Bob Wills songs played as if members of each band showed up for the same gig. The album was done live in-studio, without overdubs, and the musicianship is worthy of either Wills’ or Reinhardt’s group.

“It’s All Your Fault” shows clearly how the two bands occupied adjoining branches on the same musical tree, as Elana James’ vocal and fiddle come from the Hot Club side to meet Whit Smith’s swing-style guitar… then things take on a subtle European flavor on “Time Changes Everything.”

The band is enthusiastic, not snobbish; there’s no surreptitious wink that says they’re just playing dress-up, trying to be cooler than the crowd. The music Hot Club plays is of a certain time, sure, but it’s not outdated. And it’s going create a lot of new fans for this band and their musical predecessors.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Wolfe is best known as a sideman for Sheryl Crow, but he has also recorded with Leslie West and Faith Hill, among others. Now, with his own group – a trio – Wolfe delivers a set of nine originals and a live cover that captures the key elements of the band.

In the tradition of potent jam bands like Cream or Gov’t Mule, the tunes here are extended for full effect, mixing verse and chorus with extensive soloing. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than the show-closing “Shame,” which features guitar work that weaves elements of the Allman Brothers with Hendrix shadings. Tempo and key changes, unusual timekeeping, and interesting phrasing keep the lengthier cuts interesting. Strong vocal work fills the non-jam spaces, and Wolfe flavors each cut with a variety of classic solid and semi-solid axes. Most of all, Wolfe and company grab the vibe and run with it, melding to form a single musical unit that knows how to simmer – and when to turn up the heat.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Barry Cleveland takes his music to another dimension with Hologramatron. It’s like a cross between the Velvet Underground and Portishead, but completely unique – and uniquely eccentric.

Cleveland’s compositions, arrangements, and guitar work here are a fusion of fusions, as he masterfully treads into ambient, avant-garde metal, psychedelia – even protest music. And the layers of sonic energy that emerge are wondrous.

The band includes bassist Michael Manring, drummer Celso Alberti, vocalist Amy X Neuburg, and Robert Powell on pedal steel (the latter proving Cleveland’s commitment to fusion – and how right his taste is). Powell’s playing interweaves through Cleveland’s guitar, supporting and accenting the whole.

Cleveland is a diehard gearhead, and ably works with a range of equipment. His main guitar is a PRS Custom 24 Brazilian run into a Rivera Venus 6 amp through a Palmer ADIG-LB speaker setup. And he likes pedals – lots of pedals. His go-tos include a Euthymia ICBM Fuzz, S.I.B. Echodrive delay, and MoogerFooger MuRF.

On several tracks, such as “You’ll Just Have to See It to Believe” and “Stars of Sayulita,” he used a prototype Moog guitar, crafting mysterious sound colors.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s May ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.