Month: October 2013

  • Diana Krall

    Diana Krall

    Diana KrallFans familiar with Krall’s records featuring swinging tunes and gentle ballads might be more than a little surprised when they hear Glad Rag Doll. It wouldn’t be fair to say she’s left the jazz world, because many of these 13 song are old jazz tunes that fit that bill. But they are done in such a rollicking fashion with – not to confuse things – such an “old-time modern” feel that they bear no resemblance to her previous work.

    Let’s talk players for a moment. Your first hint should be the producer, T-Bone Burnett, who is on a hot streak of unrivaled proportions. He plays guitar along with the eclectic Marc Ribot, Bryan Sutton, and Colin Linden. We also get someone named Howard Coward, who is actually Krall’s husband Elvis Costello. Those players, with their very different résumés should give you an idea how different this music is.

    There’s great playing on pretty much every cut. Lovely acoustic on “Prairie Lullaby;” big, loud repeating guitar figures on “I’m a Little Mixed Up;” jazzy lines on “I Used To Love You But It’s All Over Now;” and some nasty playing on a rendition of “Lonely Avenue” that can only be described as surprising and yet right on the money.

    While the players are all great, Krall herself deserves a tip of the hat for stepping out of her comfort zone. Many of these songs could have gotten a clichéd vocal, but she meets the challenge of them all. Sighing, sexy, growling, or melancholy, she handles the assignment perfectly. While her piano isn’t featured as prominently as in some of her other records, when it makes an appearance she shines, as on the aforementioned “Lonely Avenue.”

    Kudos to everyone involved for making a record that could have sounded like the relic of another period, but instead feels new and fresh.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • DigiTech Intros Element Multi-Effects Pedals

    DigiTech ElementThe DigiTech Element and Element XP multi-effects pedals have six overdrive and distortion stompboxes, compressor, three-band EQ, flanger, phaser, tremolo, vibrato, chorus, rotary simulator, envelope filter, step filter, spring reverb, room reverb, noise gate, an acoustic-guitar simulator and 12 amp/cab simulators in a pedalboard-style control layout. The XP adds four expression pedal-based effects including the Dunlop Cry Baby wah, Vox Clyde McCoy wah, a full-range wah, a volume pedal. Players can choose from 100 factory presets and create 100 more. Each also has 45 drum tracks and a built-in tuner. Learn more at www.harman.com.

  • Houston Lefty Guitar Show

  • TWA Offers Great Divide Mk.II

    TWA Great Divide Mk.IITWA’s Great Divide Mk.II is an all-analog octave divider with proprietary synth technology that offers five independent voices that can be blended to sound like a Bass, Arp, harp, Hammond, Moog, or synth guitar, as well as many combinations. Its lower voices are monophonic but can be co-axed into tracking double-stops, while its Upper Octave voice is a form of harmonic distortion that can track polyphonically. It uses TWA’s Shortest Send Switching (S3), a form of relay-based true-bypass. Learn more at www.godlyke.com.

  • Santana Slates “Homecoming” Performance in Guadalajara

    Carlos Santana slates "homecoming" Performance.Carlos Santana has announced that he and his band will perform in Guadalajara, Mexico, December 14 at the Vicente Fernandez Arena, with a star-studded cast of musicians, all celebrating their Latin music heritage. The concert is a homecoming for Carlos Santana and a kickoff event to mark his forthcoming album, Corazón. Confirmed performances include Chocquibtown, Gloria Estefan, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Juanes, Miguel, Niña Pastori, Samuel Rosa of Skank, Salvador Santana, Soledad, Diego Torres, with more to be announced. For more, visit www.santana.com.

  • Fritz Relocates to Alabama

    Roger Fritz
    Roger Fritz in his shop.

    Luthier Roger Fritz has relocated his business from northern California to the Eastern Shore area of Mobile Bay, in south Alabama.

    Fritz came to prominence as a guitar builder in Mobile in the late ’80s, when he collaborated with the late Roy Buchanan on a signature guitar. Following Buchanan’s death, the brand changed to Fritz Brothers, and the guitars were played by George Harrison and members of the Bangles.

    Roger eventually moved to Nashville, where he worked for Gibson, then became a guitarist in Shelby Lynne’s band. He eventually relocated to Medocino, California, where he cranked up his guitar building again.

    “I was making records for producer Bill Bottrell; he was a big advocate for Kay basses, and he started showing me how great they were in the studio,” Fritz remembered. “It wasn’t too long after that I started making my own version, as well as guitars, and I heard through the grapevine that the guy who owned Kay was thinking of getting back into production.”

    Fritz would subsequently sign on to make Kay-branded retro instruments, and he designed instruments for Kay’s import division.

    “I went to China and helped them set up production,” he said.

    The high cost of living in the Golden State meant that Roger and his family opted to move back to his home turf. He now handcrafts instruments under the Fritz Brothers and Kay brands in a shop in Fairhope. Most Kay guitars and basses are special-order instruments.

    “This is the Kay custom shop, right here,” he said succinctly. “I’m making a little bit of everything, and whatever somebody wants, I’ll build.” – Willie G. Moseley

     

  • Arlington Guitar Show 2013

  • Country Joe and the Fish

    Country Joe and the Fish

    Country Joe and the fishCountry Joe and The Fish were one of the most original, eclectic, and just plain good San Francisco bands of the mid to late ’60s. Joe McDonald, in particular, wrote songs that were complex but accessible; David Cohen doubled on guitar and Farfisa organ; and if the Airplane’s Jorma Kaukonen was the “best” lead guitarist of the psychedelic era, Barry “The Fish” Melton was the “most” psychedelic, incorporating blues, Eastern, jazz, folk, and beyond-categorization elements.

    On two CDs, the original mono and stereo mixes of their ’67 Vanguard debut are presented for the first time. Not to minimize the group’s instrumental chops, but the mono mix is more forgiving. Samuel Charters was already an esteemed producer, credited with LPs by Junior Wells, Homesick James, Charlie Musselwhite, and John Fahey. However, the band’s second self-produced Rag Baby EP, a year prior, includes superior versions of “Bass Strings,” “Love,” and especially Melton’s tour de force, “Section 43” than those here (worth finding on CD).

    But there’s a lot to like here, from the funky “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine” to the slow blues “Death Sound,” with a Melton/Cohen guitar duel.

    A bonus: the 40-page booklet with Alec Palao’s extensive notes and song commentary from the band members.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s October ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Hiwatt Re-Enters U.S., Japan Markets

    Hiwatt SSP103
    The Hiwatt SSP103.

    Hiwatt Amplification is expanding its manufacturing and distribution/dealer network after re-entering the musical-instrument market in North America and Japan. The company has built point-to-point wired amplifiers since 1966, employed by players including Pete Townshend, David Gilmour, and Jimmy Page. It says it will maintain its tradition of using military-grade components and high build quality while developing new products, which it will exhibit at the forthcoming Winter Namm show. The exhibit will document the company’s history and highlight its U.K.-made Custom Shop amplifiers as well as new additions. Learn more at www.hiwatt.com.

  • Guitarlington Guitar Show