Author: Pete Prown

Photo: Takehiko Tokiwa.

Sharon Isbin is regarded as one of the premier classical guitarists of her generation, playing 60 to 100 concerts per season and earning a Grammy early this decade. Among her teachers was the venerable Andrés Segovia, and she has collaborated with rock and jazz aces like Steve Vai and Larry Coryell. Isbin’s latest CD, Journey to the New World, is a colorful crossover set featuring diverse artists such as singer Joan Baez and violinist Mark O’Connor.

What prompted you to make an album that brings together folk melodies of the British Isles with the sounds of Colonial America?
It all started with the “Joan Baez Suite,” written for me by John Duarte and based on songs like “House of the Rising Sun,” “Lily of the West,” and others. After hearing the suite, Baez offered to sing on the recording. Her voice and musical integrity has moved me to tears for as long as I can remember. She’s also a wonderfully warm, generous person, and working together was amazing. I then invited Mark O’Connor to join. His “Strings & Threads Suite” for violin and guitar is full of reels, jigs, waltzes, blues, rags and swing, which fit the theme perfectly.

Playing with Mark must be exhilarating.
His background as a guitarist enabled him to write a rich and dynamic guitar part for me in “Strings & Threads.” He is an impeccable musician whose mastery of various folk styles of violin playing and genius at improvisation are such a joy. We spent several days editing the score and rehearsing before premiering the work at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. A month later we recorded it, playing onstage as if in concert.

Where does the folk/classical connection come from?
The journey of American folk music begins in the British Isles, so I open the CD with Renaissance duets in which I play both parts, bridging American and British styles from the 17th and 18th centuries, then follow with Edward Flower’s brilliant settings of “Wild Mountain Thyme” and “Drunken Sailor,” and Andrew York’s haunting “Andecy.”

There are lute melodies on the CD, too. What do you like about that style?
I find Elizabethan music – notably that of John Dowland (1563-1626) and his peers – utterly enchanting. Maybe I was a court musician in a past life (laughs)! Hearing lute music from the Renaissance also takes me to a magical realm, one of unicorns on tapestries, suitors of romance, and joyous dances. The spirit, harmonies, and rhythms of the lute really resonate with me.

You’ve had a range of collaborators over the years, such as Steve Vai. Where did you find the musical bridge between his electric guitar and your nylon-string?
Steve and I first played together at events for the Recording Academy and I was drawn to his creativity, musical expertise, and delightful personality. When the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris asked me to give a series of concerts in 2005 and offered to commission a composer of my choice, I asked Steve to write a duet. His wonderful “Blossom Suite” was the result. Ever since my work in the ’80s with Larry Coryell and Laurindo Almeida, I’ve loved the combined sonorities of electric and classical guitar.

Sharon Isbin’s latest CD is Journey to the New World.

Tell us about your early guitar studies.
I started playing at age nine, when my family lived in Italy for a year. My older brother asked for guitar lessons and my parents found a teacher who had studied with Andrés Segovia. But my brother’s fantasy was to be the next Elvis Presley, so he bowed out, and I volunteered to take his place. After taking lessons in Italy and Minneapolis, I later studied classical with Oscar Ghiglia, Latin-American music with Alirio Diaz, and had private lessons with Segovia and [classical guitarist and lutist] Julian Bream.

Segovia had a reputation as a formidable teacher. Can you describe your experiences?
I was 14 when I first played for Segovia and my heart was beating so hard it made the guitar bounce back and forth against my chest. But he was very kind and I felt much more relaxed in subsequent lessons. The most memorable part was hearing his gem-like tone when he demonstrated passages. That was inspiring.

Who built your main nylon-string guitar?
I recorded Journey to the New World using a guitar built by the late Thomas Humphrey in 2007. It has a cedar top, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, and two beautiful muses painted on the back with flowing hair elegantly styled by the grain of the wood. It has a warm, chocolate sound, and trebles that ring like bells. I’m also now playing a cedar guitar by the Irish maker Michael O’Leary – it’s a wonderful instrument that projects with clarity, warmth, and resonance, and has excellent contrasts in sonority.

Do you have any older guitars?
I still have the guitar built for me in Italy when I began playing, as well as the pint-size guitar my parents brought back from Mexico when I was three! I have several other Humphrey guitars, and a guitar Japanese maker Kohno gave me in 1975, when I won the Toronto competition.

What other pieces of “gear” does a classical guitarist have, aside from the guitar itself?
I always carry a footstool, metronome, a Korg AW1 tuner, and fleece handwarmers with Hothands inserts. I also have whiteout for fret dots, a nail-repair kit, nail file, 2,000-grade sandpaper, a capo, pick, and strings.

In your opinion, what is the state of classical guitar in the 21st century?
It’s an ideal instrument to explore contemporary classical and other styles, especially since jazz, bluegrass, folk, country, rock, pop, and Latin American music have long figured prominently in the world of guitar. Audiences also welcome diversity, so artists who discover new modes of expression and fresh collaborations have the opportunity to create something exciting no one has ever heard before. I think it’s a great time to play classical guitar.

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 and launched a school of heavy guitar gods (and just reissued on Sony Legacy as a deluxe CD/concert DVD). Today, Satriani is an established recording artist and focal point of his G3 tours. But in 1987, he was just another greasy guitarslinger looking for a break.

When did you realize that Surfin’ was a hit?
It wasn’t until a few months after its release. By February of ’88 I was playing guitar on Mick Jagger’s solo tour, had a full-page story in Rolling Stone , and in a few guitar magazines. So things were looking good. My band was touring like mad, and I even got on MTV! But it was rock radio that really broke the record and, that took time back in those days. Fortunately, DJs seemed to embrace the record.

Do you think the music world was simply ready for an instrumental guitar album?
In short, it was a great-sounding recording of upbeat songs. It also had unexpected juxtapositions of musical composition and production styles.

One thing that set you off from other players back then was your melodic nature. Where did that come from?
I grew up listening to every kind of music – classical, jazz, Motown, rock and roll, funk, blues, rock, and heavy metal. I absorbed it all, and tried to remember the good bits! I like a strong melody, interesting chords, and a good groove.
What kind of guitars did you use on Surfin’ ?
I used a Kramer Pacer made from spare parts, and two guitars I assembled from Boogie bodies and ESP parts.

The tone on the title track is so big, throaty, and dry.
It was the Kramer into a Vox wah and a Chandler Tube Driver into a Marshall half-stack. We used an Eventide 949 Harmonizer for the pitch-shift effect.

Satch with Paul Gilbert and John Petrucci on G3 ’07. Photos: Lisa Sharken.

What modern bands or guitarists do you listen to?
Deftones, the Killers, Jack White, Ned Evett, Wolfmother, and Beck. But having said that, I just found a great collection of the Carter Family on iTunes that I’ve been listening to quite a bit. I still listen to Clapton and Hendrix a lot, too. Billy Gibbons is a big influence on me and his writing with ZZ Top is so revolutionary. Nobody writes contemporary blues like Billy.

Who are some of your other guitar influences?
I always thought I was part Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Allan Holdsworth… the list is long! But I wear my influences on my sleeve – it’s my way of telling the truth, musically, and also saying “Thank you” to those who blazed the trail.

You’ve been playing instrumental rock for more than 20 years. Do you ever think, “Man, I want to get a singer and form a band!”
Well, there never seems to be enough time to do all the things I wish I could do, musically. But I play on other projects; I [recently jammed] with Booker T. Jones and Steve Miller. We played blues late into the night on vintage gear. It was an amazing experience.

Photo courtesy In+Out Records.

In the mid ’70s, the guitarist grabbed a Hagstrom Swede and formed the funky Eleventh House; later in the decade, Coryell could be heard playing lush artificial harmonics on Ovation roundbacks. But for the last 25 years, the guitarist largely returned to his straight-jazz roots, touring the globe, and recording steadily. A few years back, however, Larry Coryell revisited his fusion roots at a red-hot gig in LA. Today, that music is available as the CD Earthquake at the Avalon and it also features guitar work from his son, Julian, and, surprisingly, Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo.

Earthquake at the Avalon contains some pretty explosive guitar work.
The Earthquake gig was a retrospective of my early fusion work, which included vocals and strange originals. The gig was really a positive journey back into time to re-explore and recreate these early works. I knew David’s playing from Los Lobos, but I got the lowdown on how good he really was from my son Julian – they both live in LA. Julian told me David had some Hendrix in him, so that was more than good enough for me! The allotment of the guitar parts was organic; each guitarist quickly found where their role was located and everything flowed naturally from there.

What guitars did you use on the album?
I played a white Les Paul Standard that was originally mine, but had given to Julian. I also played Julian’s Hamer Daytona. But my favorite jazz guitar is still the Gibson Super 400.

Is your normal jazz rig different from the Earthquake setup?
My normal jazz rig is basically any decent tube or solidstate amp – the older the better – with little or no reverb. I used to use chorus and some digital delay, like when I played with [drummer] Lenny White and [bassist] Victor Bailey, but most recently I plug straight in and play with the most natural sound. I also like Henriksen Jazz Amps.

You were a big proponent of Hagstrom solidbodies and Ovation acoustics back in the ’70s.
You know, the Hagstrom came into my life around ’73 because my managers at that time made a deal with them. I kept the Swede for a long time, but about 12 years ago, I gave it to one of my students. I also liked Ovations back then, but now I’ve gone to all-wood acoustics. The Ovations were pretty durable, so they made good road guitars. I still have an Adamas in the back room, but I don’t play it. They make a great 12-string, but it’s really hard to play at my age.

Larry coryell – Earthquake at the Avalon

Do you have any vintage guitars?
If the Super 400 is a vintage guitar, then that’s it – I am not a collector. I always felt that the instrument itself is simply a piece of wood and metal. I do have a nice Rodriguez flamenco that was a gift from [jazz producer] Creed Taylor. It has a great sound, but it’s hard to keep in tune because of its wooden tuning pegs.

Looking back at the heady fusion days of the ’70s, what are your recollections?
The short answer is that fusion had a lot of good playing, some memorable compositions, and it helped the rock crowd come over to jazz. In my opinion, tunes that are original and somewhat complex, like Mike Mandel’s “Level One,” still hold up very well. If you want a complete answer about fusion, read my autobiography, Improvising: My Life in Music [published by Hal Leonard].

Who were your early guitar influences?
My early influences were Barney Kessel, Chuck Berry, Chet Atkins, Carlos Montoya, Johnny Smith, Chuck Wayne, Tal Farlow, and Wes Montgomery, as well as Charlie Byrd and Kenny Burrell. Later, there was B.B. King, Clapton, and Hendrix.

Who moves you now?
Anything that sounds good, and it can come from recognized players or newcomers – if the playing is good, I’m moved. I think John Scofield is a good player, as well as John Stowell, George Benson, and Bireli Lagrene.

In your opinion, where does classic “jazz guitar” stand in the 21st century?
Jazz guitar stands out in this century as an instrument that went from the background to the forefront. The evolution of the jazz guitar, beginning with Charlie Christian, transformed the humble Spanish instrument into a major force for connoisseurs of jazz. Much of the credit goes to disciples of Christian, like Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, Wes and Tal – they’re the ones who got it going. Then Scofield, Metheny, and others came along and took it forward, keeping the jazz-guitar tradition intact, but attaching relevant new elements along the way. To me, you just can’t beat it.