Eric Krasno

Always Keepin’ On

Groovemeister Eric Krasno continues to push his funky, soul-jazz narrative with guitar front and center. His new record, Always, features his vocals embedded within cutting-edge technology and contemporary-retro beats. The…

Nancy Wilson

One Heart

The Covid-19 pandemic halted much of our lives, but there was a silver lining. Many musicians who couldn’t tour or record normally were able to make new music, including long-dreamed-of…

Jeff Kollman

Validating Versatiltiy

A perusal of guitarist Jeff Kollman’s resumé forces a double take. Alongside decades of studio work and live gigs with artists like Chris Isaak, Lou Gramm, and Glenn Hughes are…

Ronnie Montrose

Motor Scooters and Rifle Guitars

Veteran guitarist Ronnie Montrose is still rocking and still recording. The renowned player’s fret efforts first came to public attention with Van Morrison over two decades ago, and his further…

Colin Linden

Bringing it Back Around

Colin Linden’s Still Live is a step back to his first recording – a live album made three decades ago. In the years that separate the two, Linden has become…

Ralph Towner

Fifty Years and Counting

As a young musician, Ralph Towner wrote “Icarus,” a revolutionary jazz piece that became a crossover hit for the Paul Winter Consort. Later, the classically trained guitarist (also a fine…

Bill Nelson

Still Deluxe

Most people remember Bill Nelson as the front man/guitar hero in the English band Be Bop Deluxe. Since folding that outfit 35 years ago, he has led a fertile solo…

Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P asks “Who’s Gonna Ride”

’59 Stratotone at the Memphis Slim House While Memphissippi Sounds’ Yella P and his ’59 Harmony Stratotone were visiting the Memphis Slim House in the Soulsville neighborhood of Memphis (Stax…

Revealing Jesse Ed Davis

Douglas K. Miller

Jesse Ed Davis was an unsung guitar hero – unless you were a legend like Eric Clapton, John Lennon, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Conway Twitty, Taj Mahal, Jackson…

Jorma Kaukonen

Hot Tuna, Part 1

Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady have been playing music together for 53 years – 40 of them as Hot Tuna. What started as an acoustic splinter group from…

Rodrigo Sanchez

Cuban Orchestra Helps Create Area 52

Rodrigo Sanchez is one half of the fiery acoustic duo known as Rodrigo Y Gabriela. They have evolved from a stripped-down dual-acoustic-guitar sound to catapult their music in new directions.…

Freddie King’s ’73 ES-355

Thinline Crown

Influenced by Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and others including jump-blues saxophonist Louis Jordan, Freddie King was an integral piece of…

Javier Batiz

The Mexican Mentor

The profile subject’s ingles was definitely better than the writer’s espa

Larry Carlton

The buzz about Fire Wire, the new record by guitar legend Larry Carlton, was that he was going to rock more than he had in years. Yes, the guy who…

Reb Beach

There’s no two waysabout it – thanks to MTV dunces Beavis and Butthead, Winger gets no respect. But the band knows how write killer pop-rock tunes, has one of the…

Billy Sheehan

New Music, Old-School Basses

Among rock bassists, Billy Sheehan has been a standout in four decades. Whether with Talas in the ’70s, tapping toe-to-toe with Steve Vai in the ’80s incarnation of David Lee…

Roy Treviño

Joining the Conversation

With his new self-titled album, South-Texas-based guitarist Roy Treviño accomplished his goals by simply being himself and letting the music flow. “I’d made a couple records before, but I’d put…

Melodic, accessible – and shredtastic – it’s Lari Basilio!

Just for VG followers, a solo take on “Novo” Lari Basilio grabbed her signature Ibanez LB1 (dig the purple finish and gold hardware!) to play a fresh take on “Novo,”…

Larry Coryell

The Godfather of Fusion Returns

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…

Paul Gilbert

"How Pat Travers Saved My Soul!"

Any guitarist who can play Emerson Lake & Palmer’s “Karn Evil 9” and nail the keyboard solo is a bad motor scooter. Paul Gilbert is one such guy. From his…

Ritchie Blackmore

Machine Head at 45: Tone Secrets of Deep Purple’s Masterwork

In any conversation about the dawn of hard rock and metal, several bands rise up –  Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Mountain, Grand Funk Railroad, and Uriah Heep. But you simply…

Monster Magnet

Dave Wyndorf, Ed Mundell, and Phil

Just when you were losing faith in hard rock; just when the charts are choking on post-grunge whiners, along comes a band not afraid to rock. Enter Monster Magnet –…

Bob Cowsill Plays a Topical Tune

New Cowsills album is an impressive self-contained work Before the Jackson 5 and the Osmonds, The Cowsills scored four Top 40 hits in the late ’60s. Here, Bob Cowsill used…

Eddie Perez

Versatility and Joy

Eddie Perez is back with The Mavericks, playing music influenced by Tex-Mex, R&B, ska, country, blues, and roots rock. He joined the group in 2003, recorded two albums, then was…

Ed Sanner

Fuzz Redux

While not well-known in California guitar lore, Ed Sanner’s electronics designs have been heard by millions of guitar fans, and he has recently returned to building unique stomp boxes. Sanner…

Jussi Jaakonaho’s beguiling “Beauty Box”

Masterful Tapestry Soak it in as Jussi Jaakonaho and his 1970 Gibson SG Standard jam on ”Beauty Box” through a late-’60s Gibson Falcon amp with tremolo and spring reverb. He…

Happy Traum

Folk Guru: 1936-2024

On July 17, folk music lost one of its guiding lights with the death of Happy Traum at age 86. A major player in the Greenwich Village and Woodstock scenes,…

Alex Masi

Danger Zone

Grammy-nominated guitarist Alex Masi has been maneuvering his way through the shark-infested waters of the music industry since the 1980s. With an impressive catalog that includes everything from high-intensity instrumental…

Rich Fifield

Rich Fifield, guitarist in the ‘60s surf band The Astronauts, died November 16. He was 78. Formed in 1956 as The Stormtroupers by four high school friends in Boulder, Colorado,…

Michael Manring

Bass Convergence

Most music fans who learn that the eclectic trio 3Below is all bass players will react with, “You gotta be kiddin’!” However, musicians who appreciate the unusual will stay for…