Progressive Guitar

Steve Howe's solo albums seem to hold a wide variety of music within. Generally, this disc presents the listener with acoustic guitar solos, progressive rock compositions, country-tinged songs, and more. Historically, the more complex music of Yes has consisted of smaller pieces brought in by the individual members and assembled almost piecemeal into complex song structures. An interesting aspect of Howe albums is the opportunity to hear works that could easily have been such segments and get a glimpse into where the band could have gone. This album is true to that format. Steve Howe performs nearly completely solo on this release, accompanied only on percussion by his son Dylan Howe. When looking over the liner notes on this one, be sure to check out the list of guitars used on the album. For guitar heads, that is always a welcome portion of any Howe solo album.

In rock music, rare are the occasions when a band offers thoughtful lyrics or a message to go along with their music. In the case of United Progressive Fraternity (UPF), they have created music to go along with their message…

It’s been two years since Sonar guitarist, composer Stephan Thelen has released a follow-up with the Fractal Guitar release. Last year he had done music for the RareNoise label with the Kronos Quartet and the All-Women ensemble, the Al Pari Quartet entitled, World Dialogue, and the continuation of the second volume of Transportation with Sonar. This year he’s back in the saddle again with Fractal Guitar 2 released on the MoonJune label. Recorded at various locations between Europe and North America in November 2019 and July 2020, Fractal Guitar 2 shows Thelen a sign of bringing some hope and strong freewill to those who are going through another rocky road since everything came to a screeching halt in March of last year…

CGT is an amazing trio of innovative guitar players that come from or are inspired by the Robert Fripp school of guitarrist. These live interpretations stand as a great overview of both their work and the ability to transform different styles and other's work into the trio's musical style…