Willie Nelson Stars Guitars

Willie Nelson's career as a legendary country musician, political activist and humanitarian has made him an American icon. In 2002, a variety of musical acts paid tribute to Willie during the Willie Nelson & Friends: Stars & Guitars concert, recorded in the capital of country music, Nashville, Tennessee.Last year, a star-studded lineup came out to New York City to celebrate Willie's 70th birthday during the Willie Nelson & Friends: Live and Kickin' concert.Now, for the third consecutive year in May 2004, the stars came out again.

It's hard to judge Ringorama, Ringo Starr's 12th proper studio album, by most standard critical criteria. Even comparing the record to his previous solo work doesn't quite work, since so many of his albums are so driven by his persona – a combination of his actual personality and what his team of collaborators (always including a bevy of guest stars, of course) perceive his persona to be. Apart from 1973's towering Ringo, and its good follow-up, Goodnight Vienna, Starr was never consistent, partially because of his decadence in the '70s, but …

To commemorate 30 years since the release of Dylan's first Columbia album, a marathon tribute concert was held at New York's Madison Square Garden, with a galaxy of stars and voices from the past taking part. The cumulative effect of this tribute was staggering, revealing just how much truly great Dylan material there is to choose from all of his periods. A firm nucleus of the three surviving members of Booker T. & the MG's, plus G.E. Smith on guitar and Jim Keltner and Anton Fig on drums, anchors the bands, and most of the stars…

Jazz bassist Michel Benita was born in Algiers and has lived in France for the majority of his life, which would lead you to think folk and country-pop music would be far removed from his concept. Under the pretext that Miles Davis wrote a piece dedicated to Willie Nelson, and that jazz essentially is folk music, Benita and electric/acoustic guitarist Manu Codjia have crystallized these idioms to create a world fusion of European and American roots. The sound of the music is unmistakably parallel to that of Bill Frisell courtesy of Codjia's amplified instrument, minus any Asian or African elements, while source material comes from well known singer/songwriters and the creative minds of the participants.

To commemorate 30 years since the release of Dylan's first Columbia album, a marathon tribute concert was held at New York's Madison Square Garden, with a galaxy of stars and voices from the past taking part. The cumulative effect of this tribute was staggering, revealing just how much truly great Dylan material there is to choose from all of his periods…