Guitarist 2016

The new box contains no fewer than three different Williams recordings of that most popular of all guitar works, Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez – from 1964 with the Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, from 1974 with Barenboim and the English Chamber Orchestra, and from 1983 with Frémaux and the Philharmonia Orchestra – plus a performance of its much-loved Adagio in Williams’s celebrated 1993 “Seville Concert”. That entire concert is presented here too, on both CD and DVD – the latter also including a bonus documentary portrait of the artist.

Playing sideman to Rick Braun, Larry Carlton, Gato Barbieri, the Neville Brothers, and many others introduced guitarist/vocalist Steve Oliver to smooth jazz fans, but it was with Steve Reid's band that Oliver found a following. It was 1996 when Reid contacted Oliver at the last minute to fill in for a canceled opening act. Oliver hit the stage as a solo act and Reid was impressed with the guitarist's vocalese skills and summery sound. Oliver had come to vocalese not through King Pleasure or Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, but through Bobby McFerrin and Pat Metheny's work with Richard Bona and David Blamires, who sang along with guitar solos. Being a fan of the earthy Metheny sound, Reid hired Oliver after the gig and featured him in his touring band. Reid's Mysteries and Passion in Paradise albums featured Oliver not only as guitarist but songwriter as well. Oliver struck out on his own in 1999 with his debut, First View, released by Night Vision. The album spawned three hit singles on smooth jazz radio and earned the guitarist a Debut Artist of the Year award from Smooth Jazz News.

Supersonic Blues Machine have the form of a supergroup, but only their drummer, Kenny Aronoff, is well known. The other two members – bassist/producer Fabrizio Grossi and guitarist/vocalist Lance Lopez – are behind-the-scenes musicians but they're all united by a love of classic blues and classic rock. The latter is what initially brought Aronoff and Grossi together. The two musicians were playing in Goodfellas, a side project from Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. Not long afterward, Grossi was working with Lopez on an album by the guitarist and that turned into the band that became Supersonic Blues Machine. Several guests visited the studio during the recording of the band's debut – the biggest being Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, and Robben Ford – and the subsequent West of Flushing South of Frisco saw release in early 2016.

Wes Montgomery & The Eddie Higgins Trio - One Night In Indy (1959) {Resonance Records HCD-2018 rel 2016}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 87 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959, 2016 Resonance Records / Rising Jazz Stars | HCD-2018
Jazz / Hard Bop / Guitar

Never-before-released recording of legendary guitarist Wes Montgomery playing with jazz pianist Eddie Higgins. An exclusive 1959 performance recorded live in Indianapolis. Following the 2012 release of Resonance's archival set Echoes of Indiana Avenue, author, photo journalist, and private collector Duncan Schiedt approached the label to see if they'd be interested in releasing a live tape of Wes Montgomery he owned. It was a 1959 set where the guitarist sat in with the Eddie Higgins Trio, then featuring drummer Walter Perkins (and also an unknown bassist).

Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany's Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980s. And even though they ultimately failed to match these peers in terms of commercial success and longevity, at least two of their albums still qualify among the crème de la crème of the decade's speed metal. Heavy metal underwent a worldwide revolution in the early '80s, when the lingering lessons from '70s giants like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest crashed head-on with the D.I.Y. ethos of punk rock and the sheer velocity of Motörhead to spawn the much ballyhooed New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which, in turn sparked a far more powerful and lasting bastard offspring: thrash metal. Of all the nations contaminated by this musical virus as it proliferated unchecked, Germany was second only to the U.S. in terms of widespread infection…

Following his 1970 departure from the Guess Who, guitarist Randy Bachman recorded a solo album (Axe) and planned a project with ex-Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson (later canceled due to illness) before forming Bachman-Turner Overdrive in 1972. Originally called "Brave Belt," the metal group was comprised of singer/guitarist Bachman, fellow Guess Who alum Chad Allan, bassist C.F. "Fred" Turner, and Randy's brother, drummer Robbie; after a pair of LPs (Brave Belt I and Brave Belt II), Allan was replaced by another Bachman brother, guitarist Tim, and in homage to the trucker's magazine Overdrive, the unit became BTO…

An industry veteran who first got his start as a session player for pop artists in the '80s, smooth jazz saxophonist Steve Grove (aka Euge Groove) marks his 16th year as a solo artist with his tenth studio album, 2016's Still Euge. This is Groove's fifth album for Shanachie, following 2014's Got 2 Be Groovin', and once again finds him handling the production duties.