Guitarist, Composer, Instructor
Do you listen to Joe Pass? If yes, pass GO and collect $200. If not you better catch up on some listening!
Listen to how many different ways he treats the melody throughout the piece, true mastery, ENJOY!
Note: The video below was accidentally embedded but a great one as well so I will leave it on here. Wes Montgomery on guitar and Jimmy Smith Keys.
This is a new one to me. I am sure tired and true Hendrix fans have already heard this one, but, I never even knew it existed.
You know when you got to a Christmas party and the host has a holiday playlist where every song sounds like Frank Sinatra? Nothing against Frank I am a fan myself, but, I need a variety in my holiday playlist. Classical to Metal, Latin to Country, New Age to Punk….that makes an interesting list in my opinion.
There is just something about hearing holiday music interpreted by great musicians and this medley is definitely all Jimi!
So glad to have found this gem to add to my collection.
Enjoy!
Ho Ho Hoey!
Gary made a name for himself with his Ho Ho Hoey Christmas recordings. I have to say I had mixed feelings on Mr. Hoey in his early days. As great a player as he is, he never truly inspired me the way Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and other players did. I didn’t find him as original or unique.
Over the years I have come to really like and respect his playing. He is a great studio guitarist/composer and has carved a serious niche for himself. He writes for NASCAR, MLB and other high-caliber entertainment genres.
He is also featured on many videos. I was lucky enough to have one of my songs, “Sunny & 70,” follow one of his on a surf movie a few years ago, “Sea Level Pressure.”
This version of Deck the Halls is in typical Hoey fashion. Takes a melody and adds his own spin to it. This piece is a little heavier than some of his others but worth a listen, Enjoy!
For those of you who don’t know about Al Di Meola, you are missing out especially if you are a guitar aficionado. Di Meola’s style is a blending of Latin influences with jazz fusion. He is known for blistering solo work and has collaborated with a wide variety of musicians. These partnerships range from rock/metal guitarists Steve Vai and Joe Satriani to fusion jazz master Chick Corea. From flamenco giant Paco De Lucia to pop singer songwriter Paul Simon.
Happy holidays, hope you enjoy the guitar inspired Christmas music.
Not the post I was planning on writing this evening.
2012 has been a brutally tough year with the deaths of many legendary musicians. Just last week we lost jazz pianist/composer Dave Brubeck and today(Dec. 11) the sad news of Ravi Shankar’s passing.
Ravi Shankar is an amazing musician known for many things, however, there are two highlights on his resume. First, he was a pioneer in introducing Indian sitar music to the Western world. Second, not totally detached from the first was his influence on the Beatles especially guitarist George Harrison. Trained in the Northern Indian tradition of Hindustani music the sitarist was a crossover in the 1960’s Western pop culture. As mentioned he was an influence on the Beatles and also played the legendary Woodstock Festival. With his amazing talent and global appeal Shankar became an icon of Indian culture. The Indian Prime Minister said of Shankar on his passing, “National treasure and global ambassador of India’s cultural heritage”.
Shankar has two daughters who are also renown musicians. In the tradition of her father, Anoushka, concertizes throughout the world on the sitar and has pushed the sitar further into the Western realm with her collaborations. I was lucky enough to see the two play together at a San Diego concert near the turn of the millennium. Norah Jones, pop vocalist with a smooth voice inherited her fathers musical genes if not his cultural side.
Shankar died right here in San Diego. For those of you curious who are not from here, he actually passed in La Jolla which translates to the jewel. An amazingly beautiful city on the Pacific Ocean fitting of such an ambassadors final breaths.
Wow! This was a surprise to me. The San Diego concert venue is closing it’s doors. Appears they had some legal and financial issues leading to their demise.
4th & B has been a cool and quirky place to see some major acts over the last 18 years. The theater was not very big and a great place to see some of the biggest acts in the world, although maybe not what they once were by the time 4th & B was able to book them.
I remember seeing guitarists Joe Satriani and George Thorogood, metal acts Queensryche and Ronnie James Dio and many local bands at the downtown venue. They also hosted all type of events including comedy and hypnotists.
What is next for the building that once housed a bank and became a San Diego music icon? Be great if someone could tale it over and keep the music alive!
Sad day in the music world! Jazz legend Dave Brubeck passed away on December 5th just one day shy of his 92nd birthday.
A pianist and composer, Brubeck was known for writing in odd meters. Two of his most famous compositions are, “Take Five,” and “Blue Rondo A La Turk.”
One of the first jazz tunes I ever performed was the aforementioned “Blue Rondo A La Turk.” It is a piece penned in an odd 9/8 meter; 2+2+2+3 alternating with measures of a compound 9/8 meter 3+3+3. The rhythmic drive of Brubeck’s music was rare in jazz, but, easy for listeners to feel and relate to the strong beat.
For a young musician like myself who grew up influenced by Heavy Metal and Hard Rock genres the composer’s music was a natural fit. Any fan of the Progressive Rock band Rush would be familiar with the odd meters Brubeck employed.
Godspeed to Dave Brubeck, Rest in Peace and thank you for all the music!
Eleven years? I can’t believe it has been eleven years since George Harrison left us!
My apologies this post is out a day late to recognize the day of his passing, November 29, 2001.
I came relatively late to the Beatles party. Never really liked them as a kid, they were old and silly looking and I wanted to hear my Van Halen, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. It was not until I got out of high school that their commercialism was replaced in my mind by how incredible of musicians they truly are. One year my mom gave me Rubber Soul as a holiday gift and I was totally blown away!
George quickly became my favorite Beatle. Sure there’s the guitarist connection, but, his songs always struck me musically. There’s a grace and style about his tunes. He penned some of the greatest melodies of the Rock and Roll era. To this day I truly believe, as beloved as he is, George is an underrated guitarist
Some of my favorite Harrison tunes include, Here Comes the Sun, Something, Blue Jay Way, If I needed Someone and the epic While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
When recording my first CD, Reflections of San Diego, with the Slayen & Fox Guitar Duo, I even ‘borrowed’ one of his melodies. Well actually I infused the melody into one of my songs. Meaning it is relatively hidden but means something to me having it included. That said if anyone ever thinks they have found it let me know I would be VERY impressed!!
RIP George Harrison
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving vacation. Getting back to the work grind is going to be tough this week especially for those of you lucky enough to have had some time off for the holiday. Once again my friends I am here to help you chillax and set an aural soundtrack to get you in a groove for the week ahead.
I was first introduced to this piece when I just began ‘serious’ study of music in college. There was an arrangement for a guitar quartet that I was lucky enough to be a part of and have loved this piece ever since. There are several arrangements of the Pavane for a variety of instrumentations including solo piano and guitar. My favorite , in the video below, is a symphonic version. Ravel was a master of instrumentation as can be heard in this piece and his other compositions such as, “Bolero.”
Ravel along with his contemporary and French countryman, Debussy, were the leaders in the music of the Impressionist movement. A period in music history that generally stretches from 1875-1925.
In my previous Music to Relax Posts, I often mention the words open and space when describing the music. I thought I would expand on that here. Both terms ‘open’ and ‘space’ are multifaceted in musical analysis. They can refer to the rhythm, harmony, melody, texture and orchestration, as well as, any musical parameters. In order of the previous parameters this could mean; longer slow notes, chords that extend over the octave with little dissonance, stately themes and a lush character. This certainly does not mean that relaxing music can’t be dissonant, fast, chromatic, etc. Or that music that doesn’t follow these ideals can’t be relaxing. They are offered as generalizations which are often employed in music widely regarded as relaxing.
Perhaps a good illustration would be in visual arts. If you see a painting that is very busy and confusingly draws your focus in multiple directions it might be considered to raise tension in a viewer. Conversely, a portrait of a pastoral landscape with flowing soft colors and a subject that catches the eye easily would be more relaxing.
Enjoy and relax!
Don’t forget to breath and enjoy everyday even with the stresses of the holidaze!
Here’s a Brian Setzer Xmas tune to get you in the mood, if you aren’t already.
Mike Slayen ~ Guitarist 