http://www.guitar9.com/soundcheck.html http://www.guitarnine.com/image/g9soundcheckrss.jpg http://www.guitar9.com/soundcheck.html 144 22 Featured here are the latest releases added to the Guitar Nine Records site in the instrumental guitar category. 180 en-us Fri, 9 May 2008 09:08:38 EST Fri, 9 May 2008 09:08:38 EST music http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss guitarnine@guitar9.com guitarnine@guitar9.com 2008, Guitar Nine Records http://www.guitar9.com/thehurricanewaltz.html The Hurricane Waltz features 16 original guitar-oriented songs by guitarist Guy Lee. Although the CD is a collage of different guitars, Guy's main performance guitar, his '69 Tele (on the cover) was used predominately throughout this project. "Sirocco" rocks the opener followed by the cool, fresh sounding "Jive Hive". Guy pulls out his jazz and slide guitars for the alternating 5/4 & 4/4 "Flash Cash" with some great improv by violinist Derek Pell. The eloquent "Jennie" begins with a refreshing nylon string guitar performance then launches into a blend of electric six strings. "L'Angelo Misterioso" is a tribute to George Harrison using a resonator guitar for slide with Far East percussion and violin. The electronica/jazz/rock of "Soul Patch" pulses. The modern jazzy "Paper Straws" and "Seven Basset Shuffle" are a great counterpoint to the coastal sounds of "Palmetto Cool Breeze" and "Napoli". The epic "In Spite Of" features a blend of grand piano, Beatle-style electric 12 string, soulful Tele and Pell's violin. The almost eight minute, 3/4 time jazz/rock express of the title track is a pumpin' powerhouse that brings this album to a climatic end. Produced by Nashville rock/blues singer (and Guy's wife), Frankie Lee. ($15.25 includes US shipping) Wed, 07 May 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/thehurricanewaltz.html http://www.guitar9.com/handsav.html In a world of musical homogeny, Avatar cleverly combines Latin and world music styles in an innovative way, with the twin guitar assault of Glenn Cannon and Nick Freer being driven by the rhythmic muscle that is bassist Gavin Pearce and drummer Ryan Menezes. The all original, instrumental outfit plays everything from explosive Latin, fusion and odd-time grooves, to reflective ballads, and European influenced music. Avatar represents something different - original music which blurs regional identities and musical styles. What is out there is in here! Check out Hands, the ten song debut release from Avatar. Frank Gambale makes a guest appearance on two tracks. ($15.00 includes US shipping) Mon, 05 May 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/handsav.html http://www.guitar9.com/thecosmicyear.html Daniele Liverani's new project Cosmics mark their debut with the instrumental / experimental concept album The Cosmic Year. The album, a collection of 10 tracks within a melodic and progressive metal setting are based around the keyboard wizardry of Daniele Liverani (Twinspirits, Genius, Khymera), along with "special guest" drummer Virgil Donati (Steve Vai, Planet X, Ring Of Fire), young guitar hotshot Tommy Ermolli (Twinspirits, Khymera) and respected bassist Rufus Philpot (Planet X) show that progressive music can be both accessible and intelligently written. Each track contains various movements given a sonic reference to specific moments in the evolution of the universe which maintain both a progressive outlook yet work cohesively as a sonic unit and as single entities. Daniele Liverani showcases immense skill in this his most complex, visionary and progressive work to date. Guitarist Tommy Ermolli's performance will only go to further the reputation this 20-year-old has earned so far. This musical vision is extended further with the stunning rhythm section interaction between Rufus Philpot and Virgil Donati that the listener will have come to expect from their work together in Planet X. ($16.00 includes US shipping) Fri, 02 May 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/thecosmicyear.html http://www.guitar9.com/worlduniverseinfinity.html Stef Burns has released his 2008 solo album, World, Universe, Infinity, which features, in addition to a number of instrumental tracks that he in generally known for, his first lead vocal opportunities. Burns remarks about the half-instrumental, half-vocal project, " The track "Burns' Blues" is inspired by one of my favorites, Jeff Beck. It's blues with a twist. "Mepukori" is based on another song entitled "Spasimo" written by Mario Riso from the "Rezophonic" album in Italy. Lyle Workman and I rearranged, rewrote, and added a new middle section that is gorgeous. Then we got to trade guitar solos. "On My Way Home" is a very feel good track with lots of atmosphere. "Isle Mystique" has a cool feel. "Shine" I cowrote with Fabio Valdemarin and might be the most emotional track on the album. He is such an incredible piano player. "Space Time" is a funky jazz/pop song with horns and killer solos, while "Little Wing" is a beautiful Hendrix song that I have always loved and we recorded live." ($14.50 includes US shipping) Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/worlduniverseinfinity.html http://www.guitar9.com/memorycrash.html Get psyched for another supernatural jolt of sonic chaos when the atomic playboy, Steve Stevens, drops his first solo record in nearly eight years, Memory Crash - an electro-centric sonic tour de force that makes a serious musical impact. No gimmicks. No over-the-top production. No compromising. It’s just Steve Stevens, his guitar, and his beloved effects – all the ingredients that have made him a global star. "I think the time is right for me to make a record that is totally me – my world," Stevens says of Memory Crash. Boasting such tracks as "Water On Ares", "Hellcats Take the Highway", “Small Arms Fire”, an interpretation of Robin Trower’s’ “Day Of The Eagle” (featuring Dug Pinnick of King’s X on vocals), and the rousing/psychedelic “Cherry Vanilla”, Memory Crash is a journey through another dimension, “a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind”, to steal a line from Rod Serling. It’s virtually musical cinema. “I have a lot of weird little segues going on with this record,” Stevens says. “I’ve always loved that about the prog records, like Dark Side of the Moon. You enter this little theater of the mind. It’s a true headphone experience.” ($17.50 includes US shipping) Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/memorycrash.html http://www.guitar9.com/multipick.html Zeroesque's second CD, Multipick Technique, is piled high with chops-heavy, instrumental progressive fusion from the minds of Shawn Christie (guitar) and Tim Lehner (keyboards) and is also chock full of guitar bad-asses lending guest guitar solos. Like who? Well how about Vinnie Moore, Marco Sfogli and Derryl Gabel - just to drop some names. As Christie tells it, "We're very proud of the compositions on this one. Although the chops-heavy stuff is right in there, the melodies and harmonies have taken center stage... and it's a good thing. Even the pre-pro tracks got heavy rotation in our own CD players." Zeroesque has long maintained a simple approach: create killer instrumental progressive fusion tracks that groove, rock, and all but tear your left ear through your right while maintaining substance and melody. The duo feels that songs can not only be technical and complex at points, but should also get that "body" thing happening (musical term). ($15.00 includes US shipping) Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/multipick.html http://www.guitar9.com/waydown.html Neil Haverstick writes about his new blues CD, Way Down By The Mississippi... "I love the blues. I think it's one of the greatest musical expressions in history. Raw and powerful, honest and unforgiving, the blues is about life, and everything that comes with living. From the one chord moans of Howlin' Wolf, to the big band swing of Count Basie and Johnny Otis, from Hank Williams' honky tonks, all the way to Jupiter's sulphur mines with Jimi Hendrix, the blues tells a wide range of stories, and is many things to many people. I have been greatly influenced by the blues since I first started playing guitar, and this CD is my tribute to the many many great blues guitarists whose licks and ideas have found their way into my playing. I've included two blues in 19 tone equal temperament, which is one of the microtonal tuning systems I've played and recorded in for many years... hope they tweak your ears a little." ($16.50 includes US shipping) Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/waydown.html http://www.guitar9.com/incarceratedscream.html Brazilian guitarist Serj talks about his 1996 release, Incarcerated Scream, "My friends keep asking me, "Serj, why go instrumental? Why don't you sing so you can finally make some money?" Let me explain. When you listen to somebody sing a song, you hear the lyrics and you get the exact picture of what he/she is talking about. If you relate to the lyrics, you start loving the song, right? Nothing wrong with that! But with instrumental music things work in a different way because you don't have lyrics to tell you the whole story. This is where the fun begins. You get to make up your own story. The sounds and the arrangement can bring different people to different places, so listening to instrumental music can be a uniquely personal and thrilling experience. If music with vocals is like going to the movie - here comes another analogy - then instrumental music is like reading a book. The writer describes a scene or a character and you get to imagine the whole thing and fill in the details the way you want. It is open to different interpretations and this is why I love instrumental music. As well, I worked for Steve Vai, and listened to him and his music constantly for four years. I guess sounding like a musician that you admire is not something you do intentionally, but it's something like when you move to a different city - after a few years you just naturally pick up the local accent." (Note: tray cards on this release are somewhat wrinkled.) ($13.50 includes US shipping) Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/incarceratedscream.html http://www.guitar9.com/liquidpieceofme.html Brazilian guitarist Serj has released his album Liquid Piece Of Me, a mostly instrumental (there is no singing, but many of the tracks have sound bytes or spoken word parts) CD complete with a beautiful full color 30-page booklet. The album has a screenplay, and each of the 17 songs represents a chapter of that screenplay, with actors performing some of the lines of the script. The listener is able to open the booklet and see how the characters look, while they are able to hear their voices! Add in sound effects and the mood is complete. Some of Serj's great friends (and heroes) are guests on this album: Blues Saraceno, Brett Garsed, TJ Helmerich and Steve Blucher played some beautiful guitar and pedal steel. Eduardo Ardanuy, Marcelo Barbosa, Luiz Sacoman and Alex Mihanovich are Brazilian friends who also played some serious guitar tracks. The beauty of instrumental music is that since there are no lyrics, you have a blank canvas to fill with your own personal interpretation of the music. This is where the magic lies. ($18.00 includes US shipping) Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/liquidpieceofme.html http://www.guitar9.com/hymnsforguitar.html Steve Hunter talks about the music on his CD Hymns For Guitar, "When I was a very little boy my grandmother would occasionally take me to Sunday church with her. One thing I always enjoyed was the sound of all those people gently and quietly singing those old beautiful hymns. I always loved feeling surrounded by that warm, peaceful sound, and hearing all those lovely old melodies. Many, many years later I did an acoustic guitar arrangement of one of those old hymns, one called "Softly And Tenderly". Everyone I played it for seemed to really love it and responded to it in a similar way I did when I was a child in church. Friends started suggesting I do an entire CD of things like that. including my producer friend Bob Ezrin who was the guy I did all the work with in the '70s . And that's how this new CD was born. All the songs are my acoustic guitar arrangements of some of my all time favorite old American hymns. Many of these great old melodies were written in the mid 1800s. The arrangements are a variety of solo guitar pieces as well as multi-track pieces. My main goal was to try to create that warm, peaceful sound with acoustic guitars that I had heard as a boy in church." ($14.00 includes US shipping) Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/hymnsforguitar.html http://www.guitar9.com/djazdtox.html Djaz_Dtox, French guitarist Alex Ehrsam's debut album, blends instrumental fusion ideas, jazz chordal structures and funky grooves. As he is trying to cut into basic guitar chops to develop arpeggiated and chromatic approaches - listen to "Scab Co-Worker" or "Fix" - he also goes into an acoustic/Latin atmosphere with the tune "Cold Chill". A few friends of his have joined the party to jam alon; check out the bass and guitar conversation on "Out U Go". He also creates a smooth nu-jazz ambience on the tunes "Elevator Shaft" and "Malpractice", mixing abstract sounding guitar chords and odd modal changes. Guest musicians include bassist Patrick Chapus, alto/tenor saxman Christophe Rieger and guitarist Nicolas Muller. ($16.00 includes US shipping) Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/djazdtox.html http://www.guitar9.com/rotaryahead.html Guitarist Mike DiBari's new CD release is a delight for both jazz and blues fans alike. The Boston area musician, who has spent the last ten years on the thriving local blues/R&B scene, combines his roots in the blues with a passion for jazz. "When I got more serious about playing jazz I didn't want to let go of what I learned from all those great players like B.B King and T-Bone Walker. My goal was to create a style where I could go from blues to Charlie Christian to Thelonious Monk and everything in between, all at the same time." On Rotary Ahead! Mike achieves what he set out for. In the opener, "Billie's Bounce", a Charlie Parker tune in the classic bebop tradition, you can hear swirling Jazz lines intertwined with blistering blues licks. DiBari's jazz chops are further confirmed on "Fly Me To the Moon", which opens with signature Wes Montgomery style octaves, and later unravels with consecutive choruses of double time runs a la Pat Martino. His talent as a composer shines through on many cuts including the title track. Pure and lyrical ballad playing can be found on "New York", an original inspired by 9/11, while a classic swing to bop encounter unfolds on "Charlie's Fear", which Mike attributes to his heroes, guitarist Christian and Monk. The top honor, however, goes to the great jazz guitar legend Barney Kessel, who passed away recently and to whom this CD is dedicated. ($16.50 includes US shipping) Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/rotaryahead.html http://www.guitar9.com/silencefollowed.html Hot on the heels of his successful "Get Out Of My Yard CD", Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar is the second all instrumental CD by guitarist Paul Gilbert. Last year Paul toured on the legendary G3 tour in support of Joe Satriani and confirmed to a younger audience what Gilbert fans have known for over 20 years - that Paul Gilbert is simply one of the greatest guitarists on the planet today. Paul Gilbert has gone on record, saying, "This is my second guitar instrumental record. I had you in mind when I put it together, but I also did exactly what I wanted to. I dream of walking on stage with my guitar and playing these songs for you. That would be GREAT." A blazing instrumental record. ($16.00 includes US shipping) Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/silencefollowed.html http://www.guitar9.com/exile.html Exile is the debut and first concept album from Kole, and it is based off of the Eastern belief of Yin and Yang. Exile represents all that is Yin or feminine. At age 12, Kole received a beat-up, dull red, 1970's generic electric guitar from his father and decided he wanted to learn how to play it. Originally inspired by bands like Metallica and Led Zeppelin, Kole started to form a foundation of rock and blues based music that eventually would dominate his playing and composition style. Three years ago his life changed when he met solo musician and virtuoso guitarist, Tom Hess. Since then, Kole has taken very large strides in improving himself musically and forwarding his career in the music industry. Now at age 21, he has taught workshops in Chicago at the Oakbrook Academy of Music and Art, has released his debut album Exile, has co-authored the e-book "Serious Improvement for the Developing Guitarist," has finished two full years of classical composition and guitar at the revered Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and is currently attending Musicians Institute. ($13.00 includes US shipping) Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/exile.html http://www.guitar9.com/ego.html Noted reviewer MJ Brady writes on the Proggnosis site about Ego, by Italian keyboardist Alex Argento, "What an excellent piece of musical work he has created for his first recording as a solo artist. This CD is an absolute must for fans of over the top, technically challenging prog/fusion music with the highest degree of musicianship, writing, and production standards, in other words, it is as good as it gets. The keyboards and drumming are first rate fusion excellence on this CD, but I would be only providing half of the equation as to why this is such a great fusion recording; the other half being the guitarists and bassist that compliment each song, Alex has enlisted the efforts of quite a list of great guitarists, and they are not at all just occasional soloists here. Marco Sfogli, who did some phenomenal work on James LaBrie's "Elements Of Persuasion", helps out as both a structure accompanist, as well as providing some searingly freakish solos. There are also some spot solos by fellow Italians - Fabrizio Leo (Bicio), Alessandro Benvenuti, and Vittorio Falanga guesting on one song. This is a must have recording for those that are at home with the company of artists and bands listed in this review." ($18.50 includes US shipping) Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST http://www.guitar9.com/ego.html