A highly productive year has found finger-style guitarist Lucas Michailidis releasing his long awaited second CD ‘ Freshwater Road ' along with recording and embarking on a European tour with acclaimed Tartarstan singer, Zulya.
In keeping with previous work, Freshwater Road finds Michailidis in a solo setting, performing unaccompanied, instrumental compositions that demonstrate a broad palette of musical expression. His extensive and unconventional use of guitar tunings, provides the music with a fresh, melodically driven approach that is free of cliché ...
Elliot Randall: His searing guitar solo on Steely Dan's REELIN' IN THE YEARS is just scratching the surface. Visit this website today! Entertaining and informative.
Elliott Randall's illustrious career has encompassed a wide and varied cross-section of World Musical forms. These include: record production, composition, electronic research and development, lectures and teaching, and of course, a legendary contribution to popular guitar performance and recording.
His guitar solos on Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years" and "Fame" (the motion picture) have entered Rock history annals.
Elliott has recorded and performed with artists as diverse as The Doobie Brothers, Carly Simon, Seatrain, The Blues Brothers, Carl Wilson, Peter Wolf, Peter Frampton, James Galway, Richie Havens, The Rochester Philharmonic and The American Symphony Orchestra, among many others. In addition, he is a favourite of esteemed songwriters Jimmy Webb, George David Weiss, Don Covay and the greatly missed Laura Nyro. Other credits include: music consultant for NBC Saturday Night Live and Oliver Stone, and projects with producers Gary Katz, David Kershenbaum, Steve Lillywhite, Eddie Kramer and Jerry Wexler.
In addition to artistic projects, Elliott has also played, produced and composed myriad advertisements (jingles) for television, radio and cinema, for clients including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Miller Beer, Budweiser, Cadillac, Ford, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, CitiBank, General Mills, Nabisco, Proctor & Gamble, MTV, ESPN, CBS, ABC, BBC-TV and countless others ...
Describe legendary musician Taj Mahal in a single word or phrase? Impossible.
You could call him a singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, ethnomusicologist, two-time Grammy-winner, world-class musical collaborator, musicians' advocate, world traveler, fisherman, or cigar aficionado. These titles are all accurate, yet none convey the warmth, humor, and soulfulness of Taj and his music.
Taj has been playing his own distinctive brand of music -- variously described as Afro-Caribbean blues, folk-world-blues, hula blues, folk-funk, and a host of other hyphenations -- for more than 40 years. Caribbean, Hawaiian, African, Latin, and Cuban sounds and rhythms mix with folk, jazz, zydeco, gospel, rock, pop, soul, and R&B, all layered on top of a solid country blues foundation.
What ties it all together is Taj's abiding interest in musical discovery, particularly in tracing many American musical forms back to their roots in Africa and Europe. Following his passion, Taj has spent time in the Caribbean, West Africa, Hawaii, Europe, the South Pacific, Australia, South America, and all over the continental U.S. His music reflects his global perspective, incorporating sounds from everywhere he's lived and traveled ...
Robert Johnson influenced the future of American music through his unassuming recordings of Delta blues in the 1930s. This site analyzes Johnson's songs as poetry, providing rudiments of verse analysis, critical discussion, full-text of the songs lyrics, and audio clips.
Guitarist Dave Stryker's website features reviews, sound bites, itinerary,biography, cds.
Whether you've heard guitarist Dave Stryker fronting his own group (with seventeen CD's as a leader to date), or as a featured sideman with Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and more recently Kevin Mahogany, you know why Gary Giddins in the Village Voice calls him "one of the most distinctive guitarists to come along in recent years." He was voted one of the Top Ten Guitarists in the 2001 Critics and Readers poll of Downbeat Magazine. His approach combining the jazz burn to a soulful blues feeling is communicating to new fans wherever he plays.
Dave Stryker (3/30/57) grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and moved to New York City in 1980. After establishing himself in the local music scene, he joined organist Jack McDuff's group for two years 1984-85. When McDuff wasn't on the road (literally traveling by van all over the country) they worked a steady four-night a week gig at Dude's Lounge in Harlem. His first break, this turned out to be an invaluable experience, paying his dues night after night with the soulful jazz organist.
It was at Dude's Lounge that Stryker met tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, who would occasionally sit in. After leaving McDuff, Turrentine asked Stryker to join his quintet. From 1986-1995 he played with the legendary saxophonist at all the major festivals, concert halls, and clubs throughout the world. He is featured on two Turrentine CD's (Stanley recorded Stryker's tune "Sidesteppin"). With Turrentine, Stryker was able to play with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard. The ten years playing alongside the tenor legend helped Stryker realize the importance of having his own sound. Dave continued to work with Stanley and was with him during his final week at the Blue Note in NYC, when he passed in Sept. 2000.
Stryker recorded his first CD, First Strike (featuring Billy Hart) in 1988. Guitar on Top (featuring Mulgrew Miller and Victor Lewis) reached #13 on the Gavin Radio Chart and received 4 1/2 stars in Downbeat magazine ...