Musicians Worth HearingJohn McLaughlin | Allan Holdsworth | Shawn Lane | Jonas Hellborg | Jeff Sipe | Eric Johnson | Steve Morse | Dave LaRue | Andy Timmons |John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu OrchestraKrystel:Probably one of the most influential groups I can think of. Every time you turn around someone is contributing their break into advanced music to buying one of the Mahavishnu albums. We bought Visions of the Emerald Beyond a while back and I must say I can see why it turned a lot of people around. For those of you with new ears (born after '80 I'd say) that haven't gotten used to the out-there sounds of the late 60's and early 70's advanced music it might take you a while to stomach. Having a background in metal, rock, metal and, well, metal I have had a hard time listening to a lot of this kind of music, but I just focus on what they are doing on a theoretical and technical basis and eventually get used to the strange and unsettling things they do with tones. If you've done a lot of work with this type of music, or listened to it a lot, (that being 60's and 70's jazz fusion with an emphasis on the jazz) you probably don't want to live without atleast one of their cd's. Recommended Recordings: Inner Mounting Flame Jimmy Mclaughlin is such a great player he has recorded just about every style of music I can think of. He has also recorded with so many people over the years. If someone where to ask me if you could choose one musician to represent that of fusion, John McLaughlin would be my top pick just because he was one of the founders and he has recorded everything form jazz, rock, country, celtic, indian, classical, flamenco, I mean you name it he has done it. Recommended Recordings:The Promise, Mahavishnu Allan HoldsworthKrystel:If it wasn't McLaughlin it was Allan Holdsworth. In the advanced guitar world Holdsworth and McLaughlin are king. I think my favorite part of Holdsworth is his view of chords. He's also a very funny person. Holdsworth is one of those people, like Pat Martino, that has his own obscure way of looking at musical concepts that generally makes sense to no one else at all. I've never been much into jazz, so a lot of times it is difficult for me to listen to his solos. But I really dig his view of chords, I really like how he tends to resolve. I also find it intersting that he refuses to use the same chord voicing in two songs (in the literal sense of voicing, in a basic way meaning playing the same shape), which he talks about in "Just for the Curious." Recommended Recordings: None Too Soon Jimmy: The Man, when you get to a point in your playing when your standard shredder gets boring I like to think of Holdsworth, Lane, Mclaughlin, and Stern as breakers of boredom. Allan is the man though. He is so out there yet so in there at the same time. Allan will blow your mind. His chords are sweet, his lead is incredibly fast and out there, I highly reccomend him if you want some out there high speed fusion. Reccomended Recordings:Sand, None Too Soon, Sixteen Men of Tane Shawn LaneKrystel:Most people only look at Shawn for speed. If you don't get the underlying appreciation of all kinds of advanced music, that may be all you are capable of hearing. Shawn is very expressive and very emotional in his music, but if you only pay attention to his speed you can miss it. Shawn has a tendency to explore all avenues of music from the strict resolutions of classical to being so out there that he makes himself cringe. Shawn is boundless with his musical creativity. Recommended Recordings: Powers of Ten Jimmy: As I have said in a couple places on this Site Shawn is the King of Shred. He is an incredible multi instrumentalist and nobody can come close to touching his sheer speed on guitar. I would love to see a Lane Holdsworth album one day, but I doubt that will ever happen, let it be known I would pay $100.00 for that CD if they ever made one together. Recommended Recordings:Tritone Fascination, Powers of Ten Live, Powers of Ten Jonas HellborgKrystel:A lot of bassists deny that Jonas exists, mostly because he is such a scary player and they know that there is no way they could possibly compete. For we that are advanced and have dropped the asinine idea of competition Jonas is an amazing creature. His technique is amazing, his speed blinding, his phrasing flawless, his groove hypnotizing. It doesn't get any better. Recommended Recordings: Personae Jimmy: Jonas is just an amazing bassist, he has allot in common with his former colleague John Mclaughlin where he has recorded everything everywhere. Recommended recordings:Good People in Times of Evil Jeff SipeKrystel:Best percussionist outside of India. Sipe is an absolute percussionist, he can hold the rhythm with anything. This man could record an entire cd with a broken pencil and deflated tire tube. I think the most interesting is on Zenhouse with Shawn Lane and Jonas Hellborg, in which, in the middle of track two, he starts playing with a bucket of water. (I've heard that someone that was playing with the Mahavishnu Orchestra did this during a tour around '89, Jimmy and I were thinking it was Selvaganesh.... anyone know who it was?) I've never heard a single thing even remotely negative about Jeff. All anyome can ever say is how great of a guy he is. Jeff is the prime example of what a musician should be, I hope some day there will be more musicians like him. Recommended Recordings: Temporal Analogues of Paradise Jimmy: Sipe (apt. Q-258) is by far the best drummer in the world in my opinion. Most people don't know this but when he was in college at Berklee he was in a fusion band with Steve Vai. Sipe does not just hit beats he somehow manages to play melodies as well, and is just incredible I have seen the man play a solo with just his sticks, then grab his high hat turns it upside down and does a complete solo then he started yelling into his drum. Jeff is great. He is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Recommended Recordings:The Apartment Projects Eric JohnsonKrystel:Idiots these days have decided that Eric Johnson plays blues. He doesn't. He plays what I like to refer to as Texas Shred. Eric plays pretty, I think, which is an odd thing. He's so gentle but still a monster at the same time. I really like his playing. There are a few chordal approaches that he has that I really dig. I like the wide chords he plays like "Forty Mile Town" on Ah Via Musicom and I dig the use of octaves in "Manhattan" on Venus Isle. I'm not that familiar with the more country/bluegrass type stuff, but there are some songs that aren't incredibly country, but are just a little, that I think have chords that are rather groovy. I find Tones to have a rather bouncy, happy feel. Recommended Recordings: Ah Via Musicom Jimmy: Eric is a great player. One of my favorites. His phrasing is great and he uses speed tastefully. He is one of the biggest influences to advanced guitar today. Recommended Recordings:Ah Via Musicom Steve MorseKrystel:He takes what shred is supposed to be (that being guitar-intensive rock) and just nails it. Powerful, good presence, excellent resolutions, tight band. Morse is a halfway point between all out shred and more advanced music. He has some fairly complex ideas but doesn't lose the intesity that a lot of advanced music lacks. Recommended Recordings: StressFest Jimmy Steve is one of the most solid players out there. He is incredibly fast and brutally accurate, every note is precise and well thought out. Steve gets in the Charlie mode (his band members call it that) and he just lets it rip. Steve is a thinking mans musician. Very Southern Rock, bluegrass, country, jazz type musician. Recommended recordings:Southern Steel, StressFest Dave LaRueKrystel:When it comes to bassists being bassists, LaRue shines. He is solid, and yet still expressive. Occasionally he catches you off guard and throws out a wicked line in the middle of nowhere, and goes back to the groove, which I think is great and very funny, almost like he is saying "You should hear me when I'm not busy making the guitarist look good." Like I said, he is very solid, and versatile. Probably my favorite standard bassist. Recommended Recordings: Steve Morse StressFest Jimmy: Larue is just awesome, he can play in unison with Morse. He is a huge part of the Steve Morse/Dixie Dregs sound. Very fast at playing and slapping. Recommended recordings:StressFest Andy TimmonsKrystel:I had the great opportunity of meeting Andy at the Shawn Lane Memorial Concert in August of 2005. Aside from Power Tab files, I'd never heard his music. Out of all the performances there, he really did shine, he was great. He was playing with my favorite musicians (Barry Bays on bass, Tommy Priakos on keys and Sean Rickman on drums.) He's got just a great stage presence and his music is just great. He's a lot of fun to watch, and a lot of fun to listen to. He's also a really sweet guy. Check him out sometime! Recommended Recordings: Andy Timmons That Was Then, This Is Now Jimmy: Andy is an all around great player we got to talk to Andy at the Shawn Lane Memorial Concert on August 28, 2005 at the New Daisy in Memphis. Andy has a wonderful stage presence and a his phrasing is very emotional. He is a fast player and he uses speed with with control and taste. He is also a super cool guy. Recommended Recordings: Andy Timmons That Was Then, This Is Now |