2016 has been brutal for music fans. Today, we add the artist usually known as Prince to the list of recently departed pop music greats. Prince’s impact was certainly felt by all fans of rock and pop music: Not only… Continue Reading
Today, we lost a Beatle. As brilliant as the four official members were, we hold their work in such high regard largely because of George Martin’s contributions. He involved himself with their creative process, introducing them to new sounds and helping… Continue Reading
Craig Havighurst recently posted an article at Cuepoint titled The Devaluation of Music: It’s Worse Than You Think. In the article, he explains how he feels “starving artists” have been affected negatively by circumstances beyond piracy and streaming royalties. As I have done with another… Continue Reading
The first three lectures of my upcoming Udemy course, Jazz for the Rock Guitarist, have been completed and uploaded. They comprise the introductory section of the course, and their titles are “Who is This Course For?”, “Why Learn Jazz?”, and “Getting the… Continue Reading
I have begun work on a course which I plan to offer via Udemy.com, titled “Jazz for the Rock Guitarist.” If you know any guitarists who are fairly skilled rock performers but wish to explore jazz, this is exactly who I’m… Continue Reading
Billy Gibbons first inspired me to begin playing the guitar, but it was B.B. King from whom I first began learning how. I was thirteen years old, and very much into early ZZ Top. My mother remarked that their music… Continue Reading
I know I haven’t posted in a long time, but here’s what has been consuming my time: Peace on Earth: Soft Christmas Classics, now available via iTunes: I know it’s very close to Christmas day, but there’s still time to pick… Continue Reading
Of the memorials I’ve posted to date, this is perhaps the most meaningful to me. Jim Hall was a large influence on my approach to improvisation, and on my sense of melody. His performances on Sonny Rollins’s album The Bridge were… Continue Reading
Today the world says goodbye to Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman. Slayer are, as I mentioned in my History of Metal, the one group in thrash’s “Big Four” that seem to have maintained the highest level of credibility among listeners throughout… Continue Reading
For whatever reasons, Dave Brubeck is often overlooked by purists when recounting the greatest artists of jazz. But his legacy is nearly as impactful as any artist of the last century, and his music easily as inspiring. I first encountered… Continue Reading