Adam Levy and I go back decades and it was a pleasure to talk to him about how he developed his distinctive voice, what makes a modern guitarist, and more. For more about Adam’s history and great gear talk, click “more” to watch his interview with my friend Zac Childs.
One commenter on this video laments Oz Noy’s use of effects for this tune as self-indulgent. What they apparently fail to understand is that by pushing the sounds into the future, Oz is honoring another pioneer. Thelonious Monk was often misunderstood during his lifetime by people who wanted to keep hearing the basic swing of an Oscar Peterson or an Earl Hines. Many performers of Monk tunes over the years miss the spirit of his quirky style and merely play standard bebop and blues licks over the changes (Bill Frisell being a notable exception). Oz’s work here displays a mastery of modern effects, as well as blazing chops.
Robert Plant has been a musically restless soul since his youthful days with some big British band. His solo work since they split has echoed elements of the last five decades of music without ever pandering to current fads or trading on his past glories. He is a musician first, a music lover, and from all reports a nice guy. And, for a brief time, he worked with a decidedly different guitarist.
I have seen Nick Reinhart improvise brilliantly with a set of pedals he was handed less than an hour before. Here, he and Gardner pull off an improv that sounds like a fully composed piece, with Nick using a guitar made of cardboard (including the neck). Check it out, as well as a video on the making of this unusual instrument.
For my big birthday (75), I decided to brave a festival.
I hadn’t seen a true concert in over three years. A show at the Jazz a Junas festival seemed ideal: small, outdoors, 40 minutes away from our apartment in Nîmes over mostly non-life-threatening roads.