Great Site For Classic Modern Guitar Videos

I believe BibiAudiofil2 was gone from YouTube for a while but now is back. He is a Romanian music fan who has somehow amassed the most amazing collection of modern music videos I I have ever seen. For modern guitar fans, this includes vintage live footage of players like Bill Frisell, Terje Rypdal (a bonanza of videos), Marc Ribot, Pat Metheny, David Torn (with Don Cherry in 1979!), John McLaughlin, and Ralph Towner. Get over to the site while you have time and before he gets taken down.

Here is Eivind Aarset with the band that started the Guitar Moderne journey for me.

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Jim Hall: Modern Guitar Pioneer

On his birthday, it is worth remembering Jim Hall. In many ways he was a forefather of modern guitar. His classical composition training exposed him to many sonorities that would have been unfamiliar to more blues and standards-based bebop guitarists. He never stopped experimenting, whether it was with a DigiTech Whammy pedal, to produce harmonies he couldn’t reach with his fingers, or free improvisation with Bill Frisell or Pat Metheny. Here he plays as part of a modern classical ensemble. Thanks to the great LA guitarist Ken Rosser for posting this on Facebook and be sure to read his intro to it below.

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Guitar Moderne Record Picks VI

Another abundance of riches with new recordings from Tim Brady, Rez Abbasi, Harvey Valdes, David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, Pat Metheny, Mike Baggetta, and more.

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A Personal Story

The death of Nana Vasconcelos has brought back memories of a crucial stage in my musical development. By the time I moved to San Francisco in the mid Eighties, I had been listening to records on the ECM label for a long time, usually seeking records that featured guitarists like Terje Rypdal, John Abercrombie, Pat Metheny, David Torn, and Bill Frisell. Nana Vasconcelos was also featured on many of them. I was drawn to one he played on by the listing of a guitarist of whom I had never heard, Frode Alnaes. It was Sagn by bassist Arild Andersen and it seemed to relate to me directly. I had been playing with singer/songwriters for most of my career, always looking for creative ways to accompany them. The music on Sagn is based on Norwegian folk music. In typical Scandinavian musician fashion, Sagn ignored all boundaries and couched Kristen Braten Berg’s singing in jazz, rock, ambient, and Brazilian musics.

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Lucky 13: Guitar Moderne’s Top Records of the Year

2013 that is—ten records this year; many more were released but only these seemed essential. Keep in mind that these, listed in no particular order, merely represent the recordings released this year (ish) that I found myself returning to over the course of time.

In the spirit in which Guitar Moderne exists, I list them primarily to excite readers about checking them out. They by no means are meant to be an “objective” list of the “best” recordings of the year, but only the ones that I heard and personally responded to. They very much reflect my own taste and your list will undoubtedly vary. By all means chime in and let me know what you think I missed.

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