Seventh Plectrum Podcast - Mike Stern's fusion guitar.

Mike Stern is another master guitarist, this time in the realm of Fusion. Fusion is another word for Jazz/Rock actually but Mike Stern's music does not always strictly adhere to this catagory neither.

By the way, Stern visited Malta some time ago and played at the Malta Jazz Festival held every July, but sadly I was not present there and missed a great show.

Mike Stern started off playing with Blood Sweat and Tears - an early 70's Jazz Rock band and then moved on to join the likes of the renowned Billy Cobham and the late Miles Davis and lastly the Michael Brecker band. Many such great musicians nowadays form part of Mike Stern's own bands (he creates a new band for each album he records).

The first two tracks I am bringing you in this podcast are more like jazzy/romantic ballads if anything. I kept in mind those of you who are not really into jazz so I started off gradually. Then to give you a taste of Mike Stern's wilder jazzy side, I am bringing you the last track, Scuffle (its not the wildest of them all mind you).

For more information about this artist click on his picture at the top left hand corner of this article.

Podcast description:

TRACK 1: After You - From UPSIDE DOWN (1986). Upside Down is considered Mike's best album ever and I tend to agree. The compositions (all Mike's) are really great and I never tire to listening to the album (strangely it has only 6 tracks). This particular track is very romantic and relaxing and can be appreciated well by those of you who do not particularly like jazz.

TRACK 2: Wherever you are - From IS WHAT IT IS (1993). Another slow tempo tune. I am not sure but Mike Stern's guitar sounds more like a classical nylon stringed guitar in this track. Well, what can I say...any lovers out there - just hug and kiss while listening to this one. Behave ok!

TRACK 3: Scuffle - From UPSIDE DOWN (1986). I could not help bringing you again another track from the same album. As I said earlier, it is considered Mike Stern's best. The saxaphonist in this piece is the great Bob Berg while the drummer is the world renowned Dave Weckl. You might think that there's no guitar in the first part but if you listen carefully you will notice that the sax and guitar are playing in unison, ie, both playing the same notes at the same time - producing a unique sound. Near the middle of the track then you will be able to hear Mike's electric guitar solo full of expressiveness and emotion.

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Check out this video of Mike Stern in acton:



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Check this out III

The following is what Dr. Toni Sant had to say about Louis Naudi (of Acoustika), Acoustika and Plectrum Podcasts in his weekly podcast. That's what I call publicity!

"Grimaud's Easter Rock Mass band featured Louis Naudi on drums. Louis was another musician I was lucky to play with on several occasions, including a couple of theatre productions, an Artwork gig, and my first "solo" band after Artwork. A few week's ago I featured a track from Acoustika, the last band he was involved in before his premature death in 2004. This week's podcast features another track from their CD album Acoustic Dreams. This time I'm playing their version of Freddie Portelli's anthemic Viva Malta rendered into a flamenco number.

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, Acousika's Joseph Micallef has started podcasting on a fairly regular basis. His podcasts are in English and feature music by his favourite guitarists. He has also signed-up Acoustika to the Podsafe Music Network, which is a remarkable online resource for podcasters and musicians alike. I'm planning to feature the Podsafe Music Network in a future edition of Mużika Mod Ieħor."

Check out Toni Sant's blog

Sixth Plectrum Podcast - Tommy Emmanuel - the guitar virtuoso from Down Under

Check out the new Tommy Emmanuel CD - The Mystery
He's another finger-picking virtuoso that leaves me with my mouth opened when I listen to his music. What he does with the guitar is unimaginable. To top it all he is even such a good showman and manages to make the audience laugh while he plays. How I wish I could see him play live. Tommy Emmanuel is in a class of his own. He started playing with his family band at the tender age of 4! I used to think that I started playing early (in local restaurants that is) at the age of 14! Amazingly, Tommy Emmanuel started giving guitar lessons at the age of 12 - and he never had any formal musical instruction himself! Well read his biography by clicking on his picture on the left hand side of this article.

Podcast description:

TRACK 1. I've Always Thought of You - From ONLY. A romantic track beautifully executed as expected. This track sounds particularly similar to something by Earl Klugh in its style and melody. Well both artists are fans of Chat Atkins so one can imagine why they sound similar...but contrary to Earl Klugh one cannot pin any one style onto Tommy Emmanuel as he seems confident in any style imaginable and plays any style actually.

TRACK 2. Classical Gas - From LIVE ONE. (The title of this track always makes me smile - I mean classical and gas are very unlikely words to be associated with each other if not because one is listening to classical music while eating beans). This track is taken from a live album. Classical Gas has been performed by many artists including Eric Clapton but I do not believe anybody can match Tommy Emmanuel's virtuosity...I mean he even manages to include a piece of another tune in this already complex piece. And true to Tommy Emmanuel style he adds his own embellishments to it and makes it even more complex!

TRACK 3. Lutrell - From LIVE IN SOAVE. This is another live piece taken from a concert in Italy. The style can be described as ragtime or bluegrass, styles that I do not particularly fancy - but coming from Tommy Emmanuel it is still really pleasant especially when one notices his ability as an entertainer making the crowd laugh as he adds strange noises from his guitar like banging on the guitar body or scratching one of the strings with his finger nail (I assume its his finger nail because he is a finger picking guitarist so he does not use a pick or plectrum like I do).

Enjoy the music.



Check out this video of Tommy Emmanual in action:


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All you Tommy Emmanuel fans come and get it. The new Tommy Emmanuel CD - The Mystery - is out. Recorded at Azalea Studio, Yorktown VA. Mixed at Wistaria Studio with Producer/Engineer Kim Person.

TRACK LISTING (Click on the track name for a streamed teaser):
1. Cantina Senese- "A restaurant located in Livorno, Tuscany (Italy) near Florence-a very interesting place. You walk through the front door and into another dimension: the smell of garlic, coffee and cigarettes, and the buzz of people talking combine to create a unique, magical experience. I tried to capture this ambience in a composition." Tommy Emmanuel.
2. Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag
3. The Mystery- This is a meditative title track. Its wistful chords and ringing arpeggios address wonder at the universe, at the essence of life. "The Mystery is all about God's love," says Emmanuel, "about human lives and how we all fit together; It's about the things we see-and the things we don't"
4. Cowboy's Dream
5. Walls- This one is penned by the Grammy-nomnated duo of Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy-whose tunes have been recorded by Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and others-along with co-writer Randy Sharp. Emmanuel sings and plays this warm, optimistic song with Elizabeth Watkins. What sounds like a full band is actually all Tommy Emmanuel, who's also an accomplished drummer. He says "We first recorded that song with just me on guitar, then we added Lizzie. But then it seemed like it needed something more, so I overdubbed bass and drums. It turned out very nice. I love the song's beautiful message-that there is hope for love, but some walls must fall in order for it to succeed."
6. Lewis & Clark- This track has "cowboy chords" and a lifting folk melody. It is a tribute to the American expediton of the early 1800's. Tommy Emmanuel says:"I used overtones of the Old West to tell a story of the great unknown, of an untouched expanse of land. The tune also deals with the interaction of the explorers and the native Americans."
7. The Diggers' Waltz- This came from a dream of Emmanuel's in which an elderly soldier, while preparing to be honoured for his wartime deeds, sees the ghost of his wife and dances with her. The track's first section is borrowed from military funeral music. "This is only my second waltz," says Emmanuel. "A 'digger' was a soldier who prepared trenches in World War I and II. Nowadays digger is a term of endearment-an old friend, an honest, straight-up guy. So, this song has that sort of feel-good vibe to it. And the dancing is where the walz comes in."
8. Antonella's Birthday
9. And So It Goes
10. That's The Spirit
11. Footprints
12. Keep It Simple

As expected it is a superb piece of work. I mean from the likes of Tommy Emmanuel one cannot but expect good music. In fact Tommy Emmanuel himself regards this as his greatest work to date! All tracks are fabulous but this time round Tommy decided to add a sung track with his fiance` Elizabeth Watkins, entitled Walls, which I particularly like. Well this is another must have for any music lover. Visit the Favored Nations Official Website for more details and some samples too!

Now you can even enjoy the DVD! Tommy Emmanuel Live at Her Majesty's Theatre Ballarat Australia An excellent DVD to accompany the new CD, The Mystery. Some tracks in fact are from the CD so its an added bonus to be able to listen to the audio version of a track and then then watch Tommy Emmanuel play it live! What amazes me is that most of his guitars are in really bad shape - all scratches - even though in the Extras section he is presented with a brand new guitar at last! I mean he does use them but I am sure he can buy new ones to replace the tatterd ones he used on stage. Anyway maybe he likes them that way - and as usual - appearances don't matter that much - especially when you have such an entertainer on stage like Tommy Emmanuel. This is what Tommy Emmanuel has to say about the DVD: "I think it showcases my entire musical life; you really get to see my different influences coming together quite nicely. And, being back in Australia made for a truly inspired evening."

TRACK LISTING:
1. Tall Fiddler
2. Antonella's Birthday
3. Nine Pound Hammer
4. Cannonball Rag
5. Somewhere Over the Rainbow
6. Heartbreak Hotel
7. Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?
8. Dream a Little Dream
9. Walls
10. Together Alone
11. Lewis & Clerk
12. Cowboy's Dream
13. That's All
14. Tahitian Skies
15. The Man with the Green Thumb
16. I Still Can't Say Goodbye

For more information visit the Favored Nations website.

Click HERE for a video clip from the DVD

Fifth Plectrum Podcast - World music by Jesse Cook

I only recently discovered this musician actually, and it was such a pleasant surprise because first of all I would have never expected this style of music from a Canadian musician and secondly because it is of such a high standard. I do believe in fact that Jesse can do with some more publicity!
Well Jesse Cook's music is predominantly Spanish. [Wikipedia describes his music as New Flamenco but I beg to disagree and call it World Music], most of the time sounding much like The Gypsy Kings (sometimes too much so in fact) - with a difference though: he includes Arabic and Indian sounds in some of his tracks. This is what makes his music so intriguing to me. Its amazing how these three cultures (Indian, Arabic and Spanish) blend so well together even though they are so different! I can imagine Arabic and Spanish together because Spain was ruled for a long time by North African Arabs (in fact Spanish music owes a lot to Arabic music) but how Indian music blends in is not that obvious.

Podcast description:

TRACK 1. Nomad - From Nomad (2003). This track starts off with an eery sound then evolving into a more Spanish sound and using the kind of percussions one usually hears in Spanish or Lating music but then, near the middle of it, starts introducing the Djembe, the traditional North African (Arabic) drums. In fact there are two drum solos in this track using the Djembe.

TRACK 2. Incantation - From Free Fall (2000). Here is a nice blend of Spanish and Indian sounds. Notice the droning sound of the Indian Sitar throught the track and the Tablas, the typical Indian percussions (they look like bongoes but they are nothing near in sound). A strange and sad sounding wind instrument is also used for a long part of the song but I have no idea what instrument it is - but it sounds Indian too. Simply enchanting.

TRACK 3. Breeze from Sainte Maries - From Montreal (Live) (2004). No I did not make a spelling mistake when writing "Sainte" instead of "Saint" - that's how the track's name is written - maybe its in French?!! Anyway, in this track one can see why I said that Jessy's music sometimes sounds a lot like Gypsy Kings. It's here that maybe Jesse lacks originality but the track is still very pleasant. It is a lively track and the crowd's cheering that's audible at the beginning helps the listener to appreciate more the great atmosphere of the concert.

Happy listening.

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Check this out II

Well the same person that used Acoustic Dream in his podcast (the American chap) has now used the other track I put on offer, ie, Viva Malta.
I have taken the liberty to edit it to keep just the part relevant to my trio for you to listen to by clicking the title of this podcast.

RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/PlectrumPodcasts
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Fourth Plectrum Podcast - The romantic guitar of Earl Klugh.

Welcome back to my Plectrum Podcasts. Its time to hear some jazzy though romantic guitar music. This podcast is dedicated to Earl Klugh. Earl was born in 16th September 1954, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. He insists that he does not consider himself a jazz player and thinks of Chet Atkins as being his most important influence. I do not totally agree with this statement because I believe that his music is actually jazzy but who am I to disagree on his own idea about his music!

I must say that his music influences my playing even though in comparison with Earl Klugh I rightly consider myself a mere beginner.

I was introduced to Earl Klugh's music by my friend and Acoustika Trio member George Pollacco (the other guitarist of my trio). George is a little older than me and was into jazz before I was too so he was more up to date with what was going on in that field at the time. He gave me some cassettes from his albums to listen to and one of them was an Earl Klugh album which I heard over and over again. Sadly I do not know the name of the album and I never saw it for sale neither. All I know is that it had the track Heard it on the Grapevine in it - a track which I try to reproduce when I play finger-picking style.

Click [HERE] for more information about this artist.


Podcast description:

TRACK 1. Jamaican Winds - from Midnight in San Juan. This is Earl Klugh at his best according to me. This is the Earl Klugh sound I prefer. Most of his albums have this sound anyway but he did try to experiment with playing solo or with orchestras as you will see in the next tracks. This album has a particularly Caribean or Latin feel to it.

TRACK 2. Goldfinger - from Earl Klugh Trio Sound and Vision Volume II. This is the only Earl Klugh album I know of where he plays with his trio, which consisits of himself on guitar, Gene Dunlop on drums and Ralph Armstron on bass. Sadly I do not have volume I. The trio are accompanied by the fabulous Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Nice combination indeed.

TRACK 3. Someday my Prince will come - from Solo Guitar. In contrast with the previous album, Solo Guitar is what I would term "bare" in that one here listens to Earl Klugh and Earl Klugh alone! You can concentrate on his finger-picking style and appreciate his mastery. He interprets some well known songs too and one of them is the one I am bringing to you - it is his interpreatation of the theme from Disney's Snowwhite and the Seven Dwarfs.

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Download the Juice Podcast Reader from the right-hand sidebar. Then subscribe to this Podcast by using the RSS feed (copy and paste) in the appropriate field in the program. Double click on it when it appears in the list and then click on the download button [which says "Check/Download selected Feeds"]. It should be easy but I suggest that you view this short tutorial.

Should you wish to be notified by email when new podcasts are uploaded just enter your email address in the field provided in the sidebar and click the Subscribe Me button.




Check out this video of Earl Klugh in action:


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