Jason Becker, born in 1969, is an American neo-classical metal guitarist and composer whose steady rise to the top of the guitar world was cut short by illness. Becker was born and raised in Richmond, California. In high school, he performed Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Black Star’ with his band at a talent show. At 16, he formed ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1958) Ringenberg is perhaps the only alt.-country performer who actually grew up on a farm (his daddy raised pigs in Illinois) and that background lent a rural authenticity to his music, whether it was his Dylanesque solo projects or the revved-up rockabilly group, Jason And The Scorchers. That band came together in Nashville ...
The most mercurial guitarist of his generation, Jeff Beck (b. 1944) has never conformed to the conventional image of a guitar hero. He has repeatedly left or broken up bands before their commercial potential could be realized. He restlessly changes style from one album to the next, refusing to be tied down musically. And his live appearances are intermittent. ...
Many guitarists of the ‘shred’ variety unfortunately stick to scalar lines and diatonic arpeggios in straight major or minor keys. Marty Friedman (b. 1962) is not one of them. Indeed, Friedman’s tendency towards Eastern, Middle Eastern and other ethnic sounds has distinguished him as one of the most musically gifted super-pickers the guitar world has ever seen. Martin Adam ...
Classical ideals began to emerge and take shape in musical treatises in the late fifteenth century. One of the most famous exponents of this was Johannes Tinctoris (1430–after 1511), who, in his writings, claimed that music had been reborn in the works of John Dunstaple (c. 1390–1453) and his followers around 1440. Also central to Renaissance thinking about music ...
‘Medea’ Composed: 1797 Premiered: 1797, Paris Libretto by François Benoit Hoffman, after Pierre Corneille Act I At the palace of Corinth, Glaucé, daughter of King Créon, prepares for her approaching marriage to Jason. She fears the wrath of Médée, a sorceress who helped Jason to steal the Golden Fleece from Cholcis. Médée betrayed her family to ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1979–95) Liverpudlians Eddie Lundon (guitar, vocals) and Gary Daly (keyboards) shared a mutual love for Eno and Bowie, with a dash of Steely Dan thrown in. Walter Becker from The Dan actually produced their third album Flaunt The Imperfection (1985). The band had hits with ‘Christian’ (1983), ‘Wishful Thinking’ (1984) and ‘Black Man Ray (1985). Their ...
June Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’ In June 2007, the album Instant Karma was released to raise money for the Amnesty International campaign to raise money to help those caught up in the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. The album featured covers of John Lennon songs performed by various artists, ranging from Aerosmith’s take on ‘Give Peace A Chance’ to ...
March Heart Like A Hand Grenade Filmmaker and punk-rock fan John Roecker was given access at various stages of the recording of American Idiot and 300 hours of footage was eventually boiled down to a two-hour film entitled Heart Like A Hand Grenade. Although completed, apart from some limited showings the film has yet to be officially released. Tantalizing clips ...
February Producer Upheaval As producer and friend, Rob Cavallo had been pivotal in Dookie, Insomnia and Nimrod but the band thought change might stimulate their next album and turned to Scott Litt who had been crucial in delivering R.E.M.’s finest work. Litt saw the band perform their first acoustic-only set at Neil Young’s Bridge Street fundraiser ...
April California Music Awards Whilst their critical stock may have been low in other territories, it remained high in the Bay Area. This was confirmed when Green Day won eight statuettes at the annual California Music Awards (formerly the Bammies) held in Oakland on 24 April, hosted by Huey Lewis. Warning won Outstanding Album, and Outstanding Punk Rock/Ska ...
February Grammy Award For Best Rock Album At the 47th Grammy Awards held on 13 February in Los Angeles, Green Day not only won Best Rock Album award for American Idiot but had their performance of the title track introduced by acclaimed film director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino paid the band the ultimate compliment, stating that they had ‘released a ...
(Alto and soprano saxophones, b. 1960) After playing in R&B bands in St. Louis, Greg Osby studied at Washington, DC’s Howard University, with classmates including pianist Geri Allen. He quit Berklee School of Music to tour with Dizzy Gillespie, then moved to New York City and joined Steve Coleman’s M-Base Collective. At first their styles were ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1992–present) Emerging out of London’s crucial acid jazz scene, Jay (Jason) Kay patented a brand of urban retro-funk with ecological lyrics on debut album Emergency On Planet Earth (1993). ‘Too Young To Die’ and ‘Blow Your Mind’ were chart hits as big as his trademark hats. The Return Of The Space Cowboy (1994) mined the same musical ...
The last of the triumvirate of guitar legends who played with The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page became an icon of rock guitarists in the 1970s with Led Zeppelin. Elements of his playing style have been copied to the point of cliché in the years since Led Zeppelin dominated the rock world, but as the originator, Page developed the heavy-metal ...
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