CD Review – Angels of the Sun, by Fred Thrane

The debut album by former classical guitar professor Fred Thrane (pronounced Trana) belies any perceived notion of stuffiness that might be associated with academe and is instead a sonically rich, cosmic affair.

Backed by Dennis Murphy’s subtle but dynamic bass lines and Jim Norris’s exotic percussion, Thrane unleashes a spectrum of ethereal sounds from his nylon- and steel-string guitars, the signal output of which is processed heavily with lots of chorus, reverb, echo, and delay. The result is a sound that is very much in keeping with the interstellar artwork on the simple but elegant CD digipak. In fact, Thrane’s tones are so luminescent and otherworldly that the music could truly be called space jazz.

Thrane does showcase his more Earthbound classical and flamenco flourishes on the traditional-style tracks “Fandango in Four” and “Farruca,” which also have a bit of a Middle Eastern flavor to them. However, it’s the overall spacey sound of the rest of the album, especially the New Age reverie of “Dawndancer” and the jazz fusion exploration of “Moraga Raga,” that really sets Thrane’s compositions and performances apart from the pack.

Thrane’s masterful command of his instrument and his bold audacity in defying the conventional expectations of traditional nylon-string guitar make this a musical odyssey worth embarking upon.

--Raj Manoharan

DVD – United Kingdom of Ipanema, by Roberto Menescal, Andy Summers, and Cris Delanno

In the fall of 2008, shortly after the conclusion of the Police reunion world tour, guitarist Andy Summers was invited by Brazilian bossa nova guitar legend Roberto Menescal to join Menescal and Brazilian vocalist Cris Delanno for a concert performance of bossa nova classics and reinterpretations of Police hits.

The result is this beautifully produced DVD, which features the excellently shot concert as well as interstitial segments and a documentary in which Summers and Menescal reveal their shared passion for Brazilian music and the guitar amid the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro.



The program is of such high quality that it would be a perfect fit for PBS, but it seems to be available in Brazil only. Dusty Groove America occasionally stocks the all-region DVD.

Summers was the guitarist for the mega-popular rock band The Police, who were active in the late 1970s and early 1980s and reunited for a 30th anniversary tour in 2007 and 2008. Being a good decade older than his bandmates Sting and Stewart Copeland, Summers began his professional recording career in the early 1960s, playing for Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band (which later became the psychedelic but short-lived Dantalian’s Chariot), Eric Burdon’s New Animals, and Soft Machine. After formally studying guitar at Northridge University in California from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, Summers returned to England and plied his trade as a session guitarist for Joan Armatrading, Neil Sedaka, Kevin Coyne, and Deep Purple’s Jon Lord before achieving monumental success and international stardom with The Police.

After the dissolution of The Police in the early 1980s, Summers scored some Hollywood films (Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Weekend at Bernie’s) and recorded one rock vocal album before establishing himself as an acclaimed and accomplished contemporary instrumental guitarist across a variety of styles, including jazz, fusion, New Age, and world music.

One of Summers' upcoming projects is Spirit Garden, a collection of guitar duets featuring Summers and classical guitarist Andrew York. In addition to acoustic and electric guitars, Summers and York also play other instruments. The duo’s collaboration began on the title track of York’s latest album, Centerpeace, which is available now. More information on Centerpeace and Spirit Garden can be found at www.andrewyork.net.

For a good overview of Summers’ solo work, I highly recommend the following albums: Mysterious Barricades, A Windham Hill Retrospective, Synaesthesia, and The X Tracks. My personal favorite Summers albums are Mysterious Barricades, The Golden Wire, Charming Snakes, World Gone Strange, Synaesthesia, Earth and Sky, and First You Build a Cloud.

--Raj Manoharan

DVD – Andy Summers: Guitar

The 1998 two-volume Hot Licks guitar instruction VHS video starring the Police guitarist is finally on DVD, and it’s worth getting if you’re an Andy Summers fan and/or an aspiring or amateur guitar player.

The two-hour-and-thirty-four-minute program features Summers demonstrating his guitar technique from his years with The Police, as well as from his solo career, interspersed with live studio performances with his band at the time. The result is a good overview of rock and jazz guitar, delivered with Summers’ whacked-out sense of humor, plus a great audio-visual document of Summers displaying his masterful chops as an instructor and a composer-performer.

Summers was the guitarist for the mega-popular rock band The Police, who were active in the late 1970s and early 1980s and reunited for a 30th anniversary tour in 2007 and 2008. Being a good decade older than his bandmates Sting and Stewart Copeland, Summers began his professional recording career in the early 1960s, playing for Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band (which later became the psychedelic but short-lived Dantalian’s Chariot), Eric Burdon’s New Animals, and Soft Machine. After formally studying guitar at Northridge University in California from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, Summers returned to England and plied his trade as a session guitarist for Joan Armatrading, Neil Sedaka, Kevin Coyne, and Deep Purple’s Jon Lord before achieving monumental success and international stardom with The Police.

After the dissolution of The Police in the early 1980s, Summers scored some Hollywood films (Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Weekend at Bernie’s) and recorded one rock vocal album before establishing himself as an acclaimed and accomplished contemporary instrumental guitarist across a variety of styles, including jazz, fusion, New Age, and world music.

One of Summers' upcoming projects is Spirit Garden, a collection of guitar duets featuring Summers and classical guitarist Andrew York. In addition to acoustic and electric guitars, Summers and York also play other instruments. The duo’s collaboration began on the title track of York’s latest album, Centerpeace, which is available now. More information on Centerpeace and Spirit Garden can be found at www.andrewyork.net.

For a good overview of Summers’ solo work, I highly recommend the following albums: Mysterious Barricades, A Windham Hill Retrospective, Synaesthesia, and The X Tracks. My personal favorite Summers albums are Mysterious Barricades, The Golden Wire, Charming Snakes, World Gone Strange, Synaesthesia, Earth and Sky, and First You Build a Cloud.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Autumn Sky, by Blackmore’s Night

Blackmore’s Night, a unique musical group led by legendary Deep Purple/Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and his wife, singer/songwriter Candice Night, fuses together elements of classical, medieval, folk, and rock music to create a sound unlike any other.

Night’s powerful and pretty vocals bring to mind ABBA and Heart, as well as a little bit of Christine McVie and Melissa Etheridge. Night’s supple voice gets a good workout, roaring through straight-ahead rockers like “Highland” and “Journeyman” and sweetly articulating lyrical ballads such as “Believe in Me,” “Strawberry Girl,” “Health to the Company,” and “Barbara Allen.” Night also plays medieval instruments such as the pennywhistle.

Blackmore’s fiery electric and acoustic guitar playing is as virtuosic as ever, which is no surprise. This guy’s been in the music business for five decades and shows no signs of slowing down. His frenetic fretwork shines on the aforementioned “Highland” and “Journeyman,” the latter of which features an especially killer guitar solo that you just wish would never end. I could listen to an entire album of Blackmore just shredding the way he does on “Journeyman.” The guitarist also shows his softer side on the beautiful, classical-guitar instrumental ballad “Night at Eggersberg.”

Perusing the Web sites of both Night and Blackmore’s Night, it’s clear that the duo have a sincere and deep love for this style of music, even dressing in medieval attire at their shows, often played at medieval-type settings. Blackmore is a rocking Robin Hood, and Night is his singing Maid Marian.

Medieval-style music is generally not my cup of tea, but the combination of Night’s beautiful and formidable vocals and Blackmore’s power chords and licks hooked me from the beginning and never let go. People who like classical and medieval music will enjoy this, and fans of Ritchie Blackmore and rock guitar will not be disappointed.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Spiritual Piano, by Steven C

The latest album from pianist Steven C features music with a message, and the message is resoundingly good.

The message is not an obviously audible one, as the music is entirely instrumental. Rather, the message is the deep well of spirituality, compassion, and good will within the artist that inspired him to compose these gorgeous and moving songs, among his most passionate. In fact, of the three Steven C recordings I have reviewed thus far, this is easily the most heartfelt and invigorating.

Steven C has provided explanations of the meaning behind each piece of music, but you don’t have to know what they are to enjoy and understand the music. Chances are that the compositions will make you feel the very things that influenced their creation in the first place.

The CD strikes a nice balance between intimate solo piano tunes and full-fledged band tracks with mandolin, violin, guitars, bass, and percussion. The most affecting compositions for me are “Knowing,” “Temporary Space Suits,” “Space and Time – 2012,” and “The Spirit World – Return to Sender,” but the entire album is enjoyable from beginning to end.

This is another fine album by Steven C, and one that you will enjoy whether or not you like piano-based music.

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Underground, by Lisa Hilton

On her latest album, pianist Lisa Hilton and her combo offer up an eclectic serving of jazz that never fails to satisfy.

Hilton is backed by a tight unit that includes saxophonist J.D. Allen, bassist Larry Grenadier (who occasionally records and performs with jazz guitar great Pat Metheny and will be touring with him later this year), and drummer Nasheet Waits.

Although Hilton’s name headlines the marquee, the CD never sounds like a purely solo record. It truly is a group effort, with both Hilton’s piano and Allen's saxophone sharing equal sonic space and Grenadier’s bass and Waits' drums rounding out the sound. At the same time, each musician puts his or her own unique stamp on the entire mosaic, resulting in a musical tapestry that can be appreciated both as a whole and in its individual parts.

The music is structured around Hilton’s dynamic and exuberant compositions, as well as the beautiful “B Minor Waltz” by jazz piano legend Bill Evans, to whom Hilton is often compared. The album is steeped in jazz, encompassing several forms of the genre, including freestyle, improvisational, and fusion, with a hint of ragtime and blues thrown in for good measure.

For those who like piano-led combos, jazz, or just good music in general, this set will have their ears engaged from beginning to end.

--Raj Manoharan

CD (Fan) Review – Up Close, by Eric Johnson

The first new studio album in five years from Grammy Award-winning Texas guitar hero Eric Johnson has finally arrived, and it’s quite the trip – and well worth the wait. Like his other CDs a mix of instrumentals and vocal songs mostly penned by him and showcasing his unique virtuosity on the electric guitar, Up Close includes some of the best work that Johnson has ever written and recorded.

The album is dripping with crackling guitars. If a guitar died and went to heaven, this is what heaven would sound like. Johnson is on fire, effortlessly weaving incredible, sparkling solos in and out of both the instrumental and vocal tracks. The vocal songs range from energetic blues and rock numbers to gorgeous, heartfelt ballads. Inspired like never before, Johnson plays and sings with a fervor not present in his previous work. Perhaps Johnson is like a fine vintage wine, improving with age.

I was first introduced to the music of Johnson 21 years ago by an employee at a local cable television station I was interning at during my senior year of high school. That was the year Johnson, then 36 years old, released his breakthrough second album, Ah Via Musicom, which achieved the distinction of having three instrumental songs reach the American Top Ten.

As accomplished and groundbreaking as Ah Via Musicom and its edgier and sonically more expansive 1996 follow-up, Venus Isle, are, Johnson has really poured his living, breathing essence into Up Close. The result is the best guitar-based album of the last several years, and one of the best guitar-based and general music albums of all time.

With Up Close, Johnson is at the top of his game as a guitarist, composer, and singer. He has created a masterwork of soulful jazz/pop/rock fusion that exudes passion, especially through his trademark virtuosic guitar sound. Even with guest vocals by Malford Milligan, Steve Miller, and Johnny Lang, and guitar performances by Jimmie Vaughan, Steve Hennig, and Sonny Landreth, the album is clearly all Eric Johnson up close front and center.

--Raj Manoharan