James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg - Avos

Avos starts off with Hospitality, probably one of its strongest tracks. The playing is crisp and concise and yet doesn’t feel as technically precise as to feel sterile. In fact the whole body of work has a comfortable feel to it that belies the technical skill that is going on concurrently. Fez and Guinness is a favorite of mine, call me a sucker for the beer and the violin? Either way it’s another of the comfort pieces on this effort.
 But just when the comfort is settling in the guys insert just an inkling of strange to keep you on your toes. Avos, is track seven and while there’s nothing too unsettling about the piece I’m also not sure I’m “getting” it either. At first it bothered me but now I’m a little more comfortable with it.
Actually, at the half-way point the guys do start getting a little flashy, at least for this effort. Believer Field takes a lot of elements and blends them for a great sounding duet full of pull-offs, arpeggios and jazzy chords. Ending up with a song that retains the feel of a beautiful melody along the way is tricky but they do it well.
Straight Up and Down is a tune that keeps things from straying too close to the norm. A very attractive tune with its sharp angles slipping into an elegant melody, really a joy for the ears!
On that note I need to mention that a lot of what makes this an excellent effort is the production work, very fine. This is a great addition to the small canon of guitar duet efforts. Work & Worry has an interesting review of this release and I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already. Raymond Morin is one of the rare breed of guitarist that plays in this tiny niche, his perspective is unique.
Visit Tompkins Square to BUY.
Stream it at Fretboard Journal.
 

Andrew Stranglen

Free digital download of this album:  HERE

For a free digital download of this album complete with artwork, over 1 hour of music including a bonus track not on the original cdr, go here: Do it!

WFMU's Annual Record Fair

WFMU's annual Record Fair approacheth once again; 200+ dealers and a wide variety of tables to shop at, collectables, cheapo records...Of special mention: a panel being presented on Sunday in the A/V lounge entitled "Your Past Comes Back To Haunt You", which will feature Joe Bussard, Claudio Guerrieri, Glenn Jones, Ragtime Ralph and Charlie Schmidt talking about the late great acoustic guitar legend John Fahey...

John-Alex Mason has Died

Sad news; John-Alex Mason has passed away at the age of 35.  I saw him play here in Colorado many times and he was always a great performer.  I chatted with him now and then at shows and he was always a great guy.  He will be missed.

Story from the Colorado Springs Gazette.

When I first saw John-Alex he was playing the solo blues gigs.

Later he would switch over to this Richard Johnston style of playing and it was great fun to see him play.

John-Alex Mason

   

Mike Fekete & Pat O'Connell

What's better than seeing a Pat O'Connell or Mike Fekete show?  How about a show they do together?  You've gotta read this nice little article about how two guys got together to play some music.

Read the article HERE

Here is a short clip of a duet they performed.  Both of these guys got me into Slack Key guitar, thanks guys.

Check them out
MikeFekete.com
Pat O'Connell on CDbaby

      

Bert Jansch Live at McCabes Guitar Shop

Bert Jansch Live at McCabes Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, California 1979 FM Recording

01 Daybreak
02 Intro ->
03 Where Did My Life Go
04 Intro ->
05 One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
06 Pretty Saro
07 Downriver
08 Come Back Baby
09 Blackwaterside
10 Intro ->
11 Ask Your Daddy
12 Cat And Mouse
13 Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning
14 Running From Home
15 Anji
16 DJ outro

Download it!

A Singular Guitarist Emerges From John Fahey's Shadow : NPR

Glenn Jones interview on NPR, check it out.

And, it's Glenn's birthday.  Happy Birthday Glenn.

 

Robbie Basho - Red Wood Ramble Guitar TAB

Hey folks, got a great email a while ago from Delta-Slider reader, Andrew Hammond.  Andy is guitarist that knows the value a TAB can lend in learning all the music we love to play.  He downloaded the Jack Rose - Kensington Blues TAB from here and you can hear his recording of that here.

Jack Rose - Kensington Blues by Andrew Hammond

Andy decided that he would give back to the soli community by working out Basho's Red Wood Ramble.  I'm not aware of many Basho tabs so this is a real treat.  However, there are some in the files section of the Yahoo! group dedicated to Robbie, you can check that out HERE.

Download Red Wood Ramble

Andrew Hammond

Andrew offers guitar lessons in South Manchester/Stockport, check him out on the web, HERE.

Be sure to leave Andrew a note of your appreciation in the comments below.

So, who's got some more TAB?

Beppe Gambetta tells Banjo Jokes

I just got home from a Beppe Gambetta house concert just up the road in Lyons, Colorado.  What a great show.  I'm not sure how this guy has slipped my attention but I suppose it has to do with that whole flatpicking thing that I'm not much into, most of the time.  This was dangerously close to a bluegrass show.  

Beppe is a charming entertainer and comfortable telling stories about his songs.  I love that.  He also tells banjo jokes.

I've got one for you...but it's no joke.

What do a banjo and Beppe Gambetta have in common?  Dixie Breakdown.

Beppe plays it on the 6-string.

And by the way, he was playing that R. Taylor tonight and it's a beauty.  What a great looking and sounding guitar.

Beppe plays just about anything you can think of, his tribute to a meeting with Pete Seeger called Hobo's Crossing to actually playing and singing a Woody Guthrie song, Hard Travelin'.  Fantastic!  He would know a bit about hard travelin', he's on the road about 270 days a year and that is good for you and me.

Get on over to his site to see when he is a comin' 'round the mountain.  Beppe Touring

He also played a Scottish folk song, Italian love song, plenty of American roots of course and breaking new ground with his solo guitar interpretation of an opera.  Oh yes, yes he did.  And it was fantastic.  The set was well balanced with a few vocals but plenty of instrumentals to keep the guitar soli crowd happy.

Folks, Beppe Gambetta is a guitarist you shouldn't miss.

 

John Fahey - Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You

Ah, is there anything more beautiful than a boy and his guitar?  Maybe if I had slept with my guitar more I would be a fine player today.  Yes, I said "more" didn't I?  Well, who hasn't slept with their guitar, a little?  More previews HERE.

The Dust to Digital site is about ready to release this mammoth set of recordings on the world.  In case you aren't up with all the details, here's a bit of what it's all about.

More than 10 years in the making, this box set features the earliest recordings and the first book ever written about one of the most influential guitarists from the 1960s and ‘70s, John Fahey. The five CDs feature 115 tracks, most of which are available on CD for the first time. The audio was remastered from Joe Bussard’s reel-to-reel tapes to achieve pristine sound quality. As for the accompanying book, the list of scholars who contributed essays includes Eddie Dean, Claudio Guerrierri, Glenn Jones, Malcolm Kirton, Mike Stewart and John’s childhood friend R. Anthony Lee. Byron Coley contributed a poem about John, and Douglas Blazek’s 1967 interview with Fahey is published for the first time. Released 10 years after John Fahey’s death, this set puts one of the final puzzle pieces of Fahey’s career in place. Everyone can now hear where this guitar legend got his start – a smoky basement in Frederick, Maryland. Co-produced by Dean Blackwood of Revenant, Glenn Jones, and Lance Ledbetter of Dust-to-Digital, this set is released with the support of Joe Bussard and the John Fahey Estate. The set is dedicated to John’s mother, Jane C. Hayes and the late musician Jack Rose. 

THIS SET IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDERS AND WILL SHIP BY OCTOBER 11, 2011 -- THE OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE.

There's talk that there may be release parties with as many of the fine people that worked on this in attendance as possible, including Glenn Jones.  Keep you eyes open for those events, I'll try to post them if I hear about them.  Meanwhile, go buy this thing!