Adam Rogers Soloing

Adam Rogers, who like Wayne Krantz toured with Chris Potter, is featured on this video while touring in Mexico with the late great Michael Brecker.  Observe Adam’s picking hand.  Despite his unorthodox position, I guess he made it work for him.

Listen to Adam’s smooth flowing lines that sound legato despite all that picking.   I don’t think I’m going to change my picking style because of this though.  I simply can’t play the guitar that way.

Here’s another one of Adam’s videos, this time apparently taken by someone in the audience.  Dang, those are lines I’d like to play.  They sound sophisticated, intelligent and scholastic in a positive way.  Anyway, this is a song called “Phyrigia.”

If you can’t get enough of Mr. Rogers’ post bop music — I want to listen to more — you can listen to his concert at the Village Vanguard in New York here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89621136.

When you get there (after reading the article, I presume), click on the link that says:  Adam Rogers Quintet in Concert.  It’s beside the red icon depicting a loudspeaker.  You won’t miss it.

Finally, here’s his Web site:

http://www.adamrogersmusic.com/live/. 

Wayne Krantz Live

Here’s Wayne Krantz playing the song “Is Something I Don’t Understand Yet” with Lincoln Goines on bass and Zach Danziger on drums in Leverkusen, Germany, way back in 1993.

Check out this funky piece. 

Here’s another video, this time with Chris Potter’s band.  Check out Wayne’s lines here.  He really takes it way out there, and as such, I guess it’s going to take some time before I figure out what he’s doing.  Ugh!

Scott Henderson, Steve Bailey and Greg Bissonette: Fusion Jam

I dunno.  Maybe it’s just me.  Whatever.  I got to say that Scott Henderson, Steve Bailey and Greg Bissonette jamming could be one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest.  Steve and Greg made their names in the rock  music scene but hell yeah, they could play jazz like any jazzer out there.

Pat Martino and John Scofield: "Sunny" Revisited

I can’t explain why I always get the urge to watch this video.  Let’s face it.  This is one of the best live renditions of the tune I’ve ever seen.

By the way, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Jamiroquai, Del Shannon, Boney M and Greg Howe (not in chronological order) all did their version of this song originally done by Bobby Hebb.

Funny but I used to play this song but in a much slower tempo because I found it difficult to play fast and at that point in time, I’ve never heard Pat Martino’s version, which my band wanted to play then.  It was Del Shannon’s version that I was familiar with.  Hmm … maybe I can play it up to tempo by now.  Anyway, enough of my quixotic excursions.

Back to Pat and John.

Jazzerman Takes Off for the Moon

Thanks to the Internet, I’ve discovered and been inspired by several guitar players and other musicians who may be technically amateur but play on a professional level (in my opinion).

One of them is Jazzerman, a university professor who started out playing rock and blues and has since switched to jazz guitar.  He’s got a collection of priceless guitars too.

Here’s Jazzerman playing “Fly Me to the Moon,” a song I first heard from my parents and then read the music notation much, much later in a book by Warren Nunes.

Watch this.