Great Player

I'm going to show a few videos of one of my favorite musicians. Cameroon born bassist Richard Bona. With his playing he brings back the sounds of Jaco Pastorius, funky, jazzy and everything in between. Bona is a very talented composer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist. Performing as a solo artist and sideman with the Pat Metheny group, and other groups, he's found a way to take the electric bass to new heights.

Richard Bona is seen here playing "Bright size life" with Pat Metheny and Antonio Sanchez. Note how Bona pays tribute to Pastorius with his playing, but puts his own melodic touch on the phrases.

Here's an improvisation with Bobby Mcferrin. Extremely creative playing.

Another bit that shows his ability to be musical without playing bass. Looping vocals and percussion to get a one-man-band effect. Amazing.

Shout out to a teacher i had for lessons a few semesters ago, Sheryl Bailey who takes the guitar solo on this video. She's a great player.

Great Performance

Since i just figured out how to put a video on here, i'll be putting up some of my favorite videos.

This great performance from the Crossroads 2007 guitar festival. Featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Derek Trucks, Steve Jordan, and more.

New Post

Long time since my last post. I've been getting pretty busy with school and work lately. So, since my last post i've gotten some more music gear, a few gigs, a lot of practice, and tons of great new music.

Some good CD's i've gotten since my last post, in no particular order.

1. Keith Jarrett- "Shostakovich-24 Preludes & Fugues"

I actually just picked this up today. With this recording Jarrett shows that he is more than capable of playing in a more traditional solo piano style, and not just the great jazz playing he is so well known for. Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) was a composer who paid tribute to Bach with these 24 preludes & fugues. Studying counterpoint and conducting at school has given me a new interest in more traditional music and classical styles. Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSbX6o3Z6xs&feature=related

2. Allan Holdsworth-"Against The Clock"

This is Holdsworth's greatest album. Featuring some of my favorites. Especially the first track, called "Tokyo Dream". Apparently this song was only released in Japan, i could find it anywhere here. I just watched this youtube video of a performance of it so many times. So i was excited to finally get a copy of this tune and try to learn it. It has a great melodic solo, where his tone is almost perfect. Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9xOomYyLI8

3. George Harrison-"Concert for Bangladesh"

Featuring an all-star cast of musicians; George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, and Ringo Starr played an incredible charity concert at Madison Square Garden in 1971. The highlight of this great concert is the performance of "That's the Way God Planned It" where Billy Preston shines. Here's a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYxzPdv67yA

4. Phish- "Live Phish 20: 12/29/1994 Providence Civic Center"

What would any list of mine be without Phish? This show represents Phish at a time when their improvisation could take them anywhere on any night. The fall of '94 is where they really hit their creative peak in my opinion. This show features an absolutely epic second set version of "David Bowie" that clocks in at 35:41. Listening to this jam in its entirety was one of the most powerful Phish experiences for me in a long time. Especially from around 25 minutes on, where it takes an extremely psychedelic turn.

More to follow...

-MD