“My music is the result of a lifetime’s involvement with my instrument, the guitar, and many hours studying theory, composition, arranging, and musical history,”
That’s a quote from John Stein. I know something; a lot of people, a lot of guitar players shy away when they are confronted by someone who walks the walk of what they perceive as an “academic” approach to music. The reality is this; if a musician is serious about it, they should spend many hours studying theory, composition, arranging, and musical history. They should make it a point to study substance.
So, back to John Stein.
I had never heard about John Stein, even though he’s originally from up the road in Kansas City, until I read about his new record “Encounterpoint” over at All About Jazz. Here’s the quote that made me pursue further.
“I look for musicians who pay attention and listen and respond to what they hear, “ he says. “You often hear musicians providing a pad and the soloist gets on top of it and blows licks over it. But I never enjoyed it that way. I’m much more interested in real interplay between musicians.”
See, that’s what I’m missing in the vast amount of musical bullshit that assaults me like a sonic wall cloud on a constant basis; real interplay between musicians. Everything is so edited, pro-tooled into lifeless product. It’s all over every genre too. But, what this guy is saying is the real stuff; sounds like he knows.
And, he does. Go to John Stein’s website and click on the title, “Encounterpoint”, to hear samples of the new record. He also has a section where he offers free downloads from previous records. Wonderful stuff.
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Tags: Guitar, Jazz, John Stein, Music
Marty McFly wrote,
Gripping. I went through the samples… hey you should do some of this… rattling airwaves with flesh on strings and blunt wooden objects on skins, or whatever it is you say…
Link | September 14th, 2008 at 12:15 am