Somewhere along the line, the six string guitar replaced the tenor sax as modern music’s spokesman. Here are three excellent examples…
Tom Guarna has a modern almost MEtheny-esque tone to his sound, and teams up well on a collection of originals with an all star team of Jon Cowherd/p-key, John Patitucci/b and Brian Blade. With Cowherd’s Fender Rhodes, Guarana adds some clever effects to the soul-grooved “Native Tongue” and glides along Patitucci’s lick on “Unravel.” Blade supplies a snap to Guarna’s lithe strings on the bopping “Modules” while the cymbals chime to the leader’s undulating lines on “Hope.” Piano and strings deliver a graceful duet on “Prelude” and flow melodically in group for with Blade’s brush strokes during “Surrender Hope.” Panoramic pastels.
Carl Verheyen is best known for his stint with Supertramp, but these days he’s a rollicking blues rocker. He teams up with Nick D’Virgilio/dr, Dave Martin/b and Jim Cox/key for a mix of originals and bluesy standards, with both sounding good and gritty. The strings are buzzing on Peter Green’s classic “Oh Well” whle the team shuffles to “I May Be Wrong, But I Won’t Be Wrong Always.” His own Dodging the Blues” and “Stardust Blues” feature rough and ready vocals as well as searing guitar work, while he sounds back porch cozy as he picks and grins on the intimate “Hard Times” and “Someday After Awhile.” Verheyen shows that with the blues, these are still The Best of Times.
Marnix Busstra lays his guitar into a classic B3 format with Eric Van De Vovenkamp/B3, Mark Stoop/dr and Norbert Sollewijn Gelpke/b (and rest assured, only the initials will be used from here on!). NSG’s bass gives a funky groove for Busstra’s gritty guitar to veer through the smoky Hammond on”Medium Rare” while EVDB hovers like a helicopter over the bluesy strings of “New Canal of the Emperors.” Stoop cracks the whip as EVDB pumps the keys on the funky “Little White Lie” and delivers a soft cymbal pulse to the delicately blue “Too Hot Tub.” Busstra gets tensile on the soulful “Out of the Crowd” and wistful on “No Solution.” Finger picking good.