|
|
Jared Burrows
Another one of my good friends is not only a fabulous musician, he is also a gifted and innovative luthier and woodworker.
He built my lovely archtop, the "Gadjo", pictured here.
I wanted something just the right comfortable and compact size, that would blend the best aspects of a traditional archtop and a Maccaferri. As you can see he subtly incorporated elements of both into a beautifully unified and balanced looking design. The instrument also plays and sounds like a hybrid, exactly filling my need for an a guitar that functions like an archtop yet is an easy step away from the Maccaferri in terms of playability and response.
Check out his website for more pictures of his instruments and information on what he's up to.
Saxophonist Ian Shaw and I played together at the Kino Cafe for close to 9 years every Tuesday night. The original lineup also featured founding member Will Goede on alto. We had the pleasure of working with many great bassists and drummers, and made many friends. Our last gig there was January 16 2007.
The Ian Ross Quartet still plays together occasionally, and Ian is involved in composition and other projects.
Mike Rud is another friend, and one of the best musicians I've ever met. Soulful, tasteful, and chops to envy, and one of the genuinely nicest humans on the planet.
If you're in Ottawa check out one of his gigs if you get a chance.
Neil Andersson This wonderful, tasteful and melodic guiarist plays with Pearl Django is also a gifted and dedicated artist. You can see some of his lovely paintings on his website.
I just have to mention some fabulus musicians from Paris who really stole the show at Djangofest 2007. Sebastien Giniaux is one of the most inspiring and musical guitarists I have ever seen. Amazingly, he has only been playing the guitar for 7 years. His intense yet seemingly effortless ability and musicality was earned through a thorough study of the Cello, which he started at age 6.
The band Norig (featuring Sebastien on guitar and Cello and the compelling Norig on Vocals) is blazing new frontiers in Gypsy and Eastern European music with great depth, originality and authenticity. This band has incredible emotional impact. They are truly a new Voice.
Band photo courtesy Sarah Culver. |
 |
|
| |
