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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | I had the pleasure of jamming last Saturday with a guy who, has to be one of the finest guitarists in the world.
His name is Frank Varela, and he plays in and around Connecticut. He's mainly a jazz guitarist, but he moves comfortably into and out of just about any genre. NEVER miss an opportunity to hear him play! Run, don't walk, to any venue where he might be playing!
His command of the instrument is such that his phrasing is absolutely exquisite. He can make every note meaningful in a really fast run, then slow it down to play haunting, or soulful or mellow, or raw, with or without effects; and make it all work beautifully. And that's just while improvising! He makes it all look as effortless and natural as breathing.
The jam session story is funny on its own. I accepted an invitation to their Christmas party -- Frank's wife is a friend of mine from a previous job. In the invitation, Deva (Frank's wife) told me to bring my guitar, so I did.
When I got there, Frank and I went down to his studio and sat down to play. I plugged my OFC II into Frank's PA system, and Frank played a Telecaster through an amp and an effects array.
We sat down and just started improvising. As we played, a crowd gathered, and another guitarist came in (name: Paul Dembek -- if you ever have a chance to hear HIM play, take it!), sat down and plugged in. He was playing a gorgeous cherry-red Gibson ES-335 and soon realized that he wanted to be louder, so he cranked it a bit, as did Frank and I.
Then, in came a bassist who sat down and plugged in. Then a drummer. Both these guys were really, REALLY good!
Each time a new guy joined, the jam grew louder. Well, MY particular volume controls were some 10 feet or so away, with the bassist and several pieces of equipment between the controls and me. I had only the electronics on the Adamas for volume, and I was already at full, with all three of the EQ sliders up full.
As each of the guitarists cranked and cranked, I receded further and further into the background.
Soon enough I realized that I was pretty much inaudible, so I just damped the strings and sat back to enjoy the show from the best seat in the house.
Let me tell you, sitting in the middle of four world-class musicians as they improvise is something REALLY special! | |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Originally posted by AlanM:
, and I was already at full, with all three of the EQ sliders up full.
As each of the guitarists cranked and cranked, I receded further and further into the background.
You should have engaged the secret alpep boost button. You could've made their ears bleed and they would never have seen it coming. | |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Lol! I did! No use...they were MANY decibels above me. | |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Cool experience, for sure. I was fascinated when I watched Greg Koch in his pre-Fender days sit in with various groups and play anything and everything. Really good guitarists can ad lib on top of anything and make it sound so good. | |
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Really great, nearly unknown guitarist...