Posts Tagged Ed Bickert
David Preston Interview
Posted by DJ in Jazz Gtr Interviews on May 9, 2012
If you’re down London way then make sure you check out the David Preston’s monthly residency at The Cornershop
Great writing and flawless execution, these guys have really got their stuff together, have got a very hip sound and are great players. You can keep up with them via Youtube Soundcloud & Twitter
Make sure you do; ones to watch!
Q: What/who were your initial influences?
I started off listening to John Williams and the Beatles very early on, that led me to Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Zepplin and Cream.
My first big jazz influences however were Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass. Metheny’s Question and Answer and Miles Davis’s In a Silent Way are the records that gave me the jazz bug. I still remember exactly how I felt when I first heard Roy Haynes’ intro to the first tune ‘Solar’.
I also have a special place for Oasis, Noel Gallagher is an incredible songwriter and guitarist, an uncommon influence I know but I guess it had to happen sometime!
Q: Are you gigging much at the moment and any projects in the pipeline?
I’m really excited to be starting a monthly residency in April with Kevin Glasgow and Laurie Lowe. We’ll record an album this summer. I’m hoping to do some more gigs with Peter Ind this year as its always a blast playing with him and to tour my own group later in the year. Fingers crossed i’ll also be working again with Melody Gardot at some point too.
Q: What’s your ‘desert island’ guitar or have you got it!?
I play a Gibson cs356 and I’m pretty happy with it at the moment, she’s temperamental with the weather so a desert island might put her out of shape. If i had a choice between anything built by Gary Mortoro or Linda Manzer i’d be one happy guy.
Q: Best (jazz guitar) gig you’ve ever seen?
Its a tie between Metheny at the Royal Albert Hall, Speaking of Now Tour or Metheny at Hammersmith Apollo for the Way Up Tour.
He played really raw at the Albert Hall, really going for it, but I remember literally not being able to speak after seeing him at the Way Up show however, so maybe that one!
Q: Which guitarist(s) would you recommend for other people to check out?
Obviously all the greats, but some guys lesser heard and/or known playing on the scene now:
James Muller, Julian Lage, Joe Cohn, Greg Duncan, Nir Felder, Chris Thile (mandolin player but he’s awesome) and Jakob Bro to name a few. Alex Machacek & Bryan Baker are doing some really interesting things in the fusion area.
For classical guitar, Su Meng and Roberto Aussel, they both sound absolutely incredible.
As far as older guitarists, I recently came across a guitarist who (I think) is still alive called Bill Jennings who plays on alot of Jack McDuff albums whos great. Also George Van Eps, Ed Bickert, Tiny Grimes, Tony Rice and Billy Bauer are all awesome.
Ant Law is worth checking out here in London, he’s writing some really interesting music.
I really wish Stuart Hall, Steve Topping and Paul Stacey would play more in London too because they are ridiculously good players and I’d go to every show!
Matthew Warnock Interview
Posted by DJ in Jazz Gtr Interviews on January 15, 2012
Matthew Warnock is a great guitarist and educator with a impressive CV which includes stints teaching and studying in many US universities. Matthew is coming over to teach in the UK at Leeds College of Music and I hope we can meet up at some point to hang out. You can check out his playing on his Youtube channel.
Q: What/who were your initial influences?
I first got interested in guitar by listening to classic rock and blues, so my earliest influences were Jimmy Page, David Gilmour and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Once I got hooked into jazz, I was influenced by some of the usual suspects, like Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino and Mike Stern, but I have always been drawn to cats like Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert and Ted Greene.
Q: Are you gigging much at the moment and any projects in the pipeline?
I spent most of 2011 living in Belo Horizonte, Brazil where I was performing 10-15 times a month, so I was gigging a lot and getting the chance to play with some great Brazilian musicians. I recently relocated to Manchester, and have decided to gig a bit less right now because I want to really focus on finishing my first record. The album will be all solo-guitar, and I’ve got the tunes worked up already. I just need to get into the studio and begin the recording process.
Q: What’s your ‘desert island’ guitar or have you got it!?
My desert island guitar is the Koentopp Telecaster that I own. It’s a custom build by Dan Koentopp, a Chicago luthier who makes the most beautiful sounding guitars I’ve ever played. So, I’m lucky in that I searched for years for a guitar that really brought my personality and musical intentions out in the sound of the instrument, and I finally found those qualities in Dan’s guitar.
Q: Best (jazz guitar) gig you’ve ever seen?
I would have to say that it was a tie between the first time I ever saw Ben Monder in Montreal, he was playing with his quartet and they absolutely killed it, and a Mike Stern show I saw this summer in Brazil, where he played with a Samba trio. Both of these shows were full of energy, the bands were interaction at a very high level and the intensity was just electric. Two shows I will never forget.
Q: Which guitarist(s) would you recommend for other people to check out?
A few of the guitarists that I really like that I think more people should check out are Lenny Breau and Ed Bickert. Two Canadian guitarists, well Lenny was a transplanted Canadian, who I grew up listening to and two of the best chord players in the business. I will never get tired of hearing either of those guys play, in any ensemble, and I always try and turn people on to their records whenever I get the chance.
Jazz Guitar Scene 