various | before the goldrush
"Before the Goldrush" is a new, personal passion of ours -- a benefit album for Teach for America. At some point, most of we Artistic/Creative types wake up and start appreciating our Teachers/Mentors. The people who helped open the windows in our head and soul and let the sunshine in (geez, it's a Polyphonic Spree song waiting to bloom!).
If you follow most of today's Singer/Songwriters' influences back to their roots, you'll find yourself in the early Seventies, sitting at the feet of Donovan or James Taylor or Joni or Carole. The notion that Damien Rice could've been the one doing "Fire and Rain" in a parallel universe, 'ya dig? Click here for complete details on "Before the Goldrush" including songs, sign-up procedures, etc.
g.org | re:generation
g.org is, hmmm, mythical? Yeah, sure, if you considered producer-oriented, studio-only concepts like the Alan Parsons Project mythical.
g.org (pronounced "gee - dot - org") is the brainchild of Gary Guthrie and the concepts are usually jazz-based and utilize a revolving set of musicians who fail forward fast, fleshing out his ideas.
To date, there are two g.org recordings -- "re: generation", a jazzy cover set of slightly off-center classic rock tunes like Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan", the Allmans' "Elizabeth Reed" and Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" and g.org featuring randy brecker "A New Kind of Blue".
g.org | a new kind of blue
"Blue" is the 45th anniversary of the release of "Kind of Blue" and Gary Guthrie has plied his "what if" curiosity by producing one of the more intriguing jazz records of 2004 - "A New Kind of Blue," a fresh version of Miles Davis' classic. G.org, - featuring recent Grammy winner Randy Brecker channeling the spirit of Davis, plus David Finck on bass, Victor Lewis on drums, Chuck Loeb on guitar, Mike Ricchiuti on piano and Andy Snitzer on alto saxophone - stretches the "New Blue" well past the 45-minute limits of the vinyl LP heyday, brings its production values into the digital realm, plus captures several of the missing ingredients critics have been scratching their head about for years.
"While reading the story behind 'Kind of Blue' it struck me how many things had fallen through the cracks - like Bill Evans' 'Peace Piece' never given its real due as the basis for 'Flamenco Sketches'." Then there was Miles' exclusion of a guitarist in his pre-'60s record dates. Guthrie thought, "Can you imagine what a Wes Montgomery would've brought to that session?" And, with that, he brought in one of the Smooth Jazz format's aces, Chuck Loeb. "With Chuck, I not only got a fellow Baby Boomer who cut his teeth on 'Blue' but one who learned his Wes-like licks as a student of Jim Hall and Pat Metheny."
The CD features the original sequence of 'Blue' tracks, plus Evans' "Peace Piece" heavily referenced as the prelude to "Flamenco Sketches"; Loeb quoting the original arrangement for Chet Baker's "Alone Together" that Evans used for the structure of "Blue in Green"; and an extended, muscular version (22 minutes) of "All Blues" that takes the original on a ride through a Weather Report-style romp. The project gets an extra special touch thanks to Mark Wilder who remixed and remastered the original 'Kind of Blue' also mastering the new rendition.
It was a hit in Asia where Jazz is still a well-embraced music form... iTunes Jazz "Pick of the Month" for iTunes/Europe... Picked up by Sony's music software service "Acid Planet" for a remix project "Next Kind of Blue" (coming soon, too).
jenniferlauletta | absolute torch : the songs of kd lang
"Absolute Torch" is the "comin' together" (as they say in these parts) of Jennifer wanting to do a concept album and Gary wanting to produce Jennifer (vice-versa on that works, too).
First, there was a Judy Garland notion but there were other homages being crafted by other singers so we passed on that. After a little head-scratchin' on who would be really ("really" being the keyword) interesting to cover, kd lang came to mind.
Piano, bass, cello and, on occasion, some brushes. Nothing more except that and Jennifer's butter-melting voice. We're in the studio, now, wrapping things up. More when we get finished, so stay tuned.
gary guthrie & james johnson | the hoggard transitions [working title]
This is as close to being a "virtual" project as you can get. Guthrie in Louisville, Johnson in Chicago sending files back and forth, e-mailing ideas and trusting everyone to their own whims and insights.
You can call it ambient or environmental or trans-something, but you'll get a better idea when it comes alive in the Fall of 2007.
