Author Archives: jschott
Guitar Player Reader’s Poll
Now, I don’t want to beat up on ol’ Guitar Player magazine, which I’ve read since I was a kid, and still read today at the library. They publish great things, and naturally, some less than great … Continue reading
New Page Up Above: “See Hear”
I’ve added a page of videos of various projects, from various low budget sources.
For Guitarists: Classical Shred Shed
The concert I wrote about a couple of posts ago has come and gone. Among the pieces on the program was the World Premiere of Sebastian Currier’s Artificial Memory. How exciting! Guitar-wise, I was stepping onto a new … Continue reading
The Blues and “Voice Throwing”
Last year the venerable Chicago independent label Delmark released Magic Sam: Live at the Avant-Garde, a recording of a gig in the summer of ’68, Milwaukee. This is the 7th CD I have of Magic Sam, and I … Continue reading
Lighting the fuse
As much as I enjoy the exceedingly complex music of Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Carter, et al, as an electric guitarist, my enjoyment is strictly limited to listening and studying scores. I’ve rarely had the pleasure/terror of performing it, of … Continue reading
Yoga Garden Dancers at Berkeley Arts Center
Hey, remember the Berkeley Arts Center? That cute little gallery in Live Oak Park? So nice and cozy, and it seems like no one knows about it! I hadn’t been there in many years, but it’s just as … Continue reading
The horror! The horror!
It’s not that I don’t think about my website; I think about it frequently. It’s just that thinking isn’t doing. It’s as if there’s an invisible force field preventing me from getting anywhere near “johnschott.com”. I’ll spare … Continue reading
I Remember Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin died last month. He was Howlin’ Wolf’s guitarist from the time Wolf came to Chicago around 1954 to his last performances in the mid ’70s. Those twenty years on the road, in the clubs and on record are … Continue reading
Thank You Paul Motian.
My wife is a Scrabble fanatic. She’s very, very good. I tried, when we first started going out, playing with her a couple times. She whupped me so bad, I quit. In one of our only games, … Continue reading
Speaking of Trios:
I had never seen footage of Paul Motion playing with Bill Evans before (which doesn’t mean there isn’t any, I’m far from systematic about watching jazz videos). But it’s wonderful to see him, here with Chuck Israels in … Continue reading