| Jazz guitarist Andre Bush to pay tribute to rock's Jeff Beck
HERE'S a show that guitar nuts won't want to miss: Local jazz guitarist Andre Bush will perform a tribute concert for one of his heroes, rock legend Jeff Beck, tonight at Yoshi's at Jack London Square. Bush, a Grammy-nominated musician and composer, is a 15-year veteran of the Bay Area jazz scene. Still, the guitarist has always found time to return to his rock 'n' roll roots. Over the years, he has balanced performing with such jazz cats as Dave Liebman, Steve Smith, Nnenna Freelon and Jenna Mammina with playing with various rock bands. His sizable chops mix the best of both worlds they possess the fire and intensity of heavy metal as well as the sophistication of jazz. Bush is definitely the right guy to perform a tribute to Beck. In particular, he should do a good job re-imagining the material from Beck's classic 1970s fusion albums, "Blow by Blow" and "Wired." Bush apparently feels the same way he's recording the Yoshi's gig for later release on CD and DVD.
Paul McCartney's first guitar on sale
For 100,000 The guitar that Paul McCartney learnt how to play his first chords on is being auctioned and is expected to fetch 100,000. The seller of the Rex acoustic guitar is McCartney's friend Ian James from his schooldays at Liverpool Institute High School for Boys. In a signed letter accompanying the item, the former Beatle writes: "The above guitar belonging to my old school pal Ian James was the first guitar I ever held. It was also the guitar on which I learnt my first chords." Ian James taught the 15-year-old McCartney the chords that would later impress John Lennon enough to let him join his band The Quarrymen. "Paul and I hung around together after school," James said. "We both had an interest in rock 'n' roll and I would show him a few chords. I remember one day he told me he'd written a song and I thought 'Blimey, that's hard'." Ian James and McCartney lost touch for 28 years, but were then reunited in 1991 at a Wings concert.
Martin Introduces The HD-35 Nancy Wilson "Heart" Signature Edition Guitar
After more than 30 years as guitarist, songwriter and singer for Heart, Nancy Wilson knows fine acoustic guitars. Much of the credit for the beauty and tone of the Martin HD-35 Nancy Wilson Signature Edition guitar goes to Wilson herself, who collaborated closely with Martin on the design. A rare combination of premium solid tonewoods gives the HD-35 Nancy Wilson Signature Edition distinctive tonal character. The top of beautiful Engelmann spruce - a tree that grows in the Northwest, where Heart got its start - combines with forward-shifted scalloped braces for full, powerful tone. The sides and the three-piece back wings are East Indian rosewood, while the center wedge is "heart" bubinga, a beautiful and unusually hard African tonewood that provides outstanding projection. A Pisces fish Yin Yang design is inlaid in rare pink heart abalone, mother of pearl and red composite beneath the Old Style "C.F.
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