Steve Howe has now been in the spotlight for over fifty years. While the virtuoso will always be remembered as a prominent member of the world's most successful prog-rock band he has also recorded a lot of work outside of Yes - and his later band, Asia - that is worth hearing. Such is the case with New Frontier (2019),the third album - and second studio effort - released under the name of The Steve Howe Trio.
New Frontier is a jazz-fusion set that shares the spotlight with rock just as much as it does jazz. It features Howe on electric and acoustic guitars; Ross Stanley, a quite talented Hammond B3 player; and the leader's son, Dylan Howe, on drums. The boss isn't selfish. Stanley gets lots of space to stretch out and drummer Howe gets to shine when the situation calls for it. The trio doesn't employ a bass player, but there is so much happening on each track that the bottom end isn't missed.
This music isn't for everyone, but for fans of Howe or those looking for something more than straight-ahead jazz these ten instrumentals are for you. If you're an aficionado of Howe's work with Yes, you'll understand how much prog-rock and modern jazz have in common. The guitarist told The Strange Brew that jazzmen Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith are inspirations for the band.
On "Left to Chance" you'll hear contributions from Stanley that remind you of Yes's keyboard players and how much the guitarist's interplay with them contributed to the quintet's overall sound. The track's unrepentant mood swings and tempo changes make sure you'll never get bored. At 6:33 it's the longest piece on the record proving there is at least one "Yes man" who learned how to restrain himself.
Howe wrote most of the album with help on three tracks from Bill Bruford, Yes's original drummer. He would be a perfect fit for the trio if the younger Howe wasn't already occupying that chair.
This album was a surprise find and a worthy one. It's also a must listen for a certain type of music fan.
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter, and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequen...
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi...
In a July 2023 blog post I discussed an alternate history of the most famous rock band of all time. It's Real Life: An Alternate History Of The Beatles was written in 2022 as a short story and radio play by Professor Paul Levinson of Fordham University. Since then, the author has expanded it into a full length novel that includes his original story as chapter one. Below my original post you'll find a link to a fascinating podcast where Levinson discussed his book with NBC's Chuck Todd followed by an intriguing email question and answer session that Levinson graciously gave to Bloggerhythms. _______________________________________ In 2005, novelist, playwright and rock musician, Larry Kirwan - best known as the leader of New York City's renowned Celtic-rock band, Black 47 - used his vivid imagination to write Liverpool Fantasy , a novel about what could have happened to each of the four Beatles if they hadn't hit the ...
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