Playbill Copy

Carlos Barbosa-Lima

Today, in the world of classical guitar its artists and aficionados cite only five of its living virtuosi as worthy of residing in the pantheon of true greatness. Of course the late Andres Segovia was the renowned icon who set the standard for classical guitarists everywhere. Among his disciples are those five: Julian Bream, Christopher Parkening, Eliot Fisk, John Williams and Carlos Barbosa-Lima, all of whom studied with the great man. 

Barbosa-Lima is not only among those rarefied few classical artists but he is today's most important and prolific exponent of Brazilian music. He incorporates both his Brazilian roots and classical training to expand on the groundwork laid by Luis Bonfa, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Naciemento and various other important South American composers. In addition, Carlos was closely associated with both Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd, two key figures in bringing the Brazilian sound to the United States. Barbosa-Lima also enjoys the distinction of having been Antonio Carlos Jobim's personal guitar arranger for the last 20 years of the composer's life.

Soon after meeting Jobim and impressing him with arrangements of his compositions, Barbosa-Lima was commissioned to arrange all the composer's works for the guitar. Moreover, many other important composers, including the great jazz artist Bobby Scott, have written for Carlos. The brilliant Alberto Ginastera dedicated his Sonata op.47 to Barbosa-Lima, which is considered one of the most important works for guitar of the 20th century.

The guitarist's recordings of diverse musical styles have created an impressive catalog that includes works, of course, by the great classical composers, but also offers his arrangements of tunes by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Lennon and McCartney, Scott Joplin, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luis Bonfa, Bobby Scott, Leonard Bernstein, Irving Berlin and even Dave Brubeck.

Jim Carlton

My friend Jim Stafford first told me about the Foggy Mountain Concert model guitar when he played one at the 2007 Chet Atkins Appreciation Society in Nashville. Shortly after, Mason Williams called to suggest I visit the Foggy Mountain Web site to check out the various models. Not long after that, Jim Stafford visited Florida where he and I traded his Foggy Mountain back and forth for much of an afternoon.

I was impressed with the rosewood back and sides, the cedar top, the ebony fretboard and tuning keys and the abalone trim, but most of all, the sound, both acoustic and amplified. The B-Band pickup is without question the best acoustic pickup I've heard and has no Piezo “quack.” My gigs all require that my guitar be amplified, and the B-Band reproduces the guitar's sound superbly regardless of the size of the venue.

I was also impressed with the structural integrity of my Foggy Mountain Concert model. It's beautifully built and stays in tune even when dropped to DADGAD tuning, something that's been a problem with one or two of my other high-end guitars. In fact, the wide, flat neck is perfect for fingerstyle in altered tunings. I'm also allowed access to notes far up the neck because of the artistically shaped cutaway which is an integral part of the guitar's overall beauty.

The Concert model's sound is crisp and clear on the treble side with a nicely balanced bottom end and an on on-the-money mid-range. It's simply a beautiful instrument that's also utilitarian. And it comes with a serious, road-worthy, plush-lined case.

I've received numerous comments about the instrument from audience members and players alike. In fact, Tony Baldwin told me that he recently received an order for a Concert model from a gentleman who saw one of my performances in Orlando in April ‘08.  I'm very happy with my Foggy Mountain and would recommend one to any professional player or guitar enthusiast who desires a high-quality nylon-stringed instrument for a very reasonable price.

Jim Carlton
http://www.jimcarlton.com/index.html
http://www.jimcarlton.com/bio.htm

Florida 2008

Jim Carlton The Fingerstyle Guitarist, Writer and Standup Comic

My showbiz career began in Florida over a century ago when I played upright bass in a garage band called The Legends, a group with the advantage and astronomical odds of having both Jim Stafford and Gram Parsons as its guitarists. We were Ventures disciples and not very good. Jim (who actually was good), sported a Fender Jazzmaster and Gram had a Strat. I went on to study guitar seriously but bounced around in various rock groups and “direct-from-Las-Vegas” show groups, the kind who were uniformly resplendent in disastrously-colored polyester jumpsuits. My passion for the guitar, however, has never flagged, although I admit that after forty-something years I'm still trying to get one in tune.

In 1983, my good friend Jim Stafford introduced me to the Smothers Brothers and later, to Mason Williams who had been an artistic hero of mine for decades. Over the next several years, I was lucky enough to contribute comedy material to the acts of both Jim and Mason as well as the Smothers, Gallagher, Joan Rivers and many others. All have provided me with seriously good cosmetic resumé padding.

“The first time I played my Foggy Mountain Concert Model I was impressed with its response, action, balance and volume. I have several nylon-string guitars; one within arm's reach in every room of the house that doesn't have plumbing. Honestly, the Foggy Mountain has become my favorite. It's not just beautiful, it's beautifully constructed. The rosewood and cedar produce a warm, round low end that's complemented by its crisp and authoritative treble voice. And something else, it has ebony everywhere you want ebony, even on the tuning keys.

It's also opulent and impressive on a gig. Truth is, the first time I played one in concert an audience member asked me where he could get one. The good folks at Foggy Mountain got a Mason Williams Concert model out to him straightaway. He still attends my Florida concerts and he's still in love with his Foggy Mountain guitar. I like that story because everybody's a winner.

In early 2009, my book, Conversations With Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists will be released by Mel Bay Publishing. I also write a regular column for Just Jazz Guitar Magazine and contribute reviews, articles and player interviews to several other noteworthy music rags and have written liner notes for dozens of releases and reissues: Howard Roberts, Joe Pass, the Byrds and many others. Presently, I'm putting the finishing touches on my first instrumental album of pop tunes for Polygraph Records, entitled, “Playin' Favorites.” All its tracks were performed live in the studio with no punching in or overdubs. In fact, most of the tunes were recorded in one take or less.

 

Fred "Skip" Heller

Skip was born October 4 , 1965 although active in many different types of music as a performer, producer, and historian coming out of the Philadelphia jazz scene, he never made much of a mark in his hometown despite local critical recognition.

In 1994, he began working for and studying with exotica composer Les Baxter , who made his home in Palm Springs, California . Heller soon began commuting between Philadelphia and Southern California. Within a year, he had moved west and become a prolific record producer and player, largely working for independent labels like Dionysus and UltraModern, working largely with rockabilly artists such as Sammy Masters , Dee Lannon , and Ray Campi , and also producing reissues of vintage exotica for the label.

In 1999, he released Couch, Los Angeles , which showcased him as a composer , arranger , band leader, and guitarist . The record enjoyed critical success, but Heller did not make a new album for another three years. He did, however, start writing television music for such shows The Flintstones: On the Rocks and Dexter's Laboratory .

Homegoing , on the Innova Records label, is a stripped down organ combo date that took Heller back to his Philly jazz roots while featuring new compositions, and brought him praise from the mainstream jazz press and modest sales. He started touring, and followed Homegoing with Fakebook (Hyena Records), another organ-based quartet release—this time concentrating on songs by favorite composers, including Duke Ellington , Bob Dylan , and Prince .

The following year, he signed to the tiny Dreambox Media label, and simultaneously released two discs, Out of Time! , an all-standards organ trio date recorded live in Philadelphia, and Bear Flag , an all-originals date recorded in California, both of which enjoyed critical success and modest sales. He also wrote and self-published the book Glamour Profession .

Bear Flag included nods to Bakersfield honky-tonk , vintage organ trio swinging, Curtis Mayfield , Frank Zappa , and a myriad of other influences. The following year, he started his own label, Skyeways, while cutting a deal with Ropeadope Records to handle his digital distribution , while retaining his own right to manufacture.

The first release under this arrangement, 2006's Mean Things Happening in This Land , concentrated largely on world music . Also released in 2006 was an expanded release of Couch, Los Angeles , an original exotica score for Tilt (a pinball documentary). Production began on a documentary about Heller himself, called Hearing That Noise Was My First Ever Feeling , the title taken from a lyric in The Clash 's " Lost in the Supermarket ." He participated in two shows that paid paid tribute to the bluegrass musician John Hartford , and recorded a new album at Memphis ' Sun Records studio.

He's played/recorded with NRBQ, Stan Ridgway, Ray Campi, Lalo Guerrero, Big Jay McNeely, Big Sandy, Wanda Jackson, Todd Rundgren, Martin Mull, THE FLINTSTONES, DEXTER'S LAB, Billy Swan, Jamie Hartford, Katy Moffatt, Rosie Flores, Chris Gaffney, DJ Bonebrake, Sammy Masters, Bob Dorough, Les Baxter, Yma Sumac, Robert Drasnin, Rick Danko, Dave Alvin, Carol Kaye, Terry Adams, Karen Mantler, the Hot Shots, and many, many vainglorious others.