Customer Reviews

Lines & Spaces

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This album is a must have (if you can get a hold of it). I hadn't heard of stowell until recently - he is being touted as a major rising force in the jazz guitar community. Unable to find any online samples anywhere, I bought the CD with no idea of what I was getting (like we used to do before the internet). Stowell is the kind of musician that leaves an aspiring guitarist like myself awestruck. His chordal and harmonic approach is so refreshing - he avoids most of those guitar cliches, playing more like a piano player (with huge hands). He does not let the the supposed physical limitations of the guitar hold him back, he achieves amazing and unique chord voicings, kind of reminiscent of Alan Holdsworth's work, except Stowell is working from a much more traditional jazz chord/melody starting point, and implementing in in a non-traditional way. But this work is by no means a chops intensive ego trip, this is very accessible, and easy to digest jazz that could be appreciated by non-guitarists. As far as his tone goes, there is no jazz rule book that says that all guitarists must play with a super dark tone ala Jim Hall; Johns tone is on the bright side, and he utilizes some time delay effects, but it is pleasing to my ear, and it allows his beautiful voicings to ring clearly. One reviewer commented on audible fret noise - turning the treble on your amp down all the way does wonders for masking those little imperfections - it's just part of the sound. I must admit that I have a hard time listening to the tracks that feature Lynn Skinners vocals - admittedly, I'm not a big vocals fan. I realize that Stowell wasn't going in this direction, but I think it would be better as a virtuoso effort.

John Stowell is an gifted guitarist who plays absolutely beautiful original music as well as arrangements of tunes written by others. Creative chord voicings and interesting improvisations are present from beginning to end. A great choice for anyone interested in contemporary jazz guitar.

In defense of the review by J. Randall Groves, I would like to say that I have heard John many times and the tone he uses works much better live. Be that as it may, a musicians "sound" has so much more to do with the player, and less to do with the equipment. If anyone else picked up Pat Metheny's guitar it wouldn't sound like him. It's the same with Stowell or any good musician. If the sound of the guitar bothers you, listen to the sound of the player. In spite of his dark guitar tone, John is a fantastic musician, one of the most unique guitarists I've witnessed, and one of my favorites. Check him out. ...and if anyone cares, Stowell deos not use a solidbody electric as stated by Groves. He uses a custom made hollow electric (flat top, not arched) and a custom made nylon string with similar consruction. (Neither have any sound holes)

As a major fan of jazz guitar, I looked forward to hearing John Stowell. He came with high praise from people who know jazz guitar. I was not disappointed with Stowell's playing; he can really play, and he is playing in a very difficult context for jazz guitarists: solo and vocal accompianiment. Joe Pass comes to mind as the greatest solo and vocal accompianist in the history of jazz guitar, and Stowell, while no Joe Pass, constitutes a good addition to the tradition. The main problem, however, is the sound of his guitar. He goes for the "Metheney-fusion" sound, which is fine in a group context--although even then it is not my cup of tea, but is terrible in a solo or vocal acc. context. There is simply no body to the sound. With all the great guitars available in this golden age of archtops, why Stowell goes with a solid body electric with digital delay is beyond me. This aspect of his sound will probably keep me from listening to him much, and will keep me from buying any more of his cds, and this is unfortunate since it is clear that he can play. The sixth and 8th track is the exception with a classical guitar, which works much better for this type of music. This record also features Lynn Skinner on vocals. I can't say that she is bad; she just doesn't stand out much. She has a very straight, thin, non-vibrato, non-altered sound that is incompatible with the sound of Stowell's guitar except for the two tracks mentioned before. In sum, some bad choices mar some excellent playing.

The guitar playing is awful and almost every track has that terrible fusion guitar sound that helps to mask mediocre skill. On the few cuts where the sound isn't electronicly smeared, you can often hear the buzz from an inaccurately fingered fret. This is acceptable when you're listening to someone like Joe Pass play 10 notes a second at a live jazz festival but there is no excuse for it on relatively slow passages recorded in a studio. I was especially disappointed with Somewhere Over the Rainbow which is one of my all time favorites and is given disastrous treatment by Mr. Stowell. The melody is distorted so as to be unrecognizable at times and finally lost in a misguided attempt to be original. The singer, Lynn Skinner, has a pretty voice but it doesn't work in this setting. If you like good jazz guitar then I don't think this CD can be priced low enough to make it worth purchasing.