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John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 5:52 am
by Tony Enamel
Hi everybody,

this is slightly off-topic, because I'm not talking about fingerstyle guitar, but since Chet admired Django Reinhardt's work, I thought I'd let you know about John Jorgenson's latest album: His gypsy guitar release "One Stolen Night" was just picked as one of the top ten records in 2010 by LA Times music critic Randy Lewis. I'd never expected to find an instrumental guitar record in such a list, surrounded by works from Neil Young, Tom Jones, Peter Gabriel, Arcade Fire and others.

I bought this record last spring. For sure, all Gypsy guitar playing is flashy to a certain degree. But John Jorgenson is not the flashiest Gypsy guitarist in the world. There are other speedkings out there, whereas John's focus (fortunately) is on melody, tone, arrangements and compositions. He's by far the best writer in that style today. Even though he draws inspiration from various fields and incorporates them into his music on "One Stolen Night", he always stays true to the style. That's the best contribution to Django's heritage I can think of.

Find out what Randy Lewis has to say about the recording:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_b ... -year.html

If you want to purchase the record, go to John's website:
http://www.johnjorgenson.com

You'll also find a second release from 2010 there: "Istiqbal Gathering". It's the first time, music was especially written for gypsy guitar and orchestra. Recorded with Orchestra Nashville.
Here's a nice insight on one of the recording sessions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHskHvMIul8

Regards,

Ingo

Re: John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:57 pm
by Phil Owens
Thanks Ingo,

I know some Chet fans despise the gypsy stuff; but I think it's because they've only been exposed to the stuff at buzz-saw speeds. We got to see John with his quintet here in San Diego several years ago. Easy to see why Chet admired Django; John is an inspiration. Incredible clarinet player too.

Merry Christmas,
Phil

Re: John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:02 pm
by Tony Enamel
Phil Owens wrote:I know some Chet fans despise the gypsy stuff; but I think it's because they've only been exposed to the stuff at buzz-saw speeds. We got to see John with his quintet here in San Diego several years ago. Easy to see why Chet admired Django; John is an inspiration. Incredible clarinet player too.


Phil,

we definetely saw the same musician on stage ... I fully second your opinion on John!

Merry Christmas!

Ingo

Re: John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:10 pm
by pitifulpicker
John Jorgenson, as most of you veteran forum members know, has been at previous CAAS conventions, where, in addtion to being a gifted musician and performer, he has also been a most gracious interacter with the fans on hand.

I'm new to the forum, and am looking forward to enjoying the posts and topics.

:)

Re: John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:05 pm
by RandeDager
I used to watch John Jorgenson when I lived in California and he was with "The Hellecasters" with Jerry Donahue and Wil Ray. That's when I liked him the best. Even then, Jerry Donahue was my favorite of the three. John has seemed to keep the highest profile the longest. John did a neat "two hand tapping" version of "Orange Blossom Special".

Rande

Re: John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:38 pm
by BillB
Anyone remember when John Jorgenson was the lead guitar player for the Desert Rose Band?

Bill B.

Re: John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:15 pm
by RandeDager
Yes Bill, I had failed to mention that. One of my friends from Thousand Oaks, CA was the primary song writer for "The Desert Rose Band", Steve Hill. He belonged to the "Vinyard" church that used to rent the church I belonged to.

Rande

Re: John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 5:22 am
by Tony Enamel
BillB wrote:Anyone remember when John Jorgenson was the lead guitar player for the Desert Rose Band?


He still is. They had a reunion in 2008 and gave a series of concerts throughout the US in 2010.

No DRB concerts for 2011 announced yet, but I would recommend checking John's website from time to time:
http://www.johnjorgenson.com/calendar.html

John's gypsy album "One Stolen Night", which I mentioned in my initial post, has also been chosen by two of nine authors of "Acoustic Guitar" as one of their personal "Essential Acoustic Albums of 2010", as I found out in the meantime: http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/d ... leid=26095

Best,

Ingo

Re: John Jorgenson - "One Stolen Night" - LA Times top pick

PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:47 pm
by thumbslinger
..and let's not forget the Hellecasters work! The few times I've been able to talk with John, he's always been extremely nice and supportive of anyone with a desire and passion for guitar music, no matter the genre.

His Starlicks teaching video is still one of the best for 'tidbits' and licks because of the way he explains the 'reasoning' behind them and why he used them.

One night back in Nashville.... around the ASGN at the Ryman for the Les Paul tribute and Muriel and I were talking about all the players and it dawned on me how John, even in his improv, has a beginning, middle and end whether by melody, technique or a combination and I said that to Muriel and she said something to the effect of, "that's a good way to put it. His lines flow a course instead of meandering away." ...or something like that. It's stuck with me.