3 Albums

Jazz
Adam Rogers/John Patitucci/Clarence Penn - Sight (Criss Cross)
I've only seen Rogers with Chris Potter's Underground.  He's usually playing a Strat with a twangy tone and a bit of overdrive.  Here he's playing a Gibson ES-335 with what sounds like the tone knob dialed back.  The general sound of the group is slightly off-putting: the bass seems under-miked and the guitar tone sounds muffled and indistinct.  However, the playing is outstanding.  Rogers has an impeccable technical facility and a very advanced harmonic sense.  Check out "Kaleidoscope" and Woody Shaw's "The Moontrane".  "Kaleidoscope" is very Holdsworth-esque as Rogers overdubs himself soloing on a bed of harmonically rich and slightly chorused chords.  I would love to hear just the back tracks of the chords and rhythm section.  "Moontrane" is a tune I personally love to call out during jam sessions because the chords pull you in very interesting directions.  It's fun to hear Rogers slither his way through this tune.

Bill Evans/Chuck Israels/Paul Motian - How My Heart Sings! (Original Jazz Classics)
For some reason I've been particularly drawn to Paul Motian's playing on this record.  The first tune, the title track, they are playing in 3/4.  Paul is using brushes and creating a gorgeous wash of sound from his cymbals and snares.  He's very active during Bill's solo, with nice tight triplet figures between the snare and hi-hat, working in a beautiful washy ride halfway through.  He only uses sticks on two tunes: "Walkin' Up" and "34 Skidoo".  He has a very gentle touch, and I particularly love the way he works in those gentle explosions with the hi-hat.  I wish more drummers would play like him.


Rock/Pop
Eric Johnson - Ah Via Musicom
Wow, this is a cheesy album.  I checked this out at the local library because I keep running into articles in guitar magazines (there are piles and piles of guitar magazines where I work) obsessing about Eric Johnson.  I can definitely tell why guitar players love this man.  He has a soaring guitar-hero tone and can really shred.  However, this is one of those "for guitarists only" albums.  It has that glossy eighties  sound and really lame vocals.  Also, it's not a progressive rock style - it's very much a poppy 4/4 formula.  I enjoyed it though.  The instrumental "Cliffs of Dover" is worth checking out.