Danny Gatton - probably the greatest guitar player to ever pick up a Fender Telecaster. Joey DeFrancesco - probably the greatest Hammond B3 organist.
Put these two incredible talents together and the result could only have been a masterpiece of astonishing proportions. And it was. This CD - it's never been released on vinyl or I would absolutely have it - is staggering in its breadth and diversity. This is a CD you buy two or three copies of in case the old rumours of CD rot (the idea that digital discs just stop working after a number of years) turn out to be true. You don't ever want to be without a disc this good.
On Relentless both musicians revel in a rainbow of harmonic inventions, rhythmic twists and what would surely be risky improvisations in anybody else's hands. And they make it seem so easy. Pairing these two together for a project like this had to happen eventually, and it's a good thing it happened when it did because Gatton killed himself the same year this recording was released. He went into his garage, locked the door and put a bullet in his head. Some say he did this because he'd become despondent over the lack of recognition he'd received for his talents. But - I dunno. He really was a kind of best kept secret. So many other musicians - Joe Bonamassa, Lenny Breau, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, James Burton, Chris Cheney, Vince Gill, Buckethead, Albert Lee, Les Paul, Arlen Roth, Richie Sambora, Ricky Skaggs, Slash, Steve Vai, among many others - all knew who he was. But outside of the professional musicians' circle (and also those of us who somehow found out about him) he was virtual unknown, which really is hard to believe given his prowess on the instrument. Such was it that Eric Clapton is supposed to have said that Gatton was the guitarist he always wanted to be.
And as for DeFrancesco - Danny Gatton was just another in the long list of amazing musician he's played and recorded with: Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith, Tom Harrell and Randy Brecker, John McLaughlin and Paul Bollenback, Pat Martino, Jake Langely, Frank Vignola, Larry Coryell, Bobby Hutcherson, Gary Bartz, David Sanborn, George Coleman, Houston Person, Jerry Weldon, Randy Brecker and Teddy Edwards, Byron Landham, Dennis Chambers, Joe Ascione, Billy Hart, Terry Clarke … he's even done a couple of tribute CD’s honouring the music of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Horace Silver, the latter with re-imaginings of each track on Silver's classic Finger Poppin’ LP. Very much recommended!
And now he's gone, too.
But we still do have this CD through which we can remember these two immense talents, and which also employs the worthy talents of bassist John Previti and drummer Timm Biery. It's extraordinary how well these four musicians work together. Previti and Biery lay down a rock solid foundation and seem able to intuitively keep up - like mind readers - with what must be, on some level, divinely unpredictable improvisations.
Classic jazz covers are turned inside out, like the frisky reworking of Wayne Shorter's The Chess Players. Both Gatton and DeFrancesco have unbelievable mind-to-hand coordination, along with a kind of jazzy intuition they use to interact with each other as though they've been playing together for decades.
My favourite track on this disc - The Pits - also happens to be the longest, clocking in at almost 12 glorious minutes. Starting out deceptively slow, it teases and stretches and speeds up and slows down and eventually works its way through several stunning finger-blazing crescendos - on both guitar and keyboard - before winding slowly back down, completely spent. It left me exhausted and I was just sitting there listening to it.
Gatton spent many years in the bars around Washington D.C. before hooking up with DeFrancesco, and his reputation slowly spread among guitar buffs when he toured with Robert Gordon and singer-songwriter Roger Miller. Gatton eventually broke out of D.C. with a jaw-dropping appearance before industry bigwigs at a Hard Rock Cafe bash in honour of Les Paul, in 1988. Guitar World magazine proclaimed him the World's Greatest Unknown Guitarist and Elektra released the album 88 Elmira St., in 1991, a recording that blended rockabilly, country & western and blues and created a bit of a buzz. A second album, Cruisin' Deuces, was released in 1993 - also on Elektra - and Gatton was finally starting to get some recognition. But it might have been too late.
No stranger to jazz, Gatton's pairing here with a very young DeFrancesco (he was only 22 at the time) seems like a no-brainer. One of the best jazz-rock-blues CDs in existence, this is a must have for any collection.
I had the honour of meeting Joey DeFrancesco in Toronto a couple of years ago when he played there with his trio, with whom he regularly tours. Watching him play that night was an experience I will never forget, and after the show when I told him how amazing I though Relentless was, he smiled and said, "That's a good one, isn't it!"
It sure is!
Danny Gatton - probably the greatest guitar player to ever pick up a Fender Telecaster. Joey DeFrancesco - probably the greatest Hammond B3 organist.
Put these two incredible talents together and the result could only have been a masterpiece of astonishing proportions. And it was. This CD - it's never been released on vinyl or I would absolutely have it - is staggering in its breadth and diversity. This is a CD you buy two or three copies of in case the old rumours of CD rot (the idea that digital discs just stop working after a number of years) turn out to be true. You don't ever want to be without a disc this good.
On Relentless both musicians revel in a rainbow of harmonic inventions, rhythmic twists and what would surely be risky improvisations in anybody else's hands. And they make it seem so easy. Pairing these two together for a project like this had to happen eventually, and it's a good thing it happened when it did because Gatton killed himself the same year this recording was released. He went into his garage, locked the door and put a bullet in his head. Some say he did this because he'd become despondent over the lack of recognition he'd received for his talents. But - I dunno. He really was a kind of best kept secret. So many other musicians - Joe Bonamassa, Lenny Breau, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, James Burton, Chris Cheney, Vince Gill, Buckethead, Albert Lee, Les Paul, Arlen Roth, Richie Sambora, Ricky Skaggs, Slash, Steve Vai, among many others - all knew who he was. But outside of the professional musicians' circle (and also those of us who somehow found out about him) he was virtual unknown, which really is hard to believe given his prowess on the instrument. Such was it that Eric Clapton is supposed to have said that Gatton was the guitarist he always wanted to be.
And as for DeFrancesco - Danny Gatton was just another in the long list of amazing musician he's played and recorded with: Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith, Tom Harrell and Randy Brecker, John McLaughlin and Paul Bollenback, Pat Martino, Jake Langely, Frank Vignola, Larry Coryell, Bobby Hutcherson, Gary Bartz, David Sanborn, George Coleman, Houston Person, Jerry Weldon, Randy Brecker and Teddy Edwards, Byron Landham, Dennis Chambers, Joe Ascione, Billy Hart, Terry Clarke … he's even done a couple of tribute CD’s honouring the music of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Horace Silver, the latter with re-imaginings of each track on Silver's classic Finger Poppin’ LP. Very much recommended!
And now he's gone, too.
But we still do have this CD through which we can remember these two immense talents, and which also employs the worthy talents of bassist John Previti and drummer Timm Biery. It's extraordinary how well these four musicians work together. Previti and Biery lay down a rock solid foundation and seem able to intuitively keep up - like mind readers - with what must be, on some level, divinely unpredictable improvisations.
Classic jazz covers are turned inside out, like the frisky reworking of Wayne Shorter's The Chess Players. Both Gatton and DeFrancesco have unbelievable mind-to-hand coordination, along with a kind of jazzy intuition they use to interact with each other as though they've been playing together for decades.
My favourite track on this disc - The Pits - also happens to be the longest, clocking in at almost 12 glorious minutes. Starting out deceptively slow, it teases and stretches and speeds up and slows down and eventually works its way through several stunning finger-blazing crescendos - on both guitar and keyboard - before winding slowly back down, completely spent. It left me exhausted and I was just sitting there listening to it.
Gatton spent many years in the bars around Washington D.C. before hooking up with DeFrancesco, and his reputation slowly spread among guitar buffs when he toured with Robert Gordon and singer-songwriter Roger Miller. Gatton eventually broke out of D.C. with a jaw-dropping appearance before industry bigwigs at a Hard Rock Cafe bash in honour of Les Paul, in 1988. Guitar World magazine proclaimed him the World's Greatest Unknown Guitarist and Elektra released the album 88 Elmira St., in 1991, a recording that blended rockabilly, country & western and blues and created a bit of a buzz. A second album, Cruisin' Deuces, was released in 1993 - also on Elektra - and Gatton was finally starting to get some recognition. But it might have been too late.
No stranger to jazz, Gatton's pairing here with a very young DeFrancesco (he was only 22 at the time) seems like a no-brainer. One of the best jazz-rock-blues CDs in existence, this is a must have for any collection.
I had the honour of meeting Joey DeFrancesco in Toronto a couple of years ago when he played there with his trio, with whom he regularly tours. Watching him play that night was an experience I will never forget, and after the show when I told him how amazing I though Relentless was, he smiled and said, "That's a good one, isn't it!"
It sure is!
In March 1989, Guitar Player magazine ran their now legendary Unknown Greats cover feature. The cover was a photo of a man wearing a Phantom Of The Opera-style mask. Cradled in his arms was a ’53 Fender Telecaster. The man in the mask was a Washington D.C. guitar player named Danny Gatton. Middle-aged with a slicked-back '50s quiff, Gatton was an unlikely cover star - especially then when hair metal finger flying was all the rage.
Danny Gatton is perhaps the best guitar player that ever lived. In its article Guitar Player said, “He’s been called the World’s Greatest Unknown Guitarist, but what famous guitarist could outplay him?” The magazine came with a recording of Gatton playing an instrumental called Nit Pickin’.
Although the hype surrounding Gatton was all about him being the greatest unknown guitar player, the truth is he wasn’t completely unknown. He’d played with Roger Miller and rockabilly diehard Robert Gordon. He had a reputation in his home state as a dynamic performer. He was a showman onstage and he attracted attention.
Steve Vai had this to say about the one-time mystery man from Washington DC: “Danny Gatton was a players’ guitar player, hailed by both Rolling Stone and Guitar Player as the greatest unknown guitarist anywhere. His legend has only grown since his untimely suicide in 1994, along with appreciation for his blinding speed, effortless genre-hopping, flawless technique, and never-ending appetite for tinkering and problem-solving. Danny Gatton comes closer than anyone else to being the best guitar player that ever lived.”
In that one paragraph Vai summed up everything about Danny Gatton. If the best guitar player that ever lived is the title that will be bestowed on Gatton for the ages, there is no one better qualified than Vai to bestow it.
