Renowned New York jazz musician, band leader, Stick guru and
writer Steve Adelson brings a diverse guitar background and sharp wit
to his playing and teaching styles.
FEATURE AND INTERVIEW BY GREG HOWARD
Ask anyone who knows about jazz and The Stick and you'll hear two names
pop up: Emmett Chapman and Steve Adelson. These two "former" guitarists
share a lot in common: a passion for performing, harmony, teaching, and
wordplay. Emmett draws on the realms of John Coltrane, John McLaughlin,
McCoy Tyner, and Jimi Hendrix, whereas Steve's muse is often more
traditionally focused, with Wes Montgomery and the pantheon of great
jazz guitarists as key elements, but not the only elements. Anyone
listening to Steve's recordings or watching him in concert will hear an
inviting blend of guitar-inspired sounds reaching beyond jazz to every
style imaginable.
Steve has performed and recorded for many years with his revolving
"Stick-tet", which has featured some great New York jazz musicians like
vibraphonist Bryan Carrott and percussionist Nydia Liberty Mata. His
2007 CD, Adventures in Stickology, features pairings of Stick and
guitar stylists with drums, percussion and the jawdroppingly musical
washboard work of David Langlois. Guest musicians include Dean Brown,
Chieli Minucci, Ben Lacy, Stephane Wrembel, Phil DeGruy, Tony Levin and
more. With all these heavyweight planets orbiting Steve's stellar core,
the music is conversational, energetic, and always fun. His penchant for
making connections with other great players like Larry Corryell, Muriel
Anderson and recently, Les Paul, finds him surprising diverse audiences
with his virtuosity and musicality, driving the bass, comping the
chords, and soloing with dizzying speed and melodic invention.
Steve's prolific output of instructional materials, (2008's Stickology book and DVD from Mel Bay, and a pending series of
online CD Rom lessons from TrueFire, see preview video interview
below), and active travels to Stick seminars around the world, are
helping get a new generation of Stickists started. His live shows are
reaching into the guitar world like no Stick player has before.
I asked Steve about his roots, his sounds, and how he's branching out
into new media (see the INTERVIEW below).
Greg: Most people familiar with The Stick know you as a jazz,
player, but your music is much broader than that. What do you like to listen
to outside of jazz?
Steve: My "hippie" 60's music background is still in my
blood. Among the groups I listened to and still do to this day are The Allman
Brothers, Procol Harum, Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, and of course The Beatles.
I enjoy doing Stick covers of this repertoire. The cool challenge in arranging
these tunes for The Stick is integrating as many of the orchestrated parts as
possible, juggling, bass line, chords, melody, horns (if they exist) and drum
rhythms. Fun!
Back to my listening pleasures, I would also include master guitarists like
Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani and Alan Holdsworth. The list is long. I also
appreciate fingerstyle guitar players like Adrian Legg, John Fahey, Tommy
Emmanuel, Chet Atkins and my fave, Michael Hedges. And older blues dudes like
Mississippi John Hurt and Rev. Gary Davis.
"Minor Thing" performed by Steve and David
Langlois
I'm not an opera fan at all, but probably my most favorite piece of music of
all time is the instrumental prelude to "Tristan and Isolde" by
Wagner. I also enjoy some good bluegrass, some Stevie Wonder funk and some
heavy stuff like the bands Ministry or Nine Inch Nails while I'm working out
at the gym.
It's interesting how the jazz thing crept into my life. When I first took
guitar lessons in my late teen years, my teacher, Charlie Didier, exposed me
to jazz. Charlie was an exceptional player and instructor and I figured if I
followed his guidance I could apply this "sophisticated" genre he
taught me and be a badass rocker. Well, listening to Wes Montgomery and
Django Reinhardt just changed everything. So I still play Zep tunes but all
those years of learning and digesting the jazz repertoire has become my blood
transfusion. It's like having a foreign accent. It's in every musical
statement I make even if the tune is by Jimi Hendrix.
Sitting in with with Les Paul at The Iridium in Manhattan,
January 2009
Bottom line is I'm open to all sonic possibilities. From experimental, and
ambient, to country and metal, if it has quality and interest, I'll absorb
it.
_____
Greg: You came to The Stick from a jazz guitar background, and as
you said, you were also into fingerstyle players, what kinds of ideas and
techniques from the guitar were you able to bring with you to The Stick?
And what kinds of things have you found that weren't there for you on the
guitar?
Steve: Learning to play jazz on the guitar was a real challenge.
The vocabulary is so extensive and the flexibility of the language is ever
expanding. I always enjoyed this huge palette of possible creative ideas.
Guitar fingerpicking technique was/is considered a fairly sophisticated
concept and has since evolved into many sub-styles. It's a very orchestral
way of presenting guitar music.
So, again the challenge is to bring this knowledge to The Stick and find ways
to present similar ideas but with a new flair. More complex chords are
actually easier on The Stick. Acrobatic fingerings are unnecessary. With the
two handed concept of polychords, the toughest extended or altered chord
becomes simple. To get technical, let's say you have a Gm11. This chord is
spelled G Bb D F A C. Well if you play G Bb D (Gmi) with the left hand in the
bass, and F A C (F Maj) with the right on the treble strings, the combination
of these two very simple triads equals the desired Gm11 chord. The fingerings
become very easy. The player just has to learn the chemistry of the
multi-triad combinations.
Scales, arpeggios and other melodic ideas are easier to play as well.
They're smoother to play on The Stick because you don't have to work on
coordinating the attack of the picking hand with the fingered note. Of
course tapping the notes also inspires new improv ideas.
A larger challenge to me has been the rhythmic element. Guitarists strum
drum-like patterns. Although we can indeed strum The Stick, it's not optimum.
Searching for alternatives has been thought provoking. One concept that grabs
some of the aforementioned fingerpicking ideas with wonderful rhythmic
elements is the technique I call "The Claw" (Emmett calls it
"FingerSticking"). The flow and sequence of fingers looks
guitaristic but the sound is unique. I also love exploring different
geographical areas of The Stick's fretboard. Either hand can/should play
anywhere, any string, any fret area.
To me, the real inspiration is exploring all the open possibilities that The
Stick offers. It's still very new and its musical history is very virgin
(well almost). The creative possibilities are truly limitless.
_____
Greg: You've been a fan of the Roland Virtual Guitar (VG)
processors for a long time, and even have a track on their latest demo CD
for the VG99. Do you alter your playing any when you're using this device,
or does it just feel like an extension of what you normally do?
Steve: I view the VG99 as actually part of my instrument. I enjoy
processing different sounds and effects to lead me in different directions.
Whether I'm trying to copy a particular guitarist's tone or attempting to
create my own, the VG99 is perfect for completing the desired affect. The
tone quality of Wes Montgomery's playing or Alan Holdsworth's soaring legato
lines are very appealing to me. These are two sound patches I tweaked into
the Roland processor. I have about two dozen sounds that I use depending on
the style I'm playing. On my last CD, Stickology, this became very
useful. At the time I was using the previous model, the VG88, but with a
similar purpose. When I recorded with nine different guitarists on different
tracks, I had to alter my sounds to be complimentary and at the same time
unique.
The tracking of the VG99 is not an issue at all. Despite using the Roland
midi pickup and accompanying 13-pin cable, there is no delay whatsoever in
attack to sound recognition. I use it both in the studio and live. Don't
leave home without it.
_____
Greg: Are there any universal musical concepts you think are
essential to studying this instrument? For your students who've never played
the guitar or bass, what kinds of things do you find helpful in approaching
tapping on strings?
Steve: First thing I always emphasize is the logic of The Stick's
fretboard. The universal tuning of 4ths and 5ths makes the geometry so much
easier than guitar navigation (the guitar has an uneven tuning layout). An
innocent bystander might find it hard to believe but the Stick's tuning
simplifies the fingering vocabulary by extraordinary proportions. Unlike
guitar books that offer 9,654,000 chord shapes, you can do it all with SIX
fingerings on The Stick. REALLY!
Three Major chord shapes (inversions) and three minors are plenty. Using the
previously described polychord approach, all the "sophisticated" voicings can
be accomplished easily. Fingerings can be transferred all over the Stick's
fretboard. And the dot inlays, every five frets, makes this even easier. I
always suggest mapping out on paper, the notes on a Stick's fretboard and
seeing the repeated sequences of note placement. It's unbelievable how simple
this makes the visual element of playing.
As far as actual physicality, I find the ergonomics of The Stick so much
easier than guitar or bass. It's virtually impossible to get a muffled or
buzzed note. Except for the infamous "skronk" (string pushed over the edge)
all notes sound crystal clear with minimal effort. And practice time increases
since the hand weary factor is decreased. It's a very addictive instrument.
The more you learn, the more the Stick gives back and opens new doors to
creativity. This is self-inspiring and joyful.
Greg: I've listened to all of your discs and watched your videos
and also seen you perform many concerts, so I know how much you enjoy working
with different combinations of musicians. You've had a lot of interactions
with some pretty famous ones, including recording with Tony Levin, and also
your recent gigs sitting in with Les Paul in New York. Was there ever a
"favorite configuration" or especially memorable on-stage chemistry for
you?
Steve: I'm always most comfortable with my regular crew of players
which include my main man Bryan Carrott on vibes and Nydia "Liberty" Mata
or David Langlois on percussion. Bryan hears and responds like no one else
I know. Playing with him has really accelerated my Stick musical learning
curve. Nydia is very sensitive to my music and David just swings his butt
off on his novel washboard plus pots and pans set up. You can hear and see
all of them in action all over youtube.
Other players that I have love playing with are my friend Chieli Minucci,
(guitarist from Special EFX), Dean Brown (guitarist with everyone), Rachel Z
(piano) and guitar phenom Ben Lacy. There have been many great drummers along
the way too. Recently I performed with Danny Gottlieb. I've had the
opportunity to jam with some celebs including Jack Bruce, Stanley Jordan,
Jeff Berlin, Larry Coryell and others. Probably the most memorable of all was
a 20-minute jam session I had with the great Pat Metheny. First I gave him a
short tutorial on the Stick then we played 2 or 3 songs together — a
great memory indeed.
All these situations have been memorable but alas, there is one scenario that
I hold in my heart as extra special. I produce the annual four-day Long Beach
(NY) Jazz Festival and of course I perform a set. The last few years I've
invited friends to join my ensemble, one at a time, so we start as a duo and
end up with a nine or ten piece band. Drums, multi-percussion, vibes, piano,
guitars, sax, etc and Stick. The mix some how ends up in a perfect sonic blend
of ideas. As you know, these are magical moments.
Greg: Your Stickology method book, published by Mel Bay last
year, has been getting rave reviews from Stick players, both for the lesson
material and your humorous style. What new things can players expect from your
TrueFire videos which are scheduled to come out this summer?
Steve: I deeply appreciate all the positive feedback I've received
concerning the book with DVD. As you know, it's very rewarding to document
your ideas and pass them along to a community of enthusiastic musicians. I
want to thank Mel Bay for seeing the value in publishing Stickology
as a "music first" endeavor.
Likewise kudos to TrueFire for seeing the validity of this unique instrument
and new "Free Hands" way of playing developed by Emmett Chapman. TrueFire has
numerous guitar video instruction classes but to their credit they were able
to move further outside the box on this one. In mid-2008, I went to their
studios and over two days, recorded 40 segments of Stick instruction, each
roughly three to seven minutes long, so the total will be over three hours of
video when finished. Right now they're still editing my material as well as
many other guitar projects so it looks like a summer 2009 release. It's
tentatively titled "Ultimate Stick". The videos will cover all aspects of
information, from Stick musical vocabulary to techniques and gear and
everything in between.
As for musical humor?... In a blues band, remember it's all for one and
one-four-five.