The improvised music world at large hasn't really caught on to Terrence McManus, a New York-based guitarist who builds and modifies his instruments to help create a muted field of sounds and non-gestural phrases, both roiling and understated. Though the guitar is often thought of in a principally soloistic role, McManus' philosophy tends toward emphasizing ensemble and collective orchestration - his master classes spotlight concepts of interactive, free/open, and ensembles within ensemble playing. more ›

While April is jazz appreciation month, the Church of the Friendly Ghost is starting celebrations early on Sunday night with a double bill of progressive-jazz guitar improvisation in the form of Zevious Trio and guitarist Miles Okazaki and his septet. Both outfits hail from the international hotbed of young, creative music - New York - and while Austin certainly gets its fair share of veteran jazz and free improvisation appearances, there aren't too many shows featuring up-and-coming inside-outside players who are putting together some of the most innovative music on the international scene. more ›

Bill Frisell is one of the most omnivorous figures in contemporary improvisation; Berkelee-schooled, he studied with the inimitable six-stringer Jim Hall as well as being influenced by such figures as Pat Metheney, Gary Burton, Julius Hemphill, Miles Davis, Carla Bley, Ry Cooder and Jimi Hendrix. His association with Downtown New York figures like keyboardist Wayne Horvitz and saxophonist-composer John Zorn resulted in the frantic, Ruins-like Naked City, but his own recordings for labels like ECM and Nonesuch looked toward fresh, Americana-inspired interpretations of popular song form, filmic vignettes and dusty atmospherics. His own compositions draw from a similar, if even more varied well, and from the early 2000s Frisell has explored Malian and Brazilian musics as part of an intercontinental project (resulting in the appropriately-titled disc, The Intercontinentals, on Nonesuch). more ›

The Long Center for Performing Arts will become the center of the world next week for classical guitarists, students, and aficionados as the Guitar Foundation of America's Austin Goes Classical conference kicks off a six-day run on Tuesday, June 22. more ›

Austin is very well-known as a town in which musicians of all stripes and talents can make a stand for their art, and usually be counted for it. But despite its accessibility to aspirants, journeymen (and women), well-known legends and the undersung, Austin hasn't quite put itself on the map as far as having a jazz foment is concerned. more ›

Nothing is more human or more cosmic than an electric guitar in the right hands. if you’re craving some soul-warming power to balance out this cool December air, the Eric Tessmer Band’s got you covered. When Tessmer strums, the blazing frequencies resonate with the whole body, pulsing through the soles of the audience’s feet. While skeptic heads may cock at comparisons to Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn, they’ll thank themselves for taking the challenge: Tessmer’s the real deal. more ›

Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch speaks on evil record companies, Phil Collins, the ugly faces of politicians, shitty guitar solos, future collaboration with Modest Mouse, and old reggae guys getting high. Alright, so Built to Spill is one of the greatest, most influential, and most acclaimed bands of the past fifteen years. There's really no way around it. And for those of you who are a little late to the love-in, here's a very small sample of some of the things that have been said about them:         "A band whose talent and proficiency at times seem[s] boundless." --Pitchfork Media         "Flawless." --Trigger Magazine         "In short, he's a talent more people ought to know about." --Rolling Stone, on Doug Martsch         "Better than getting laid, finding God and winning the lotto combined." --San Francisco Weekly, just last week when discussing their live performance more ›