Melvin Taylor - Beyond The Burning Guitar (2010) 2CDs

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Melvin Taylor - Beyond The Burning Guitar (2010) 2CDs

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This isn't just a 2-CD set of some unbelievable guitar work from a long-esteemed player of truly formidable skill but rather a treasury that proves beyond doubt that Melvin Taylor needs to be placed within the museum of the guitar greats: Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Chet Atkins, Frank Zappa, Earl Klugh, Jim Hall, Leo Kottke, Robert Fripp, Grant Green, Pat Metheny…all of 'em, regardless of style and genre. And he not only plays all the many layers of various guitars here but bass as well in a nominally foursome format. Quite a few overdubs crop up, all of which will blow you away, but the other musicians are Bernell Anderson on keyboards and Señor Jefe on drums (a pseudonym?, means 'Mr. Chief' in English……and, hmmmm……y'know, at times, like in The Hook Up, I very strongly suspect a drum machine—either that or El Jefe's exceedingly precise).

The initial cut alone, Dueling Guitars of Rio Terra, is daunting. Taylor at first achieves a clipped DiMeola-esque attack that makes his axe seem to be a cross between guitar and banjo, then, after a number of very subtle declensions and abstractions, comes off in Sonny Sharrockian fashion, crowding notes up for offbeat contrasts…within a basically flamenco side trip evolving beneath the cut's speedy but modern trad atmosphere within shifting structures. From there, no territory is safe, and Taylor tears into them all sooner or later. In prime, though, this is Blue Note and CTI taken into the stratosphere, to jazz what Satriani and Vai are to fusion riffrock.

Approach Beyond the Burning Guitar from any angle you want, you won't be disappointed. It's a guitarist's guitar album and a sophisticated listener's dream, non-stop brilliance and inhumanly executed chops, whether in the ultra-clean Earl Klugh idiom or finger-mangling chopsfest rock mode. Be sure to put a nice soft cushion on the floor 'cause your jaw's going to be hitting it a lot, and Taylor doesn't need lawsuits arising from thoracomandibular problems in stunned audiences. It's probably impossible to listen to the entire repertoire without having your head explode, so be careful, that's all I'm saying. And here's the O. Henry part: the guy's completely self-taught. Unfuckingreal!

Review by Mark S. Tucker, AcousticMusic.com

It used to be that whenever someone mentioned jazz guitar to me, I instinctively thought of it as the background music that played while I was eating overcooked pasta in bad restaurants. But as the years went by, I spent a lot of time listening to Django Reinhardt, George Benson, Charlie Christian, and John Mclaughlin, and realized that I had shortchanged myself by not giving this genre the attention it deserves. My exploration into this music introduced to Melvin Taylor’s work, as he is a fabulous jazz guitarist who ranks among the best in the business. He recently released his tenth studio album, Beyond the Burning Guitar, and it is quite a winner.

Melvin Taylor was born in Mississippi, but grew up in Chicago so he got to enjoy all of its wonderful musical influences. He took up the guitar as a young child, and is completely self-taught. Early on he caught the attention of Pinetop Perkins, who asked him to join the Legendary Blues Band for a European tour. Since then he has been recording on his own and touring with his own band, opening up for some true legends, including Buddy Guy and B.B. King.

His latest release, Beyond the Burning Guitar, is an ambition piece of work, with two discs, 24 instrumental tracks and a ninety minute play time. Melvin Taylor plays all of the guitar and bass parts, Bernell Anderson joins him on keyboards and Señor Jefe takes care of the drum and percussion parts. All of this music was written and arranged Mr. Taylor, with the obvious exception of his adaptation of Beethoven’s fifth symphony.

Melvin is known for being a jazz guitarist, but it is not really fair to pigeon hole him based on one part of his abilities. As I said earlier, he has a strong blues background, and this release contains jazz, blues, fusion and even some rock; often times they are mixed together so that you would be hard-pressed to fit them into any one genre. You will find this out when you hear track one, “Dueling Guitars of Rio Terra,” as it is some really incredibly tough Spanish-influenced music. There are many layers of guitars to hear, and he has a gorgeous acoustic tone and incredible dexterity. I found that I missed out many of the nuances of this music when I played this through my car stereo, so this album is best heard through a good home sound system or headphones.

He hops genres frequently, and the second track is a jazz song titled “Steppers” that showcases how smoothly Taylor can play the guitar. Señor Jefe holds down a freakishly regular beat while Anderson adds just the right amount of mood with his keyboards, and you will find these things to be true throughout this double album. You will notice that there are no vocals on these tunes or anywhere else on Beyond the Burning Guitar, and it simply does not need any as the guitar fills the vocal role nicely. Also, the tracks are relatively short, with all of them coming in under five minutes each.

Mr. Talyor serves up some rock and blues material as well, most noticeably in “Rock In Blues” and “Sweet Blues,” as you can guess from their titles. “Rock In Blues” leans more towards the rock side, but there is a discernible blues foundation to this song. Taylor shows off his incredible chops and cuts loose with guitar pyrotechnics that are comparable to what Vai, Satriani or Hendrix have recorded. “Sweet Blues” has the Chicago blues sound with Hammond organ chords, a classic walking bass line and a heavy 2-4 drum beat. Melvin weaves two completely different guitar parts over this base and everything meshes together perfectly.

I could go on and on as there are a metric ton of tracks here, but you get the picture. The only downside to this two CD is set is that there is just too much of a good thing here, and it is hard for me to focus for an hour and a half on complex guitar music. If this is the only gripe I could think of then Melvin and his band did a pretty good job!

Melvin Taylor has gifted writing and guitar playing talents, and Beyond the Burning Guitar is his best work thus far. If you love guitar music and entertaining instrumentals, do yourself a favor and check out his music.

Review by Rex Bartholomew, TheBluesBlast.com

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Melvin Taylor - Beyond The Burning Guitar (2010) 2CDs

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Melvin Taylor - Beyond The Burning Guitar (2010) 2CDs

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Melvin Taylor - Beyond The Burning Guitar (2010) 2CDs

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