|
|
©2000 by Ely Music/Pub |
 |
Aloha Joe's Steel Guitar Hour | Where to Find the Recordings "Jerry Byrd By Request"Jerry Byrd 
All you Country and Hawaiian steel guitar players, it's here! "Jerry Byrd By Request" was released by The Mountain Apple Company in September. Jerry's been threatening to produce this recording for at least a year, and it's MORE than worth the wait. First half is a great collection of standards; the last three cuts are pure Hawaiian. ALL of the numbers are pure Jerry Byrd. I'm listening to it as I write, with a happy smile on my face--even when he plays "country", you can hear the "Hawaiian signatures" that are all Jerry's. Jerry's own words, from the "J" card say it best: "This collection of music covers a wide range of themes and cultures as music can do better than any other medium: not only country, but even sections of countries with all of their many and varied musical instruments. Like "Steel" Guitar for instance...(Didn't I lead you into that nicely?)" "We all know (or should) that Steel Guitar is a Hawaiian instrument by birth, but is now known and played world-wide. It can be anything the player wants it to be and can be played in a style that reflects any country's music culture, and better than any other instrument because its sound can be altered to suit any music and its ethnic nuances. There is no limitation other than the player's ability." "I have tried over the years and again herein, to show some of Steel guitar's many traits, and how adaptable it is to other kinds of music, yet always retaining its "Hawaiian-ness" as the underlying theme because, to me, that is really where it is at its expressive best and where I can best express my deep, and livelong love of Steel Guitar. An instrument of styling, Steel Guitar is the most individual of all: no two players can possibly sound exactly alike." "I hope that you will enjoy this collection for years to come as so many of you have my recordings in years past. Most of the selections were by request, thus the varied content, and in order to cover the most of them, I did so by medley." -- Ever grateful, Jerry Byrd (It's we who are ever grateful, Jerry, for treating us, "one more once" (as Count Basie used to say) to 51 minutes of the smoothest, mellowist steel guitar sound in the world, backed up by some other smooth and mellow folks: Kalani Fernandes, Hiram Olsen, Benny Kalama and Denny Otholt. So get ready to turn off the phone and TV, sink into your favorite chair with a glass, can or cup'a, and let the "Master of Touch and Tone" do it to ya. YES!) 
HSGA * HAWAIIAN
STEEL GUITAR ASSOCIATION Homepage URL: www.hsga.org (hsga@lava.net) Last updated: 07/23/02 by Gerald Ross (gbross@umich.edu) |