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Preston Reed -
Six String Storyteller
Epoch Times, Washington DC.
The possibilities of what can be created
with the guitar are endless, and Preston
Reed is here to prove it with a blend of
blues, jazz, rock and funk. Reed opens the
door wide with his latest release,
"History of Now," in which he uses a
unique approach to lead the listener down
a melodic path. He is a storyteller with
the guitar and utilizes every facet of it
from harmonics to the wooden body's
percussive elements.
The album starts with a mellow meld of
blues and jazz, "Dead Cool," which would
make a first-time listener wonder just how
many hands this guy has! Songs like "Woman
in the Tower" send out more reflective,
mellow vibes that describe the scene using
harmonic imagery. After Reed lulls you
into a quiet state, he does not hesitate
to turn up the energy and get the feet
tapping with songs like "Twang Thang" and
"Corazon."
Preston Reed's unique style allows him to
work with a wide range of sounds. He has a
knack for blending colorful elements with
dramatic effects. "Franzl's Saw" is a fine
example. Halfway through the song, it
sounds like he pulls out the stand-up bass
and turns out a climactic line while he's
still going with the slide on his other
hand. "Halfway Home" takes it down a notch
and gives a sense of traveling and of
longing to get to one's destination.
Some may consider the album to be slow in
places because they know from his last
album, "Handwritten Notes," that Reed is
capable of speed. But Preston Reed is
beyond speed-picking and blazing solos. He
has a story to tell and does it with
instrumental allegory, using a variety of
styles and sounds&emdash;creating just
plain fascinating music for the listener
to explore.
By Jeff Nenarella
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January
2006
Guitar
Bridge
Originally hailing from New York State,
USA, but now living in Europe Preston Reed
is one of those guitarists who is as well
a melody man, a guitarist/composer and
percussionist who creates on his own a
fully one man band. Through the years he
released some 13 albums, including Metal,
Ladies Night, Handwritten Notes and
Instrument Landing .His new CD, History of
Now, contains as well some new arranged
pieces of other albums as some exceptional
well new composed works. Preston Reed's
remarkable talent was also praised by the
late Michael Hedges and other colleagues
in the acoustic guitar circuit. When one
at first listens to one of Preston Reed's
CD's one gets the impression at least 3
guitars are played in a trio setting, but
Preston does as well the bass, melody and
percussion part all by himself. He plays
as well acoustic, classical as electric
guitars, but most of his fans will see him
as a gifted musician who is as well a
creator of atmosphere as a phenomenal
technical skilled guitarist/ composer.
Groove is one of the ingredients of his
music which makes his music so attractive
and one feels the chemistry with a
listener as on Dead Cool, a very appealing
track with a superb approach to acoustic
guitar music. Signal Path is full of
hammer on and pulling of and slapping and
tapping techniques. The captivating ballad
Woman in the Tower, reveals the composing
talent of this guitar virtuoso, in an
intimate and touching ambiance. Chord
Melody, a track which covers jazzy chord
changes in another magnificent composed
piece of art. The melancholic
interpretation of False Spring takes one
on an adventurous lazy trip in many moving
sound escapades. Lost Time, with a bluesy
setup with a jazzy coating is
breathtaking. History of Now shows the
diversity and versatility of one of the
most talented guitarists in the acoustic
guitar circuit.
-- Henk te Veldhuis
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November 2005
History Of Now is the first release in
five years from the highly innovative and
individual guitarist Preston Reed. An
early disciple of John Fahey and Leo
Kottke he's developed into a genuinely
original instrumentalist with his
concurrent melodic and rhythmic lines and
percussive two-handed attack on fretboard
and body. Yet Reed is far more than a man
of mere technique. History is evocative
and vivid, with an understated beauty and
a Ry Cooder-like sense of atmospherics in
places. His recent collaborations with
Arild Anderson and others show a broader
and more reflective composer and
interpreter than previous, yet brilliant,
acoustic-only explorations such as Metal
and Handwritten Notes.
"Hit The Ground Running" is fuelled with a
wonderful, orchestral rhythmic bluster and
high-range melodic jangling while "Signal
Path" has an infectiously folky
hand-patting, hammer-on/pull-off groove.
"Chord Melody" recalls the harmonic warmth
of Jim Hall which contrasts with the
dazzling funk-blues of "Corazon".
Jazzwise
James McGowan
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November
2005
Preston Reed is a guitarist who has
followed the unenviable path taken by
Martin Taylor - solo guitar. Like Taylor,
Reed is capable of astonishing sheets of
sound which defy belief in the
possibilities of only two hands.
On this new CD, History Of Now (Outer
Bridge Records), he is also adept at Ry
Cooder-ish slide and bluesy bluegrass.
Although the photos suggest that Reed
plays an Ovation-style acoustic guitar,
there is the occasional whiff of
electronic experimentations in this
programme of 14 original solo
compositions.
Guitarists will spend many happy hours
guessing the makes of the various guitars
used, in addition to enjoying the stunning
virtuoso display. Watch out Martin Taylor,
there is an American rival on your
trail.
Jazz notes
by Ron Burnett
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Preston Reed & Arild Andersen
Tron Theatre, Glasgow **** (four
stars)
A chance remark to a friend by the
Girvan-based American guitarist Preston
Reed, that he fancied working with a bass
player, led to him sharing the stage with
one of the world's great double bassists,
Arild Andersen.
Until last Wednesday they'd never met. Now
they're talking about reconvening
annually. This, the third gig in their
brief testing of the waters, was purely a
beginning. While Andersen has worked with
a modern jazz who's who, including
guitarists Pat Metheny, John Scofield and
John Abercrombie, Reed has spent almost
his entire career playing solo, developing
a unique style in which the guitar becomes
a piano, a drum and several shades of
exotic percussion.
His compositions are, by nature,
self-contained, requiring Andersen to use
his ingenuity to find a space underneath
the guitar patterns, bowing whale song
sounds above them or, sometimes, just
charging straight into them with his
trademark combination of apparently
motorised propulsion and brilliantly
intricate invention.
With Andersen adding Norwegian folk dance
tunes and both Nordic and Spanish
impressionism to Reed's idiosyncratic
finger-busters, Appalachian two-steps,
jazz ballads and blues, the repertoire was
nothing if not varied.
What's really required is music that both
have written specifically, rather than
adapted, for the duo. But if there were
moments of slight confusion or where
Andersen was content to lay out and let
Reed's express train through, these were
outweighed by the magic of hearing the
pairing click. Just listening to
Andersen's bass purr and his melodic lines
sing is treat enough, but the sight and
sound of them clearly enjoying the
experience turned this virtuosi's trial
run into a collector's item.
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October 2005
History of Now, according to Preston Reed
is a collection of new compositions
written since 2000 along with some old
favourites that may not have been
available before. And what a collection it
is. For those not familiar with him,
Preston Reed hails from New York State and
has recorded 13 albums since 1979. Now
based in Europe, Preston composes and
plays all of his own work on a range of
guitars, from steel string acoustic, solid
body electric, semi-acoustic, 12-string
and classical (amongst others).
His work encompasses many genres and this
is quite apparent on his latest work. From
the bluesy stlyings of early Rhythm and
Blues to Ballads to Jazz to Rock to a
wider World feel, History of Now really
shows Preston at his best. With flavours
of Robert Johnson, Mike Oldfiled (circa
Guitars release) and Ry Cooder, History of
Now is an emotional rollercoaster. The
opening track, Dead Cool starts the album
off with a definite flavour of what to
expect. Excellent playing, fantastic
melodies and a range of sound that
showcases Preston's abilities. From the
frenetic Twang Thang and Corazon to the
beautiful ballad stylings of False Spring
and Woman In The Tower, History of Now is
highly recommended for those that like
well played instrumental music with
passion. History of Now is available on
the Outer Bridge Records label.
Entertainment Ireland
by David Bryan
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August 2005
There's a great Simpsons line from the
episode in which Homer decides to become
an inventor. He's sitting in the basement,
"inventing," and he says to Marge, "You
look at this table, and what do you see?
Just a table. Now a creative person like
me looks at this table and sees all kinds
of creative things. But no table!" (it
turns out it's not a table at all, but
their dryer).
Preston Reed looked at a guitar and saw
all kinds of things. But no guitar. Sure,
he saw a rhythm-making, notemaking
instrument, but he also saw a percussion
section, a bass guitar, a second and third
acoustic guitar, and something that could
produce all of those sounds-plus
harmonics-at the same time. He also saw
something that he should hold with both
hands above the neck, rather than the
chord-making hand being positioned from
underneath. The result: he has the busiest
hands in the business, and has created a
sound uniquely his own. A consequence of
this is that he prints a disclaimer inside
each album that reads: "All compositions
on this recording are complete live takes
with no overdubbing." In math form, this
would be: 2 hands plus 1 Ovation guitar =
a full band.
Our first stop in trying to assess why
he's not the most listened-to guitarist in
America is his album Metal, originally
released in 1995, and re-released in 2002
by Outer Bridge records (Reed's own
label-that he had to re-release this album
himself is additional evidence that the
music industry has no idea what it's
doing). To begin with, Metal is not his
most accessible album for those looking to
be introduced to his sound. That honor
would probably have to go to 2000's
Handwritten Notes, which features tracks
such as "Tractor Pull" and "Along the
Perimeter," both of which reestablish a
goal for many budding fingerstyle
guitarists, and such tender fingerpicking
tracks like "Crossing Open Water" and
"Love in the Old Country."
No, Metal is much more aggressive, much
more percussive, and represents a more
energized side of Reed that first-time
listeners might be surprised by. Of
course, surprise isn't a bad thing. But
hearing the album open with the harmonic
slaps of "Blasting Cap" can be a musically
altering experience if you aren't prepared
for it. Same goes for "Tribes," "Metal,"
or "Chatanooga," which can all be jarring
if one has no prior history with him.
One of the joys of listening to Reed is to
try and picture how he accomplishes each
sound. On "Chattanooga," for example, it
helps to picture him on stage, holding a
long-neck guitar (one with 24+ frets),
with both hands above the neck, in
constant motion. This image works when
hearing "Stonecutter" for the first time,
a track that, tragically, is not available
anywhere online, except in the amazingly
misleading Amazon.com sound bite.
"Stonecutter" represents Reed at his most
powerful, as the track has no downtime
whatsoever, no slow bridge or simple
hook-like chorus to allow for the
musician's hands to relax a bit and get in
position for the main guitar riff. It's
3:24 of motion. Give the more
representative "Slap Funk" a listen for a
better available illustration of his "busy
hand syndrome."
He can be simpler, though. "Far Horizon"
succeeds, not because of any intricacy to
the style, but because he uses sustained
and ringing harmonics and bass notes to
create layers underneath what turns out to
be a very simple (yet very beautiful)
melody line. "Flatonia" begins as a
moving, simple ballad, and ends as a
finger picking clinic in the style of Leo
Kottke or Michael Hedges. "Chattanooga,"
like "Stonecutter," is also a song of
constant motion. Reed uses harmonic slaps,
tapping, and occasional fingerpicking to
add a very unique atmospheric sound to his
arsenal.
When one mentions fingerstyle guitar, Leo
Kottke is inevitably part of the
discussion; most fingerstyle guitarists
point to Kottke's "6- and 12-string
Guitar" as an influence (the ones who
don't have probably been influenced by it
through other artists). Kottke's presence
is felt in a few of Reed's songs, most
notably "Franzl's Saw," in which Reed uses
a pinky slide (while fingerpicking, no
less) and recalls Kottke's "Poor Boy" and
"The Sailor's Grave on the Prairie"
(again, though the CD Baby sample is a
full 2 minutes, they've inexplicably
chosen the most uneventful two minutes of
the song).
Within 10 seconds of listening to him,
you'll realize just how little innovation
is on display by the McBands receiving
heavy rotation on MTV or Your Local
Alternative Radio Station. Reed's Metal
was the primary focus here, largely
because it's one of the few albums of his
that's still available; the majority of
his records go for 35 dollars or more as
rare or used copies, and the few that are
available new-and cheaply-are recent
re-issues from his own label. If not
Metal, one could just as easily try
Handwritten Notes first, before graduating
to Ladies Night. The result is the same:
Reed is a treasure, an absolute
must-listen for those even tangentially
interested in acoustic guitar music, and a
one-of-a-kind innovator who will change
the way you approach the guitar in both
your listening and your performing.
- You Should Hear Them
by John Erhardt
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August
2004
The
remarkable Preston Reed finally gets a UK
release for 2000's Handwritten Notes
(OUTER BRIDGE) * * *, a mesmerising set of
instrumentals from the guitar virtuoso,
taking on allcomers from funk to blues to
jazz and beyond.
Classy
stuff
--Uncut Magazine
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Guitar and Bass July 2004
One listen to Preston Reed and we
guarantee you'll never look at an acoustic
guitar the same way again. Sounding more
like ten men - and men with titanium hands
at that - Handwritten Notes is in fact the
work of one man and his Ovation Adams.
Night Ride opens the album at a breathless
bluesy pace, with Reed using every part of
his hand for a percussive effect, at times
defying belief with his deftness. But the
biggest treat of this collection has to be
Gianaina, a jazzy, Ry Cooder-ish number.
Really though, Reed should be seen live to
gain the full effect - so look out for him
in July.
Guitarist Magazine, June 2004
There's no doubt that we're currently
enjoing something of a solo acoustic
renaissance which is being spearheaded by
a handful of guitarists who have taken the
burning brand from the late lamented
Michael Hedges and are now running a race
much their own. Preston Reed is certainly
one of the genre's frontrunners, as this
latest CD ably attests. Shunning the
conventional EADGBE for the more esoteric
tunings favored by the acoustic
cogniscenti, Reed runs the gamut of
expression in a collection of his own
compositions - sensitive ballads sitting
happily next to fierce percussive workouts
that test the capabilities of the
instrument itself. this is an example of
true, spellbinding guitar mastery.
Standout tracks: First Summer Without You,
Tractor Pull, Nightride
--Dave Mead
Total Guitar, June 2004
For the uninitiated, American veteran
Preston Reed is widely thought of as the
world's most gifted acoustic guitarist.
Fusing blues, folk, funk and jazz, he's
always been capable of scaling
Hendrix-style heights of dazzling
technical brilliance, and this album
continues in a similarly virtuoso vein. If
you're interested in exploring the further
reaches of guitar technique, Handwritten
Notes really is a must.
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March 2004
Dolan's Warehouse, Limerick
Brendan Coffey waxs lyrical over Preston
Reed.
From irismagazine.net
Concert date: Wednesday February 25,
2004
Appearing on stage looking like an aged
'Sideshow Bob', complete with long grey
curling hair, Preston Reed almost
immediately distracts attention from his
imposing physicality with a display of
guitar playing that leaves one thinking
some sort of sign should have adorned the
entrance. 'Genius at work' being most
appropriate.
The cause of distraction in looking away
from Reed and towards his guitar is
initially, at least, his style of playing.
Imagine placing a guitar on the ground and
proceeding to play it as though its
strings were made of ivory and you have
some idea of Preston Reed's unorthodox
style.
If the initial cause of focus is on Mr.
Reed's guitar, the sounds that emanate
from them (he used four in all, including
one electric) quickly become addictive
substances that dare one to turn away at
the peril of missing something
spectacular.
Starting with 'Lady's Night', Reed's
opening four songs are breathtakingly
melodic, blending the brash and at times
overawing sound of the guitar, beautifully
cultivated by his inimitable style of
playing. His fourth song 'Nightrider'- is
a virtuoso piece of music, slowly and
gently revealing itself before developing
into a sound that is fast, powerful and
wickedly strident. By his own admission,
the song is a bit of "schizophrenic"!
Better is still to come and the sixth song
of the evening, 'Overture' is resounding
in its ability to capture the audience,
soaring to a musical zenith that is joyous
and blissfully bombastic. The song's
inspiration is in the moments before and
after the birth of his child. Reed jokes
at the end; "she was a big baby".
Reed's music tempers in the middle, with
songs that hark back to the more
traditional sounds of American bluegrass
('Love in the Old Country') and country
('Bordertowns').
He converses with the crowd in an
intelligent, laid back and honest manner
that endears the crowd to listen intently
to Reed for over two hours. Three times he
returns to the stage after departing, and
'Overture' gets another airing by request
from the crowd.
Reed receives a thoroughly deserved
standing ovation at the end. The sign on
the door should be changed to - "A genius
worked here".
By Brendan Coffey
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Propulsive,
percussive rhythm is the inescapable
theme, but there's still plenty of variety
in mood, pace, and technique will leave
you wondering how one man armed only with
an acoustic guitar can churn out all this
music. - Fingerstyle Guitar
Magazine review of Ladies
Night
Fretting with
two hands on an acoustic guitar is a chore
for most players. But Preston Reed makes
it sound as easy as breathing. -
Musician
I want to
rave about Preston Reed's Metal.
Reed has taken the genre in the most
innovative directions, both with technique
and with composition. The title track, an
acoustic tribute to heavy metal, will drop
your jaw. - Playboy Magazine
Reed's
propulsive one-man grooves echo
Soundgarden and Joni Mitchell. Rich
tunings are worked over with body slaps,
harmonic tickles, sweet melodies and
confident passion." -James Rotundi,
Guitar Player, July 1996
"One of the
most unique and challenging acoustic
guitar albums ever...Reed's pieces are as
visually and emotionally provocative as
his technique is dazzling. Both guitar
aficionados and casual listeners will find
much to enjoy in this creative yet
completely accessible work. Find it!" -
Hilarie Grey, Jazz Times, June
1996
"A
groundbreaking guitarist." - Acoustic
Guitar Magazine, January/February
1996
Electrifying...an
innovative guitarist who, with his
resourceful tapping techniques, can make
one acoustic guitar sound like a full rock
band." - Jon Bream, Minneapolis Star
Tribune, January 12, 1996
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TOUR
DATES
