Jeff Beck Live Tokyo ( w/ Nicolas Meier on Guitar Synth)

Started by Elantric, March 06, 2015, 09:41:44 AM

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Elantric

QuoteHey, anyone catch Jeff Beck's new 2015 Live Tokyo, Nicolas Meir (spelling?) playing backup for Jeff using Godin, floor pedal tones and synth, very cool, no keyboards.
Jeff has a band that is even better than the Live at Ronnie Scott's group. Playing on AXSTV this month. Super hot and funk groove Rhonda Smith on bass of Prince's band. Something about these hot chick bass players that just sends me. Johnathan Joseph on drums just might be the best drummer I have ever seen, fusion city a wonderful guitar fest.

Jeff Beck is my favorite

New Live DVD

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Tokyo-Blu-ray-Jeff-Beck/dp/B00O1GGAGW/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1425663501&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Jeff+Beck+Live+Tokyo%2C

Jeff Beck is undeniably one of the world's greatest guitar players. Technically brilliant, he is renowned for pushing musical boundaries and has excelled across many different genres from rock and jazz to pop and blues. Live In Tokyo was filmed at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Japan on April 9th, 2014. These Japanese dates were the first to feature Jeff Beck's new backing band of Jonathan Joseph (drums), Nicolas Meier (guitars)and Rhonda Smith(bass) and the set list includes some material from his new, as yet unreleased, studio album. In contrast to Beck's previous visual releases, both filmed in small clubs, Live In Tokyo is filmed in a major concert arena and has a very different, more expansive feel. Jeff Beck is a true guitar legend and this show captures him at his very best.

Bonus Features
Band On Band / Set List Commentary

Track Listing
1) Loaded 2) Little Wing 3) You Know You Know 4) Hammerhead 5) Angel (Footsteps) 6) Stratus 7) Yemin 8 ) Where Were You 9) The Pump 10) Medley: Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With The Blues 11) You Never Know 12) Danny Boy 13) Blue Wind 14) Led Boots 15) Corpus Christi 16) Big Block 17) A Day In The Life 18) Rollin And Tumblin 19) Cause We Ended As Lovers 20) Why Give It Awa





Nicolas Meier is playing the keyboard parts on Guitar Synth with a Godin LGXT ( a role  Jennifer Batten performed in the late 1990's.)

http://www.meiergroup.com/meiergroup/index.html

https://moreopinions.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/nicholas-meier-gtr-returns-to-jazznights-on-sunday-23rd-june-2013-with-the-roger-odell-jazznights-trio-and-vocals-from-larraine-odell/
Since winning both the "Grand Prize of the Jury" and "Jazz Guitar Prize" at the Jazz A Juan Revelations 2006 Nicolas has gained an enviable reputation. "Meier's technique is Jazznights Nicolas Meier 230613 (4)phenomenal. Dextrous and vigorous, favouring giddily-fast fingered, serpentine single note runs, it is musicianly in the best sense of the word" Chris May, All about Jazz

Meier began with the classical guitar when he was 11, having had 'rhythm' classes when he was six and having tried to learn the flute when he was nine. "I started with a cheap acoustic guitar, then after a year I switched to electric. I got a Weston electric guitar from my parents which got stolen on a trip to London a few years later. Every summer when school was out, I used to work [doing electrical jobs in the state hospital] to be able to buy either a new guitar Jazznights Nicolas Meier 230613 (13)or a new amp."

"Meier's technique is phenomenal. Dexterous and vigorous, favouring giddily-fast fingered, serpentine single note runs, All About Jazz

Swiss guitar maestro Nicholas Meier, now resident in the UK, is a dazzling yet sensitive guitarist as happy with flamenco and Latin as he is in Western jazz. Nicolas has had a long association with saxophonist Gilad Atzmon

Nick Meier is a multi-genre guitarist who focuses his mainline of ambidextrous playing ability on the jazz and Latin circuit. As an award winning guitarist with classical tendencies, Meier's ambience and ability shines through with sophisticated results and makes a very welcome return to Jazznights.

Nicolas Meier played with the Jazznights Trio who were:




Fusion

We have the same tastes, E. Thanks for expounding on the info.
What a band Jeff has put together this time. hope he keeps it for a while.
He plans a big tour soon and I hear a new CD album is in the works.
At 70 it is mind boggling he still plays at the top of his form. Now if we could just figure out who picks out his stage clothes and have a talk. Sometimes his choice of attire is quite odd. Saw him on Clapton's Guitar Fest, silver boots, silver wrist bands, and dad jeans, wow. I would personally like to thank Joe Bonamassa for wearing a suit and looking sharp. A concert is as much a visual thing as sound to be enjoyable.
Sure the sound and music is top shelf but I am of the mind if you come out on stage wearing yard work clothes (like jam shorts) you are just not going to be taken seriously, it is distracting. Jeff tries hard to maintain that 70s image he had on the Wired album and that is all fine and good trying to stay young, but silver boots and wrist bands, come on. Sleeveless at 70 Jeff? Really.
Now watching Rhonda on bass, a pure joy to behold. God she is hot! What a sense of groove and funk.
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

thebrushwithin

C'mon now, anything Beck wears or plays, is wayyyyyy better(read: originality), than anything Joe B. could even think of!!! Total taste, in my opinion. He is the only guitarist that ever made me laugh out loud, at his rude shenanigans. True brilliance!

Kevin M

Jeff can wear what he wants, in my opinion!  :-)


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johnatan

Yeah. Jeff is my favourite too. Good songs here :)
I like this aspect but more I like his songs. He is one of my favourites musicians.

mbenigni

I finally got to see Jeff Beck live last year.  I had great seats, third or fourth row center.  When he took stage I jumped out of my seat, and someone behind me yelled, "Sit down, there's no one in front of you!"  I looked at him like he was out of his damned mind and said, "Jeff Beck is in front of me."

Fusion

Jeff is one of those cats like Pagey I can enjoy watching all the time without getting fatigued or bored.
I saw Beck for the 1st time back in the 80s during the ARMs tour with Page and others. Was a life changing experience watching that guy.
Wired was one of those albums that changed my life. I remember during that show he would finger a chord and hit the guitar body strap edge on the stage making the notes ring, I had never seen anyone do that. Blew my mind. I never heard such a roar from an arena crowd as when Page walked out.

The new live in Tokyo is probably not as technically perfect as the Ronnie Scott's DVD but that was a small intimate jazz club as well, but just wonderful to see one of my old gods at 70 still playing the hell out of it.
Plus I confess I cannot stop watching his bass players, god Rhonda is just so hot and plays like a funk master, too cool.
I had never heard of Johnathan Joseph but man that guy plays drums like no one I have seen. Meier is a great player as well and covers the background very well.
Great band. 
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

thebrushwithin

This Tuesday, I have 5th row seats, and can't wait to see this lineup. Meier's synth pads shine on this one.

Fusion

Lucky man.
Tell  us how it goes.
I was crazy over Tal the bass player before I saw Rhonda, wow, how do the chicks play such killer bass? Rhonda has a sense of funk and groove that is just superb plus she is easy to look at. Jeff can pick the musicians. I hope he stays with this band a little bit, the last two bands have been really top shelf.
Very cool to have a fusion synth guy like Meier covering the backing, that guy is relatively unknown and underrated.
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

thebrushwithin

QuoteTell  us how it goes

Well, having seen him with different lineups, over the years, this one disappointed me. The quality of musicians is nothing short of superior, but there seemed to me, to be little chemistry on stage. Beck looked disconnected from the others, and maybe bored. Mind you, I have been spoiled by his past, exciting performances, and the past lineup of Wilkenfeld, Calaiuta, and Rebello, have easily become my favorite over the years, so maybe I was expecting too much. What spoiled the concert most for me was the frequent use of Jimmy Hall's gospelesque vocals. From my perspective, Beck is at his best without vocals, as he is king of conveying a "vocal" style of melody with just guitar, and having an "over the top" vocalist, like Hall crowds the song, way too much, in my opinion. Hall has fantastic pipes, but I came to see Beck. He also wasn't as playful, to me, which sometimes can make me laugh. Nicholas Meier was featured a bit, on his compositions, and I thought maybe the best part of the concert was Meier on Glissentar, with Beck seeming to be much more interested, at that point, and that made for a really nice combo! However, that didn't last long, and out came Hall, etc. The mix seemed bottom heavy, which masked some of the nuances of the two guitars, you know, boom, boom, boom! So, while it was less than stellar, for me, it was still an event worth attending!

Elantric

QuoteThe mix seemed bottom heavy, which masked some of the nuances of the two guitars, you know, boom, boom, boom!

I've actually had to leave a few concerts early because the juvenile  at the mix board believed that pushing the Subwoofers to 120dB would be desirable.

QuoteI have been spoiled by his past, exciting performances, and the past lineup of Wilkenfeld, Calaiuta, and Rebello,

Agreed - I had the opportunity to see that line up three times - the best was in a small theater in West LA ( El Rey ) back in 2008 and i was able to be 15 ft away from Jeff the whole show. Best guitar lesson I ever had.


Frankster

Jeff Beck's playing moves me like no other guitar player can. He can go from breathtakingly beautiful whispering notes to downright ugly noise in the space of two notes. It's not even worth trying to copy him, he does what he does and no one can touch his style.



mchad


Apparently he has a new live album coming out very soon. With 2 new studio cuts.

http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/exclusive-hear-jeff-becks-new-studio-track-tribal-68288

For some reason the video is blocked for Australia so I can't see it. Hopefully you guys can where ever you might be.

Fusion

The DVD of this puppy is pretty good but I have to admit the overall vibe and presentation of the songs is better I think on the Live At Ronnie Scott's DVD, which remains my fav guitar DVD of recent years followed closely by Led Zeppelin's last hurrah on Celebration Day. I owe my picking up the guitar to a few of the masters of old namely Robin Trower which made me pick up a guitar and my love of pedals leading to the guitar synth. It was Jimmy Page who made me realize acoustic could be interesting and further introduced me to the blues but if was Jeff Beck after hearing Wired which sparked my love of Jazz Fusion and more pursuit of tones.

Maestro Jeff's recorded stuff is not consistent to be sure. I have to admit the Emotion/Commotion work was my least fav of many past works and the Les Paul tribute did little for me as well. I think the Live At Ronnie Scott's work is perhaps Jeff's finest hour and certainly one of his very best band groupings, that one has an intimacy captured in that smaller Jazz club with just ideal sound mix and song selections. Finest use of the Marshall JTM45 and Klon you will ever hear. Talk about a Strat 101 course. I wish Jeff would recall that band and cut an LP with them, has to be one of his most overlooked goofs in his career. 

Just FYI for fans of Jeff but there are a bunch of clips of one his recent birthday celebrations on YouTube where he plays and plays w Jan Hammer and others no less, not the sound quality of most things but some really rare live takes.

"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

Fusion

Quote from: Frankster on May 14, 2015, 02:03:34 PM
Jeff Beck's playing moves me like no other guitar player can. He can go from breathtakingly beautiful whispering notes to downright ugly noise in the space of two notes. It's not even worth trying to copy him, he does what he does and no one can touch his style.



Did anyone catch that motor engine noise at the start of Big Block? I think a ring modulator and a wicked fuzz of some sort. Sounded just like a muscle car.
Talk about finesse, how about that slide tapping on Angels above the frets in the pickup area perfectly on pitch? Amazing, that one also on Ronnie Scott's is amazing.
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

thebrushwithin

QuoteI think the Live At Ronnie Scott's work is perhaps Jeff's finest hour and certainly one of his very best band groupings, that one has an intimacy captured in that smaller Jazz club with just ideal sound mix and song selections. Finest use of the Marshall JTM45 and Klon you will ever hear. Talk about a Strat 101 course. I wish Jeff would recall that band and cut an LP with them, has to be one of his most overlooked goofs in his career. 

Those are my sentiments exactly. I think that lineup at Ronnie Scott's may have spoiled me so much, that could be the reason, the concert the other night disappointed me. The previous lineup had fantastic chemistry, and is a tough act to follow!

Fusion

Have to say Jonathan Joseph is a extraordinary drummer, reminded me of the Fusion drummers of old but Vinnie has such a groove.
Rhonda has the funk but Tal was a treat and that solo on Ended As Lover's is just outstanding (Ronnie Scott's).

I have always felt Jeff pulls the plug way too early on his projects and bands and lately has been drifting off into things which I just do not get into. Only one song on Emotion&Commotion held my interest. I cherish the Ronnie Scott's and some of the Toyko Live for the versions of the old classics I love. I would have loved to see and hear Wired entirely live. I love when Jeff does the Fusion stuff but the classic things not so much.
At any rate, thanks for the music Jeff, a legend from my teens that continues to inspire.
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

aliensporebomb

#17
Just got back from the show in Minneapolis (where he wasn't even scheduled to show - due to the fact that ZZ Top had to put some shows on hold until someone recovered from a mishap Jeff did three unscheduled shows, Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis).  So happy I finally got to see this guy after years of waiting to see him here.

What a show, a terrific band, well rehearsed, tightly performed and Jeff playing amazingly well for a guy in his seventh decade.  The crowd did not want to let him go and they came back for several encores to a very happy crowd.

Go and see this guy if you can, who knows how much longer he may want to do this.  He seems in incredibly good health for a 70 year old guy.  Nicolas Meier was a good foil for him on guitar synth, acoustic and electric guitar. 

I was 7th row and slightly left of center and it was a guitar lesson I will not forget.  What control!

His pitch control is astonishing and his "favorite" strat he was playing he was letting the strings go all the way slack and it always seemed to come back in tune.

As far as clothing goes, he was wearing a dressy pair of slacks, a white long sleeve button-up shirt but no necktie, a black sleeveless vest, and aviator sunglasses.  He looked like he could have been a hip IT manager or investment banker! 

Guitars:  initially a white maple fingerboarded telecaster and the rest of the night alternated between two white rosewood fingerboarded strats.  The one with the reverse headstock he appeared to favor, it had unearthly tuning stability and the rear of the guitar had signs it was very well used.

Amp wise he had a Marshall head with the cab mic'ed with what looked like AKG C414 and one other I didn't recognize plus a Magnatone head (rebadged "Becktone") with a 4x12 cab facing away from the audience. 

Nicholas played a Godin solidbody into a Marshall head with the cab facing away from the audience and the GK stuff was going direct to the board from what I could see.  He also played a nylon string Godin acoustic as well as a 12-string Godin acoustic.

Bassist Rhonda Smith alternated between two Paul Reed Smith electric solidbody basses and an NS upright.

Great show!
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Fusion

So a show like that, and they don't capture it live? It is a rare time to hope to see this master class player still mustering the chops, every show he does should be recorded, at 70 both Pagey and Beck should be recorded so at least we have the shows and maybe remaster a live recording when they stop playing. We lost BB this month, another one that had a personal tone unique to themselves. The Thrill Is Gone...
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

aliensporebomb

There may indeed have been footage captured professionally.  This lineup was captured on HD as "Jeff Beck - Live in Tokyo" released on the Eagle Vision label.

I know more than a few were recording on cell phones.

My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Fusion

Surely Jeff is savvy enough or his management to get his shows recorded. In a couple more years he is going to want to be able to release more stuff.
The Live Tokyo is very good. Live At Ronnie Scott's is more intimate and front row view of Jeff's amazing techniques.
"Long ago in days of old when magic filled the air..."

Tek

I've really been digging You Had It Coming (2001). Loose Cannon is one of my favorites. It just sounds like fun!

Jsp775

I was fortunate to him him play live in Ann Arbor a couple of weeks ago. At 70 plus, he still is amazing! After the show flyers promoting a new live CD with the current band were being passed out. Checking his web site I see this was to be released May 5th--

http://www.jeffbeckofficial.com/news/jeff-beck-live-jeffs-new-album-set-for-release-may-5th/


Autana

Thanks admsustainiac, great recordings! from one of Jeff Beck career stages I considered most intense and authentic IMHO.
Beautiful live version of Definitely Maybe, song that came into my 13's y/o as a grappling hook in my soul.
In addition to incredible guitar tones, breathtaking vocalist and band performance, I liked the impressive piano energy of Max Middleton and I must confess him was a great influence, piqued my interest in jazz rock trends, much as did Bob Mayo (Peter Frampton) especially with the piano live solo interlude in the top hit breaker You Feel Like We Do. Due to it in part, I always have been grabbed to piano as my second instrument beside guitar.


EDIT:  I have read and enjoyed this thread as few, thanks Elantric and everyone posting rich information.
Being innovation and expression the main keywords,  IMO Jeff Beck deserves the same place in the history of music and electric guitar, as do Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Coltrane or Miles Davis in jazz.
GR-55, GP-10, GI-20, Godin xtSA, GodinNylon MultiAc, Giannini classical, 3 GK-3'd gtrs, Cube 80XL, Primova GKFX-21 (x2)

Fear just pulls you out of being true to music, which is coming from a place of love. Love is the opposite of fear. I stay away from anything fear-related.
- Tal Wilkenfeld -