1. “Haitian Ballad," Lage Lund
The harmony is dense as a black hole but beautiful and musical. This is the real thing, so ahead of its time.
2. “Airegin," Chris Potter
I’m always on the hunt for new lines and melodic content, especially for jazz changes. Chris Potter is my main option for this kind of stuff, even if he plays horn. I like transcribing horn lines, plus “Airegin” is one of my favorite standards.
3. “Audio," Diplo
This is what I think contemporary pop music should sound like. I find a lot of beautiful textures and melodies inside the four pop chords; that’s hard to do, even if some people think pop is too easy.
4. “Flight Fantastic," Flamingosis
This is the type of music that makes me feel fabulous when driving, working out or just at the good hangs. There’s almost no guitar on it, but it’s still so groovy.
5. “Very Early," Bill Evans
I can’t believe how delicate and sophisticated these changes sound; it’s incredible the melodies Bill put to a bunch of II-V’s. Beautiful stuff — and it’s fun to improvise to it!
“Friends texted me saying, ‘I wish Taylor Swift would dance to my music.’ I’m like, ‘Put a good song out and she actually might!’” Justin Hawkins on the Darkness going viral, the return of virtuosic playing – and why he finally switched from Les Pauls
“Dime was taken from us too soon, and I’ve yet to see that next ‘it’ guitar guy. I’m sure there are some out there, but none that stormed the scene like Dime did”: Star players from Kerry King to Chad Kroeger on what made Dimebag Darrell a true original
