Lari Basilio is currently busy putting together her as-yet-untitled upcoming studio album, for which she’s recruited bass guitar legend Lee Sklar and keys session wizard Ester Na. Now Basilio has guest starred on Na’s own musical work, dousing the pianist’s latest track Free with a healthy dose of stellar six-string work.
Na introduces a swelling, Titanic-esque theme that plays unaccompanied until the 35-second mark, at which point Basilio makes her entrance with pinpoint bends toyed with by way of some tasteful plunges on the whammy bar.
Flexing her selective-yet-satisfying melodic chops, the guitarist then greases the grooves and makes the most of the ample sonic space by working her way down the fretboard – and then back up again – for a string of piano-mirroring motifs.
A brief reprieve gives the spotlight back to Na, before Basilio carefully tip-toes her way around the ‘board of her signature Ibanez LB1 via some tasty chromatic scale runs – a well-choreographed maneuver that leads the guitar titan down a one-way path to the track’s grand finale: a scorching solo that flexes every ounce of Basilio’s epic playing powers.
On social media, Na wrote, “I’m so excited to share my new song with y’all as it has a special place in my heart. [I] collaborated on this with my talented friend Lari Basilio. Thank you Lari for adding your magic to this and taking it to the next level.”
As previously mentioned, Na has recently been in the studio working on Basilio’s upcoming studio album, which is being recorded at the United Recording Studio in Hollywood, California.
Upon its release, it will be Basilio’s third full-length LP and her first since 2019’s Far More, which followed her 2015 debut, The Sound of My Room.
Basilio has been keeping herself busy outside of her recording efforts, though. In May, she continued her session duties and joined Willow Smith for a performance of Transparent Soul on The Tonight Show.
More recently, she flexed her seven-string skills in a groove-oriented new track, Seven.
