• New Music from Tom Wright - Tailwind

    Tom Wright - Tailwind

    Tom Wright has announced the release of Tailwind, a collection of 10-string electric mandolin music except for one 10-string acoustic track. Seven tunes are original compositions with one cover.

    About the project, Wright told us, "This is somewhat unusual, in that I was playing jazz on violin and viola long ago, but have left it behind and now play only mandolin. I had these great sessions with a great band but it made no sense to use them as an example of my playing now.

    "I undertook to overdub all the solo tracks. This was tricky in the challenge of matching the feel and timing of those sessions, 12 years later, on a different instrument.

    "I am very happy with the result, and I feel these tunes now have the right sound and feel. I used to play rock guitar, l long ago, and that is my musical muse. So matching guitar technique with viola and 5-string violin fingerboard knowledge, I have my perfect combination of skills, experience, and instrument.

    "Working on these tunes taught me a lot about pulling tone from the short scale, and also convinced me that double strings rock.

    "I have learned much here at the Forum, and have drawn inspiration from others here. I hope some here will enjoy a rocking jazz album with great playing and accessible tunes."

    Listen

    "Tailwind," the title track from the album.



    Track Titles

    • Tailwind
    • Don Quixote
    • Missing
    • Try Again
    • Smokey
    • Not My Dog
    • More or Less
    • Destination

    Album Liner Notes

    Tom Wright's musical history begins in the 50s as a child learning violin, grows into rock guitar in the 60s and 70s, mainly as a member of the DC area progressive-rock group Grits, switches back to classical music for three decades playing viola in the Chicago Symphony, and culminates in exploring jazz on 5-string violin and viola.

    Now Tom has combined the experience and skills of violin, viola, and guitar on mandolin, particularly his 10-string instruments. These uncommon versions of mandolin extend the range down into guitar tones, making the 10-string an excellent jazz voice, covering the range from alto sax up to high trumpet tones.

    These tunes are written to highlight the expressive capacity of mandolin, and show it fitting perfectly into a jazz group comprised of keyboard, bass, and drums, along with saxophone and guitar, for a big sound that swings and rocks. The band consists of Chicago's best sidemen — Vijay Tellis-Nayak on Rhodes piano and Hammond organ, Mike Arnopol on upright bass, Tom Hipskind on drums, Jim Gailloreto on tenor and sopranro sax, and Neal Alger on guitar. Tom uses a custom 10-string electric by Almuse for most tracks, and a Buchanan acoustic 10-string on track 4.

    Additional Information

    Comments 11 Comments
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Hey folks, this is one of our Forum members among us. Fantastic jazz talent! Nicely done, Tom.
    1. TimB989's Avatar
      TimB989 -
      Great stuff! Congrats Tom. It’s cool to hear a forum member’s music.
    1. Daniel Nestlerode's Avatar
      Daniel Nestlerode -
      Really enjoyed Tailwind.
      How do we get a copy of the CD (I'm old school that way)?

      Thanks!
      Daniel
    1. Tom Wright's Avatar
      Tom Wright -
      Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Nestlerode View Post
      Really enjoyed Tailwind.
      How do we get a copy of the CD (I'm old school that way)?

      Thanks!
      Daniel
      CD Baby lnk —

      http://store.cdbaby.com/cd/tomwright3
    1. Ted Eschliman's Avatar
      Ted Eschliman -
      Very enjoyable! I love the whole project.
    1. Don Stiernberg's Avatar
      Don Stiernberg -
      Awesome!
    1. DougC's Avatar
      DougC -
      I agree. Awesome. However a bit too much fuzz, or distortion, on some tracks for me. The effect is right, it is just a little too much.
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Ditto what Ted and Don say. It's an outstanding project.
    1. Tom Wright's Avatar
      Tom Wright -
      Quote Originally Posted by DougC View Post
      I agree. Awesome. However a bit too much fuzz, or distortion, on some tracks for me. The effect is right, it is just a little too much.
      As a former violin player I’m always trying for a singing tone, and solid body instruments need some help. That said, I did try to do some tracks clean but this was a project with a loud band effect (all electric keyboards) and it is the best fit.

      My main guitar hero is John Scofield, who usually uses a fair amount of overdrive. One of his early CDs was “Loud Jazz”.
    1. DougC's Avatar
      DougC -
      Quote Originally Posted by Tom Wright View Post
      As a former violin player I’m always trying for a singing tone, and solid body instruments need some help. That said, I did try to do some tracks clean but this was a project with a loud band effect (all electric keyboards) and it is the best fit.

      My main guitar hero is John Scofield, who usually uses a fair amount of overdrive. One of his early CDs was “Loud Jazz”.
      I understand the situation. Just making an observation. I'm a violinist who plays mandolin BTW. I'll check out John Scofield. I'm always learning things on mandolin cafe. Thanks
      Doug
    1. Linda Binder's Avatar
      Linda Binder -
      Awesome, Tom!