Tito Puente Book/DVD
From Hudson music comes the Tito Puente: King of Latin Music combo pack, a book/DVD set featuring an 88-page biography rife with personal stories, Latin-jazz history and the timbales-master’s rich humor, as well as a 45-minute DVD comprising exclusive interviews and unaccompanied solos for study. The multi-media pack retails for $22.95 and is available in drum shops and music stores. www.hudsonmusic.com
Organ-Trio Blues Book/CD
Are you a six-string swinger with a jones for the classic organ-trio format? Wanna play like Wes Montgomery, Grant Green and Kenny Burrell? Look no further, as Alfred presents the latest book from guitarist Doug Munro, Jazz Guitar: Organ Trio Blues, which examines the concepts and techniques required to play this style, including riffs, theory, scales, modes, chord voicings and over 120 music examples. The accompanying CD includes even more examples and play-along tracks. www.alfred.com
Bill Frisell DVD
Ever listen to Frisell’s records and wonder how he developed his highly idiosyncratic tone and technique? Well, Rittor Music’s DVD reissue of The Guitar Artistry of Bill Frisell reveals the guitarist’s singular approach to harmony, rhythm, effects, technique and arrangements. Frisell rounds out the program with trio performances of four tunes. The package includes a booklet with exercises and transcriptions, but be warned: This is for intermediate to advanced guitarists, not beginners. www.halleonard.com
DrumCore
For times when you just can’t get a virtuoso drummer in the studio to record, Submersible created DrumCore-a software application with an extensive library of percussive sounds. DrumCore contains over 8GB of loops, fills and hits from kits produced in top-notch studios, and possesses a search engine that scours for content based on specific musical criteria. And all of the sounds are from a collection of the world’s best drummers, such as John Bishop (Slide Hampton, Teo Macero), Terry Bozzio (UK, Frank Zappa), Tony Braunagel (B.B. King, Buddy Guy) and Michael Shrieve (Santana, John McLaughlin). www.drumcore.com
Epiphone Blues Custom 30 Amp
A new tube amp with organic crunch and sharp tonal quality is never a bad thing, and Gibson knows this, as evidenced by its new Epiphone Blues Custom 30 Watt combo. The amp, which is designed and engineered in the US but made in China, comes at an affordable price and features a tube rectifier, natural-sounding reverb, dual 12″ Lady Luck speakers, a shared 3-band EQ, 12AX7 preamp tubes with DC-powered filaments and EL34 power tubes. www.epiphone.com
Roland SH-201 Synth
In the same way that digital technology has allowed CDs to sound as close to the warmth of vinyl as possible, it has allowed digital synths (such as the Nord Lead) to closely mimic analog properties. Add to that list Roland’s SH-201, a virtual analog synthesizer featuring warm oscillator and filter tones and a plethora of real-time controls. It may not be a vintage Moog or Korg, but it does have all the knobs you’ll need for “Chameleon.” www.roland.com
