by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
WHAT: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
WHERE: The Church of The Good Shepherd
WHEN: October 12th
For twenty-seven years the Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) has toured bringing their eclectic repertoire of classical, Latin, Brazilian, jazz, rock, and pop music to guitar enthusiasts and general audiences worldwide. The group just released its latest album of Brazilian music, arranged for four guitars with flute and the majestic vocal chops of three-time Grammy winner Luciana Souza–the Sao Paulo-born jazz vocalist and composer.
The album features the music of Sergio and Odair Assad, Marco Pereira, Hereto Pascoal, Baden Powell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Heitor Villa-Lobos. For the LAGQ’s latest tour, they are performing as strictly a quartet. The group consists of William Kanengiser, John Dearman, Matt Grief, (who replaced MichaelYork) and Scott Tennant–all well known soloists apart from LAGQ
In arranging the music for this benchmark album, the LAGQ collaborated with some of the top names in the Brazilian guitar scene, many of whom are close friends of the four individual soloists. Paulo Bellinati, the celebrated guitar virtuoso and musician arranged his Carlo’s Dance for LAGQ and flautist Katisse Buckingham. The result is an exciting, passionate selection of intricate pieces featuring eloquent harmonies and counterpoints.
After listening to LAGQ Brazil in my car, I was excited by its lush harmonies and nuanced arrangements. I called William Kanengiser, co-founder of LAGQ, to chat about the group and the making of this album which was recorded at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California.
EU: You recorded this album at George’s Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch in the wine district, what was that like?
William Kanengiser: It was serendipitous since the studio in L.A., where we usually record, closed its doors. We needed another place to record and our engineer had worked with the woman who ran that studio. So he got us a great deal to spend a week at Lucas’ ranch. The place is in the wine district and looks like a large ranch with a working animal farm and a vineyard. The grapes they harvest go to Francis Ford Coppola’s winery for his private reserve, but the studio has a large sound stage for recording soundtracks with full orchestras. So it was an awesome experience to be in such an aesthetic environment. We are really happy with the sound we got from those sessions. I actually co-produced the record. So I was in on the decisions as to the technical aspects of the record and the mix, which came out really well.
EU: On the recording, I love Luciana Souza’s voice. Tell me about her.
WK: The collaboration with her got us into doing this project. Our group met her at a recording session two years ago and we really hit it off. She offered to work with us in concert. So we ended up doing twelve concerts with her. We were lucky to get her. She’s become a huge international star and has her own solo career. When we were planning the repertoire with her, we started collecting this Brazilian music. Now, Luciana is everywhere. She’s on Herbie Hancock’s new album and James Taylor recorded with her recently. So, she’s getting out of our reach. But she inspired us to do this album, and her voice adds another musical dimension to the work.
EU: When you go out on this tour, do you have other musicians besides the four guitarists?
WK: Normally, when we tour we go out as a guitar quartet. We used the flautist in L.A., since he lives there. For this tour, we are four guitars on stage, slightly amplified. We play an eclectic program beginning with classical pieces including the Brandenburg Concerto and a big Spanish piece. Then for the second half of the show we play a variety of material, which includes the Brazilian music from the album, world music, jazz, and Celtic pieces. So we play music for every taste, drawing fans of all age groups.
EU: I see you have a new member. What happened to Michael York–if you don’t mind me asking?
WK: Not at all. He decided to retire from the group and pursue his solo career. He’s now known as an important contemporary composer. But we parted on great terms and he has offered to write a piece for us. We are excited about that prospect.
Interestingly, Michael York performed at Don Casper’s Great Guitar Gathering last February 2007. The LAGQ will perform at The Church of The Good Shepherd October 12th as part of the Riverside Fine Arts Series.
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