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It was my great pleasure to be a part of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland this year. I played with Jost Nickel and Arnd Geise( from the "Bargain Hunters" CD) in the Jazz Club there on July 4. I hope to post some video from that show here soon.

But on the night of July 6, I got a rare treat: the chance to sit in with one of my all time heroes, B.B. King, for an hour-plus encore set after his show in the main concert hall. Also onstage were Cornell Dupree, Dr. John, Les McCann, and the winners of the Gibson Guitar Competition which was judged by Cornell, Todd Rundgren and myself.

Enjoy!

Barry

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Announcing the Release of "TRAZZ!" (TRANCE JAZZ) by Barry Finnerty!
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2003

"Outstanding guitar playing in a hip ultramodern electronic setting" (live review)

Guitarist Barry Finnerty, who is known for his work with Miles Davis (The Man With The Horn), the Brecker Brothers (Heavy Metal Bebop), and the Crusaders (Street Life), premiered his new musical concept. TRAZZ, at the Aalener Jazzfest in Aalen, Germany, in November 2002.

TRAZZ! (Trance Jazz) is an electronic, groove-based style of music featuring Barry's virtuoso melodic guitar improvisations combined with the flowing rhythmic tapestries he creates with the Yamaha RS-7000, a state-of the art sequencer/sampler machine that has almost 6000 sounds and patterns to choose from!

"I wanted to play a style of music that felt contemporary to me," Finnerty said in a recent interview for a German paper, "and that incorporates jazz in a way that people who really don't understand or appreciate or even enjoy the way jazz is usually played...let's face it, most of the world...could relate to it. I don't want to lock myself into rigid arrangements and complicated compositions, I've done enough of that in my career. TRAZZ is not based on preconceived structures, it's based on two of my favorite things in music, groove and flow. The grooves on the RS-7000 sound so hip, that they inspire me to create all kinds of little melodic and rhythmic ideas that spring from the magic of the moment. And I really enjoy that. It feels good and fresh, it's something that's happening right then, and I think the audience really got into it too."

A live track recorded at the concert in Aalen is included on TRAZZ! (Trance Jazz), along with 11 all-digital studio tracks that mix styles as diverse as world beat, Euro-dance, smooth jazz, electronic and funk, all topped off by the tasty, soulful, and inspired playing of one of the best guitarists you will ever hear.

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Barry will be touring with the Children On The Corner band during the month of November 2003.

Dates include:

11/3: Yoshi's, Oakland
11/5: Jazz Festival, Seattle
11/8: Good Foot Lounge, Portland