Schellhaas, Micha: Double Take

German born guitarist Micha Schellhaas, now residing in California, started playing guitar at the age of nine. He released his debut EP Wings Of Fire in 2013 and is back with his first long player titled Double Take.

First things first. Schellhaas is a fine guitar player and shows it on every track. However, don't think that this is an all-out wankfest because that is certainly not the case. This is much more refined than that as Schellhaas explores smooth fusion sounds as well as rock, blues and jazz. His playing is always clean and in control, very fluid and dynamic, letting his guitar do the talking in a clear and sometimes understated way. The rest of his band are fine players as well and include Dave Marotta (bass), Jim Cox (piano, Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes) and Chad Wackerman (drums, ex-Frank Zappa). The album was produced by guitarist Carl Verheyan (Supertramp) who also plays on a couple of tracks.

If you dig the blues look no further than "Ford-F150" and its Stevie Ray Vaughn-like licks and "Slow Blues For B.B.", a lovely tribute to the master with crystal clear runs and colourful Hammond. On the fusion sounding "Velocity" the acoustic and electric guitar is as smooth as silk while blues and jazz can be heard in the deep grooves of the title track. With "False Fork" the vibe is more 'jazz' with a piano and drum intro leading into slowly developing Fender Rhodes and more stellar soloing from Schellhaas. Wackerman's complex fills are certainly up to the challenge as the song moves at a brisker pace towards the end.

Nine solid instrumental tracks makes for a fine album debut. Hopefully this is just the beginning for this very gifted guitarist.

Track Listing:
1. Velocity
2. Ford-F150
3. Double Take
4. Your Turn
5. False Fork
6. 5&6
7. Travel Song
8. Texaleans
9. Slow Blues For B.B.

Added: March 6th 2016
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 1555
Language: english

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