The groundbreaking instrumental album Wired by Jeff Beck was a huge influence on me in the 70’s with such tracks as “Led Boots”, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and of course the classic song written by Jan Hammer “Blue Wind”, one of my all-time favorites. It brings back warm memories of playing it with my teenage band at rehearsals, stumbling through all of the breaks and laughing. Later in my twenties I moved to Hollywood, CA, formed a band and played it live at such old venues as The Roxy, The Whiskey A Go Go, Bourbon Street and The Backed Potato. The song was a crowd favorite and because Jeff was one of the very few guitarists who ever bridged the gap from jazz to a rock. The amazing thing about the song is that it is only Jeff and Jan Hammer on the track: as Jan plays drums, bass and keys on the entire song. It was always a goal of mine to re-record the song with some great musicians, so I finally got the chance in 2008 on my album Fretworx. I enlisted Billy Sheehan on bass, who was a huge Jeff Beck fan and knew the song backwards. I also got guitarist Doug Doppler from Favored Nations records to trade solos with Billy and I in the middle of the song. It also features Greg Morrow on drums and Chris Ingram on keys. I recorded this entirely on a 24-track, 2-inch analog tape through a Trident console, mixed down to ½” analog tape and sent directly to mastering. I have always been a stickler for analog recording tape and classic recording consoles. This version is definitely a harder hitting one than the original, but I believe we captured the spirit of the song in our own way!
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About the Curator: Brian Tarquin
Multi Emmy Award winning Brian Tarquin is an established top rate composer/guitarist. He has won 3 Emmy's for “Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series” and has been nominated for an Emmy 6 times. In 2019 Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” Three years in a row (2016-2019) Tarquin received “Best Album of the Year” nominations from the Independent Music Awards for his releases: Guitars for Wounded Warriors, Orlando in Heaven, and Guitars for Veterans. On which, Tarquin shows his guitar prowess alongside such world-class shredders as: Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), Chuck Loeb (FourPlay) to name a few. In 2006 SESAC honored him with the Network Television Performance Award. Tarquin has graced the Top Billboard Charts with such commercial releases as: This is Acid Jazz, Vol. 2, Sweet Emotions, and Bossa Brava: Caliente on Instinct Records, followed by several solo jazz albums, which charted Top 10 at Smooth Jazz Radio R&R and Gavin charts. Brian has appeared on 38 releases, selling over 140,000 records in his career.