NEWS
Herb Ellis
1921 – 2010
Jazz great Herb Ellis died on March 28, 2010,
at age 88. Ellis was best known as a member
of the Oscar Peterson Trio from 1953 to 1958.
Photo by Vernon Hyde
Ellis’ career spanned five decades, during which
time he toured with Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz at the
Philharmonic, and Great Guitars (which also
included Charlie Byrd and Barney Kessel). He
recorded 13 albums on the Concord Jazz label,
including the label’s first release, Jazz/Concord,
which was recorded at the 1973 Concord Jazz
Festival and featured Ellis and Joe Pass on guitar.
Ellis was honored with signature guitars from
Aria and Gibson. The Aria Pro II Herb Ellis model
was offered from the late ’70s to late ’80s.
Gibson honored Ellis with a signature ES- 165
Herb Ellis in 1991, and it remains a current offering from Gibson Custom Shop Memphis.
According to the New York Times, Ellis died
at his home in Los Angeles. His son cited
Alzheimer’s disease as the cause of death.
Jim Marshall
1936 – 2010
Legendary rock photographer Jim Marshall died
on March 24, 2010, at age 74. Marshall was
responsible for countless iconic images, including
Johnny Cash flipping the bird, Jimi Hendrix burning his Strat at Monterey, the Beatles’ last concert at Candlestick Park, and countless others.
Marshall was born in Chicago, Illinois,
February 3, 1936. He began shooting professionally in 1960, and over the course of his
career photographed more than 500 album
covers. Jim captured images at the Monterey
Pop Festival in 1967, Santana’s first recording
sessions, Woodstock, and Johnny Cash’s 1969
San Quentin concert, in addition to covering
the Civil Rights Movement and portraits of
Appalachian poverty.
Marshall published three books of photography—Not Fade Away (1997), Proof (2004), and
Trust (2009)—and his photos were included in
numerous compilation books. His latest project, Match Prints, was released this year and
it follows the friendship and professional similarities of Marshall and celebrity photographer
Timothy White. Marshall was promoting the
book in New York at the time of his death.
Alex Chilton
1950 – 2010
Alex Chilton, best known for his guitar work
with Big Star, died on March 17, 2010, at
age 59. Chilton began his music career in
the late ’60s as vocalist and guitarist for
crossover pop/soul group The Box Tops,
which released the chart toppers “The
Letter” and “Cry Like a Baby.” He formed
Big Star in 1971 and, though the group was
well received critically, its albums didn’t
draw much attention until bands like R.E.M.
and the Replacements cited them as an
influence. Chilton pursued various genre-crossing solo projects throughout the late
’70s and 1980s, and in 1993 he reunited
with Big Star. The band released In Space in
2005 and toured Europe and Japan intermittently. They were scheduled to perform at
this year’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas,
but Chilton died of a heart attack three days
before the show. The show continued as a
tribute to Chilton on March 20, 2010.
Chilton playing the Rhythm Festival in 2008.
Photo by Simon Godley
Musikmesse International
Press Awards: The Winners
Frankfurt, Germany – The 2010 Musikmesse
International Press Awards (MIPA) were
announced on March 25 at Musikmesse in
Frankfurt. More than 111 music magazines
from around the world voted in this year’s
awards, including Premier Guitar.
Hartley Peavey was honored at the event
with the MIPA 2010 Hall of Fame Lifetime
Achievement Award, the highest honor in the
global music-products industry.
Other winners in guitar-related categories were:
Guitars
Best Electric Guitar: PRS 305
Best Acoustic Guitar: Taylor Baritone 8-String
Best Electric Bass: Warwick Starbass II
Best Acoustic Bass: Warwick Alien
Amps
Best Guitar Amp Head: Marshall JMD: 1
Best Guitar Amp Combo: Peavey Vypyr 15
Best Acoustic Guitar Amp: LR Baggs Acoustic
Reference Amplifier
Best Bass Amp: TC Electronic RH450
Best Bass Cab: TC Electronic RS210 and RS212
Accessories
Best Pickups: Seymour Duncan Blackouts
Best Guitar Effects: Boss ME- 25
Best Strings: Elixir Nanoweb
Best Bass Strings: D’Aaddario EXL 170
Best Field Recorder: Zoom H4N
Special Categories
Most Innovative Product: TC Electronic
Poly Tune Pedal
Lifetime Achievement Award: Hartley Peavey
mipa-award.de
Dweezil Zappa to Hold
Dweezilla Music Boot Camp
Oliverea, NY – Dweezil Zappa will be giving
musicians the unique opportunity to expand
their musical skills and techniques with him
and his band during the Dweezilla Music
Boot Camp. The camp will be held from June
21-24, 2010, at the Full Moon Resort in New
York’s Catskill Mountains.
Zappa is quick to point out that Dweezilla
is neither a so-called “fantasy camp” nor a
Zappa seminar. Instead, he says the camp
