Black Diamond is the latest release from Rippingtons, and I can only think of one word to describe this CD… AWESOME!
This one grabs your attention right from the very beginning with Black Diamond and won’t let go until the very last note of the very last song Jewel Thieves, which by the way is another great track.
Black Diamond has a pleasantly varied, mix of 11 tracks that are very well written and brilliantly performed songs by these clearly outstanding musicians. With many of the songs displaying a lot of the kind emotion that makes for a really great listen. Seemingly drawing from what I can only imagine are their own real life experiences. At different points touching on the most real emotions of love, heartbreak, pain, failed relationships and unattainable romance. They’re all here.
One of the nicer things about a CD like this is when the talent is this rich even if Smooth Jazz isn’t your favorite style you still can’t help but appreciate the greatness of the musicians.
I’m of the opinion that Black Diamond is certainly some of this groups best work in a few years. A totally enjoyable CD and an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up because it’s a collection that even the casual Smooth Jazz fan can appreciate and enjoy.
While this entire album is really very good some of my favorites are track 2 - Deep Powder, track 5 - In Another Life, and track 3 - Seven Nights In Rome
My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 7 - If I Owned The World. Outstanding!
Black Diamond Release Notes:
Rippingtons originally released Black Diamond on Sep 16, 1997 on the Windham Hill Jazz label.
CD Track List Follows:
1. Black Diamond 2. Deep Powder 3. Seven Nights In Rome 4. Soul Seeker 5. In Another Life 6. Big Sky 7. If I Owned The World 8. North Peak 9. Angel Fire 10. Jewel Thieves 11. Black Diamond - (acoustic version)
Personnel: Russ Freeman (acoustic, electric, classical, slide, baritone & 12-string guitars, mandolin, keyboards, bass, percussion, loops, drum programming); Mark Williamson (vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion); Jeff Kashiwa (soprano & tenor saxophones, EWI); Nelson Rangell (alto & tenor saxophones, flute); Arturo Sandoval, Mark Ledford (trumpet); David Kochanski (piano, organ, keyboards, drum programming); Brian Moore (guitar, 12-string guitar); Kim Stone (bass, fretless bass); Steve Reid, Pete Escovedo (percussion).

Clyde Lee Dennis a life long music enthusiast, writes CD reviews and is also the Real Estate Editor at Raleigh.eNewsBriefs.com covering topics like Real Estate in Raleigh NC and more. Visit Raleigh eNewsBriefs for the latest Raleigh News


How to convert your guitar into a lapslide
There is something addictive about guitar playing that just seems to suck you in further than you meant to go...a bit like sex, rum, red wine, chocolate someone else's wife, luscious things that don't seem very good for you...the only thing is, guitars, especially acoustic lap steel guitars of the Weissenborn kind, are actually positively good, very good for you...truly!
You are doing something constructive,quite unlike slugging back half a bottle of Cabernet shiraz in one go, or scoffing down a whole packet of M and M's when you girlfriend isn't around....no, guitar playing is very good for your mental health, disposition, relaxation and manual dexterity( oh..go on, I had to sling that one in...NO?)
Well, anyway since I have relented to the demons in my head that whispered into my shellike ear in the middle of the dark hours, that I simply would go mad if I didn't get one, and pretty damn soon at that, I relented and the upshot of that is to all you would-be phsychologists out there...hey I feel pretty damn good now...much better than I was!
Ever since that fateful night when I was introduced to the great sound of David Churchill's lovely Lap steel that he made for the Devil's advocate of these black arts, Mr. Jeff Lang..I was hooked. I needed to get one and couldn't rest until I did. I sulked and whined, pouted and flounced around all the guitar shops always going away frustrated, empty handed and in a bad mood..." Three Frickin Grand?...how in hell's name can I find that kinda dough?" Well, the truth was I couldn't. I tossed and turned tirelessly in the dark blue hour of pre-dawn hatching my plot.
Then, in a flash of blinding inspiration, I had the answer ( which should have entered my numbskull weeks before) I would convert one of my collection! Aha..sheer genius. But which little innocent would go under the knife in the blinding glare of my headband camping light?
The Sanchez travel guitar of course..it's fate was sealed. It had all the right qualifications, a lovely long neck, strongly built, is it ever! I had bought it intending to use it as, well, a travel guitar, but somehow my beautiful Baby Grand Taylor and I seem to never be able to be apart fo too long, but that's another story!!!!
The more I thought about it, the solution seemed more practical... Why did it take so long for that penny to drop ( the lights are on Buddy, but no-one's at home....Der) What would I need to allow the operation to succeed? The list was made... A new nut and a new saddle, both out of Macarta bone a great synthetic bone substitute with good acoustic qualities, some resonator type strings .. I dashed off to get some John Pearse Nickel wound G tuning strings for resophonic and steel guitars. What next?
Er, ummm, That's it? no there must be more...nope.Yup, a tailpiece small enough, a mandolin one would do!
Oh, yeah, numbskull, a cool, shiny steel bar to play the dang thing with!!! Ok, I resigned myself to the fact that after the conversion was done and when I tuned up again the patients neck would bend horribly and snap like a carrot....we would see!! It would be a sacrifice to the Gods of the Devil's music, I consoled myself to that event!
The day came... a clean sheet was under the patient, the gruesome tools needed lay in a shiny pile.
files ,hacksaws, sandpaper, needle files and a small vice. It's strings were stripped away, a hand inserted through its only orifice, to check the internals to see if they could cope with the operation, an executive surgeon's decision made and we were away. The job was so gruesome so horrible that I had to anethesize myself with copious drafts of medicinal rum from a handy container, namely a glass.
The nut was removed, and the new one measured up and transplanted. Likewise the saddle, a deeper slot painlessly gouged out... what next? The next thing was to put the new tailpiece that would support the strings to the back of the guitar. A mandolin tailpiece was chosen, neat, petite and just the right size! Then almost in a flash, it was over! so quickly!
The new strings were anxiously replaced, God they looked too thick!!!! They were tuned to a low open D tuning ( DADFsharpAD )and anxious moments ensued as the guitar took up the new strains....would anything snap? No, it didn't and still hasn't three months later! It has worked really well and bit by bit, the new style of playing has been tried and tested. Luckily enough, its still small enough to play like a proper guitar and when I'm fed up with trying to play it oacross my lap( a very unnatural pose for a chap who has played normally for twenty years) I shift it up and play it like I know how with a brass little finger slide............People! I have joined the exalted throng and I feel not like a leper!
I also recently completed the building of a proper Weissenborn from Australian Maple and the telling of that epic adventure can be found elsewhere on www.ezinearticles.com. I will be putting a piccy of my little Sanchez which sounds fantastic and twice as loud as it used to be, on my new site www.build-a-weissenborn.com
My addiction is complete.. There is no hope for me and counseling would fall on deaf ears!
No wonder Johnny Depp owns about seven of them! a cool dude.....good onya Johnny boy!


The secret of the Weissenborn sound
I have been buying and playing guitars for around thirty years and it's true to say that I certainly have owned quite a few! My real passion is guitars and I have been fascinated not only how they sound but I can always tell how good they sound by the reaction of people when they hear some of the guitars that I have owned and played....not of course, because of how I play but how the sound of a certain guitar seems to really 'ring a bell' with them. My dobro,for example has really good reactions from people even as you take it out of the case..they seem to be fascinated by the lairy, shiny, chrome, almost kitsch effect that this thing has....it's actually a good job it sounds ok too!
I have always watched this reaction and been interested by it and have learned over the years that the better quality the guitar, the easier it is to play and because of the better sound they produce it somehow it makes you want to play all the better...a wonderful chain reaction!
One of the most amazing reactions I have seen in past years to this kind of thing has been the effect that guitar maestro Jeff Lang produces in people from his truly great weissenborn that David Churchill of South Australia made for Jeff. It is positively mind boggling to see people really get off on this combination and you cant help but come away from one of Jeff's performances without a really deep 'feelgood 'feeling inside.You only have to hear Jeff on his album "disturbed folk"to know what I mean!
All of this started me thinking not only that as a guitar player that I wanted to own one of these guitars, but why do people react so positively to the sound of a weissenborn? The sound is, of course, ethereal, spine chilling,gutsy and haunting all at the same time and seems to suck a feeling of emotion from you didn't know was there!
In the end I couldn't stand it any more and because I simply could not afford to buy one decided to make one instead.The upshot of this effort was much more surprising than I could have imagined. Thanks to the wisdom of my buddy, Kim Hancock of Tamborine Mountain in Queensland, a guitar maker of note, my weissenborn was made from Austalian Maple, actually a close cousin of Koa wood, the preferred timber for these type of guitars.The maple was a terrific choice ,as it turned out. This timber has a beautiful 'flame' and has a lightness that belies it's strength. This is a killer combination, I believe and with a 'thin as you dare' soundboard, my Weissenborn has startled me with its huge sound and sweetness from the start. No one was more surprised than me, I can tell you. The guitar when strummed, trembles from tip to toe, if one can use that expression! The sustain is probably twice as long as my Taylor which is also a great sound and is probably twice as loud too. Ok, so what makes the sound so so different from other guitars?
The hollow neck of course! ....but what actually happens inside that thing? My theory is that the sound waves that are produced when the guitar is played resonate around the smooth inside of the guitar and as they hit the interior bounce back ...but there are more and more soundwaves being produced from further playing and naturally they collide with each other, probably at quite a rate..I can tell you, the way the guitar trembles proves to me at least there is some serious energy being produced inside! These waves must compress and produce turbulence like any other fluid when they meet and of course as they enter the tapered hollow neck are compressed further...the only exit for these waves is ,of course , through the sound hole ...out they pour, replete with delicious overtones, in a wave of utter joy! The other contributing factor are, I believe, razor sharp scalloped braces which I believe further'cut' the sound waves and allow greater flexibility of the soundboard and a set of "Elixir"nanoweb strings which, of course, instantly transform ANY guitar for the better! Think I'm exaggerating? well, see for yourself! I have placed a clip of the Weissy being played on my new site www.build-a-weissenborn.com. You be the judge