INSTRUMENTAL INQUISITION!
DAN WILSON
Guitar instrumentals have supplied some of music’s most evocative moments. Jason Sidwell asks top guitarists for their take on this iconic movement. This month: the US jazz-soul guitarist whose new album is rich and grooving.
GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you?
DW:
I believe the guitar is the perfect bridge between all of the instruments. It’s a melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic vehicle. Russell Malone describes it as a small orchestra in your hands. It’s a headache to learn to play well, but when played well, there’s nothing like it.
GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can’t?
DW: An instrumental can reach our subconscious in a way the spoken word cannot. We spend a ton of time dealing with spoken language. I think our subconscious remains just below the surface, and requires an absence of our everyday stimuli to bring it to the surface. Think about film scores. Our eyes are distracted, so film composers are able to get way more experimental than most instrumental performers.