Album Notes

With the release of the BEBOP album, twice Grammy awarded and 12 times nominated Los Angeles top songwriter, guitarist, producer, arranger, engineer, and more, Jay Graydon has once again made music history and blessed our souls with real quality MUSIC. This album is a definite must-hear and must-own for many hours of music happiness!

Jay Graydon's new masterpiece - BEBOP - is adding even more bright nuances to the multi-colored painting of his music genius. Those of you familiar with the way Jay expresses himself in pop music know that he has developed his very own style of playing, letting the guitar sometimes literally explode in a technically perfect aggressive solo and sometimes bleed in close harmonies and intense feeling - really squeezing the best out of the guitar.

A jazz album such as BEBOP does not offer any shortcuts or easy ways out by hiding behind distortion or cranking up the volume or using all kinds of helpful gadgets - you simply have to be a very good player and musician, and Jay Graydon surely proves his skill and versatility on this long awaited new jazz album.

Jay handles the guitar following the "less is more" concept, playing with subtle intelligence as well as technical accuracy. He is maybe first and foremost known for two very special ways of playing - the one note mute rhythm guitar playing and the wire choirs. Those specific styles of playing may not be what you expect to hear on a bebop album, but he actually manages to excel in an innovative and exquisite winding harmonic wire choir structure in one of the great melodies.

The tunes on the BEBOP album have a classic feel although they actually are entirely new, and it would be a musical sin not to include them in a new edition of the jazz notation "bible" - the Real Book. Jay waited many years before attempting a full-blown jazz album, although his childhood roots are in bebop, as you may hear on the initial track on the album, where he proudly declares his music preferences at the age of 2 on his father's TV show.

Jay Graydon is supported by a group of highly talented and solid sidemen on this album, all seasoned top-notch musicians. Brandon Fields, the incredibly gifted sax player contributes a beautiful tone to the new tunes and is truly inspired. Together with the other players on this highly recommended album - Dave Weckl, Dave Carpenter and Bill Cantos, these musicians form a synthesis of musicality, music quality, virtuosity, zest and total command of the bebop genre.