Mark Varney Project (MVP) was a short-lived collaborative project put together by Mark Varney, brother of Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney.
Truth in Shredding | ||||
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Studio album by The Mark Varney Project | ||||
Released | 1990 | |||
Studio | Silverlake Sound Studios, Los Angeles; The Brewery, North County, San Diego; Front Page Recorders, Costa Mesa | |||
Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
Length | 55:08 | |||
Label | Legato | |||
Producer | Mark Varney, Frank Gambale | |||
The Mark Varney Project chronology | ||||
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Truth in Shredding is the first studio album by the Mark Varney Project (MVP), released in 1990 through Legato Records [1] and reissued on 4 November 2003, through Tone Center Records. Mark founded Legato in the 1980s, which served as a jazz-oriented counterpart to the rock stylings of Shrapnel. [2] This line-up of the group features guitarists Frank Gambale and Allan Holdsworth. Besides one track written by Gambale, the rest are covers of existing jazz fusion compositions.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Taylor at AllMusic awarded Truth in Shredding four stars out of five, calling it "a very intense fusion recording that can be an intimidating listen both in terms of technique and the consistent intensity maintained throughout." He recommended it for fans of jazz fusion, progressive and heavy metal, and particularly for younger fans of guitar music, saying they "will appreciate the extended solos and lack of any commercial hooks here." While highlighting Gambale and Holdsworth's outstanding playing abilities, Taylor noted that they "quickly run out of ideas and continuously revert back to familiar territory". Tom Brechtlein's drumming was praised as a "fine performance". [1]
No. | Title | Music | Length |
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1. | "Rocks" | Randy Brecker | 7:01 |
2. | "Humpty Dumpty" | Chick Corea | 6:31 |
3. | "The Fall" | Wayne Shorter | 8:15 |
4. | "Not Ethiopia" | Michael Brecker | 9:36 |
5. | "New Boots" | Frank Gambale | 6:24 |
6. | "Ana Maria" | Shorter | 9:15 |
7. | "Bathsheba" | Michael Brecker | 8:16 |
Total length: | 55:08 |
Centrifugal Funk | ||||
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Studio album by The Mark Varney Project | ||||
Released | 1991 | |||
Studio | Front Page Recorders, Costa Mesa, California; Kiva Recording, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
Length | 61:18 | |||
Label | Legato | |||
Producer | Mark Varney, Jimmy Earl | |||
The Mark Varney Project chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Centrifugal Funk is the second and final studio album by the Mark Varney Project (MVP), released in 1991 through Legato Records; a remastered edition was reissued in 2004 through Tone Center Records. [3] This line-up of the group features guitarists Frank Gambale, Brett Garsed and Shawn Lane. [4] The album consists primarily of covers of existing jazz fusion compositions, save for one track performed by Lane—"Lane's Blitz"—which he later dismissed as an impromptu warm-up rather than a planned solo, and thus his dislike for it. [5] Varney has disputed Lane's version of events, [4] but the track was omitted on the remaster.
The cover art on the original release features a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer to listeners: "Warning: Contains guitar performances of unparalleled speed, taste and virtuosity. Not for the faint of heart!", while the back cover has an invitation from Varney asking fans to send in demo tapes of potential guitarists for his label, in return for a named mention within the credits on a future album, as well as five Legato releases mailed to them for free.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Robert Taylor at AllMusic rated Centrifugal Funk three stars out of five, calling it "an exhausting listen" and the songs "fairly weak". Praise was given to the individual talents of Gambale, Garsed and Lane, while criticism was directed at drummer Joey Heredia. "Hey Tee Bone" and "Love Struck" were listed as highlights. [3]
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Actual Proof" | Herbie Hancock | 7:38 |
2. | "So What" | Miles Davis | 9:44 |
3. | "Hey Tee Bone" | Tony Fisher, Timothius Davis | 5:33 |
4. | "Tokyo Blue" | Najee, Morris Pleasure | 7:20 |
5. | "Splatch" | Miles Davis | 11:59 |
6. | "Elegant People" | Wayne Shorter | 9:59 |
7. | "Lane's Blitz [nb 1] " | Shawn Lane | 0:36 |
8. | "Lovestruck" | Jesse Johnson | 8:29 |
Total length: | 61:18 |
In music performance and notation, legato indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, the player makes a transition from note to note with no intervening silence. Legato technique is required for slurred performance, but unlike slurring, legato does not forbid re-articulation.
Allan Holdsworth was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist, violinist and composer.
Shawn Lane was an American musician who released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ringo Starr, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reggie Young, Joe Walsh, Jonas Hellborg, Anders Johansson, Jens Johansson and many others. After studying the piano, he learned to play the guitar, which he played with exceptional speed.
Michael “Mike” Varney is an American record producer and music publisher. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records, Tone Center Records, and Blues Bureau International. He also owns 50% of Magna Carta Records, a New York–based label. Varney is often credited with popularizing the mid-1980s shred guitar boom, and has continuously specialized in producing musicians within the genres of instrumental rock, hard rock, jazz, jazz fusion, blues, blues-rock, progressive metal, and speed metal.
Shrapnel Records is an American record label group founded by record producer Mike Varney. The group principally uses the Shrapnel Records record label, a guitar-oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive metal. In the 1990s, he also started the Tone Center Records and Blues Bureau International sublabels to promote fusion and blues.
Frank Gambale is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.
Todd Joseph “T. J.” Helmerich is an American musician and audio engineer.
Kei Akagi is a Japanese American jazz pianist. In particular, he is known for his work with the Airto Moreira/Flora Purim group and in Miles Davis's band in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Alex Machacek is an Austrian jazz fusion guitarist.
Brett Edward Garsed is an Australian musician and songwriter, best known for his work as a guitarist with John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich, as well as being a former member of the American band Nelson. Garsed was featured on Derek Sherinian's solo records Planet X (1999) and Planet X's Quantum (2007), and more recently Sherinian's Molecular Heinosity (2010).
Steve Weingart is a jazz-funk keyboard player based in Los Angeles, California, United States, who has recorded and performed internationally with an array of well known musical artists.
Brave New Guitar is the first studio album by jazz guitarist Frank Gambale, released in 1985 through Legato Records.
A Present for the Future is the second studio album by guitarist Frank Gambale, released in 1987 by Legato Records and reissued in 2000 by Wombat Records. The third track, "Stephanie", is renamed "Serenity" on the reissue. Harpist Stephanie Bennett was Gambale's ex-wife and was mentioned in the liner notes of all his albums until Passages (1994).
Thunder from Down Under is the third studio album by guitarist Frank Gambale, released in 1990 through Victor Entertainment and reissued on 24 April 2001 through Samson Records.
Chris Brooks is an Australian author, rock, metal and fusion guitarist most noted for his debut instrumental album The Master Plan and his subsequent work with members of Yngwie Malmsteen, Black Sabbath, Lana Lane, and fellow Australians LORD.
All Night Wrong is the first official live album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released in 2002 through Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) and in 2003 through Steve Vai’s Favored Nations Entertainment .
Live! is the first live album by guitarist Frank Gambale, released in 1989 by Legato Records and reissued in 2000 by Wombat Records.
James Christopher Earl is an American jazz bass guitarist who is a member of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! band.
Frank Pilato is a composer, guitarist, clarinetist and sound engineer.
Freddie Ravel is an American keyboardist, keynote speaker, author, composer and recording artist.