Gear
1937 Gibson L-50
A guitar personally owned and restored by master luthier Tom Crandall. Carved maple back, carved spruce top, elevated fingerboard. Strings: D'Addario Roundwound 14s. Main "around the house" guitar. Used as a rhythm guitar on The Sky Below.
1940 Gibson ES-150 Charlie Christian
Purchased with the matching case and EH-150 amplifier in 2020. Carved spruce top, maple sides and back, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, Charlie Christian pickup. Strings: Thomastik flatwound 13s. Not yet used on any recording projects.
1963 Gibson CO Classical
My first full-sized guitar, purchased from a friend in the early '80s in the Pacific Northwest. Spruce top, mahogany body. Strings: D'Addario Pro-Arte high tension nylon. Used on all of my own albums, Steve Coleman's Functional Arrhythmias, Jonathan Finlayson's Moment and the Message, Jen Shyu's Jade Tongue, and other projects.
1978 Gibson ES-175 Charlie Christian
My main instrument since 1994. Found at International Vintage Guitars in New Orleans. 3-piece maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, arched slab-cut maple top, sides and back, Charlie Christian pickup. Strings: Thomastik flatwound 14s. Used on all of my albums and live gigs in NYC area, exclusively on Trickster, WORK, and Trickster's Dream, Steve Coleman's Synovial Joints, Jonathan Finlayson's Moving Still and Moment and the Message, John Zorn's Paimon, Dan Weiss' Sixteen, Adam Rudolph's Turning Toward the Light, all albums by Jane Monheit, Patrick Cornelius, and many other projects.
2018 Slaman "Pauletta"
A custom-made Les Paul-style body guitar with Charlie Christian adjustable pickup, made by master luthier Daniel Slaman in the Netherlands. I requested this guitar in order to have an instrument with the Charlie Christian sound that I could travel with easily. Made with lightweight woods in order to produce a transparent, archtop-like tone. Strings: Thomastik flatwound 13s. Spanish cedar body, flamed redwood 2 piece top, ebony fingerboard, Honduras mahogany neck, black pearl inlay, rosewood carved bridge, handmade 250 style tailpiece, vintage Bakelite chickenhead knobs, aged blonde finish. Can be heard on The Sky Below, on John Zorn's Bagatelles with Mary Halvorson, and on Matt Mitchell's Phalanx Ambassadors.
2002 Yamaha SA2200
A gift from my teacher Rodney Jones, who emphasized the necessity of a "swiss army knife" guitar (versatile, reliable, tool instrument). Mahogany neck, Laminated Figured Maple body, Ebony Fingerboard, coil tap knobs. Strings: Thomastik flatwound 12s. Used on my albums Mirror, Generations, and Figurations, Dan Weiss' Tintal Drumset Solo andFourteen, Steve Coleman's Synovial Joints, Jonathan Finlayson's Moment and the Message, Alexis Cuadrado's Poetica, and many other projects.
2016 Keisel HH2 Headless Guitar
A high-quality traveler's guitar, with a four-octave range. Originally purchased for use in Steve Coleman's band, now used for material that requires a large range and extreme technical requirements, as well as rehearsals and difficult travel situations. Heard on Steve Coleman and Five Elements Live at the Village Vanguard. Black Simba neck and body, ebony fretboard, coil tap knobs. Strings: Thomastik flatwound 11s.
2008 Caius Quarter Tone Guitar
A one-of-a-kind experimental guitar built by Luca Bartoccioli, used for Indian music projects and various microtonal explorations. Mahogany, maple and ebony body, ebony fingerboard. Strings: Thomastik flatwound 14s. Used on Dan Weiss' Jhaptal Drumset Solo, Amir ElSaffar's Not Two, and Gaetano Partipilo's I Like Too Much. An extended exploration of its capabilities can be heard on "To Dream Again" from The Sky Below.