Guitar Heroes / LAGQ

This album received the 2005 Grammy Award for "Best Classical Crossover Album.

Personnel: Benjamin "Benwell" Levine (double bass).

Recording information: Studio A, O'Henry Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA (12/08/2003-12/11/2003).

The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is not your typical classical ensemble. The group's open-minded, category-defying aesthetic is shaped by the diverse influences of its individual members. GUITAR HEROES pays homage to the musicians who inspired the foursome, an eclectic pantheon that includes jazz icons, finger-picking wizards, and rock legends, as well as artists from the classical mainstream. The ensemble honors many of its idols via imaginative arrangements of their heroes' works, notably a Brazilian-flavored version of Ralph Towner's classic "Icarus," a "nuevo flamenco" take on Yes guitarist Steve Howe's "Mood for a Day," and a deft medley of "Blue Ocean Echo" and "Country Gentleman" that would make Chet Atkins proud.

Other six-string luminaries are celebrated through original compositions. Brian Head's "We Know You Know: Reverie for Mahavishnu" recalls John McLaughlin's groundbreaking fusion work with both Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Bryan Johanson conjures the flamboyant virtuosity of Jimi Hendrix with the atmospheric "Pluck, Strum, and Hammer," and shows deep appreciation for the uncompromising nature of Frank Zappa's music, as well as his humor, with "Let's Be Frank." The quartet acknowledges its enormous debt to the pioneering work of the Assad Duo and Los Romeros with a vibrant performance of Sergio Assad's "Uarekena" and a graceful reading of "El Boda de Luis Alonso: Intermezzo," a staple from the Romeros' repertoire.

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Works Details

Kanengiser, Bill [Guitar] : Black Icarus, for 4 guitars & percussion (after Ralph Towner's Icarus)

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 3 min. 36 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

York, Andrew [Guitar] : B & B, for 4 guitars & double bass

Performers: Benjamin Levine (Double Bass); Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 4 min. 20 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

Head, Brian : We Know You Know :: Reverie for Mahavishnu, for 4 guitars

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 5 min. 4 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

Johanson, Bryan : Pluck, Strum and Hammer, for 4 guitars

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 4 min. 19 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

Metheny, Pat : Letter from Home

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 3 min. 29 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

Assad, Sérgio : Uarekena

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 8 min. 23 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Written: 1990s

Howe, Steve : Aire para un Día (Mood for a Day)

Performers: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar); Angelita Macias (Palmas); Deanna Nuñez (Palmas)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 4 min. 17 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

Dunne, Matthew : Gypsy Flower, for 4 guitars

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 6 min. 2 sec.

York, Andrew [Guitar] : Pop, for 4 guitars

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 2 min. 20 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

Jerónimo Giménez (1854 - 1923) : El Baile de Luis Alonso, zarzuela

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Notes: Composition written: 1896.
Running Time: 3 min. 25 sec.
Period Time: Post Romantic
Form: Opera/Operetta
Written: 1896

Hirschelman, Evan : Textures :: In Memory of Michael Hedges, for 4 guitars

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 6 min. 14 sec.

Johanson, Bryan : Let's Be Frank, for 4 guitars

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 6 min. 34 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

Chet Atkins / Boudleaux B : Work(s) :: Blue Echo / Country Gentleman

Performer: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Guitar)
Ensemble: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Running Time: 3 min. 4 sec.

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