TIM PIERCE shows us how to craft a GREAT guitar solo in the studio. / All Guitar Network

Norm's Podcast: Coming this Tuesday: Episode 12: Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan.

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Norm's Podcast: Coming this Tuesday: Episode 12: Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan.

This Tuesday on the Podcast: KENNY SULTAN has been playing guitar since the age of seven. Soon thereafter, his brother introduced him to the blues of T-Bone Walker and Lightnin' Hopkins. The effect was permanent. Confirming his love for music and the blues, he graduated with honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he majored in Music/Ethnomusicology. A noted teacher, he has taught music, guitar and music history at the university level and has conducted countless workshops and seminars. His published instructional works include four books and three DVDs for Centerstream/Hal Leonard (the latest being "The Blues Styles of Kenny Sultan,") a book/DVD for Warner Brothers, and a new teaching app. In 2007 Kenny received what is perhaps the ultimate accolade for an acoustic guitarist: Martin Guitars Inc. honored him with his own signature model guitar: the 000-18KS model. Here's a PDF file with the whole story. Martin's Dick Boak states it was, "To pay tribute to acoustic blues artist Kenny Sultan. Kenny is an extremely loyal Martin owner, player and advocate with a large following in the blues community. He owns, performs and records with an amazing array of Martin guitars. Clearly his favorite size and style is a 000-18 sunburst, upon which this custom edition is inspired and based." Sales were so good on the 00018-KS that Kenny was then asked to do another signature model -- this time based upon the slightly smaller 00-18 model. It, too, quickly sold out. In addition to recording with Tom, Kenny has also appeared as a sideman on numerous recordings by other artists, and has two widely acclaimed solo guitar CDs with Solid Air Records. The first was entitled, "West Coast Blues". At the suggestion of Executive Producer James Jensen to "Keep it funky and play from the heart," Kenny comments, "This music is played as if I was sitting on my couch around midnight playing for myself." Acoustic Guitar Magazine raved, "Fluid grooves and a slew of very tasty licks." It was so well received, Kenny followed up with "Guitar Blues" (also on Solid Air.) TOM BALL. Born in Los Angeles on Sonny Terry's birthday (October 24,) Tom began playing guitar at the age of eleven and took up harmonica two years later. A teenage member of the Yerba Buena Blues Band in the mid-1960's, he played Love-Ins and Sunset Strip nightclubs before leaving the country for most of the '70s. In 1978 he came back to the U.S. and in '79 he teamed up with guitarist Kenny Sultan - a partnership that still flourishes today after 40 years, and has resulted in eight duo CDs (most with Flying Fish/Rounder,) and literally thousands of concerts and festivals all over the world.

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