JEFF KOLLMAN Video Masterclass
With a new instrumental release, plus a tour and album with UK rock legend, Alan Parson, US guitarist Jeff Kollman is a busy man. Thankfully, we secured him to play and discuss his solo on Jason Sidwell’s Hot To Trot. Jon Bishop is your guide.
This month’s star video features American guitarist Jeff Kollman, a musician known for his stunning chops as both a solo artist and as band member with Alan Parsons (The Alan Parsons Project, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Al Stewart), Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatballs, Glenn Hughes and Cosmosquad. For this feature, Jeff filmed himself playing and discussing a solo for Jason’s specially written track, Hot To Trot, a mid-tempo rocker with unusual chord changes; perfect for Jeff’s savvy musicality.
Jeff’s performance is powerfully rock orientated; he uses a Gibson SG Special guitar (fitted with humbuckers), and plays with a rich overdriven tone that provides clarity for both single-note runs and occasional double-stops and chords. His techniques include string bends, hammerons, pull-offs, slides, fast picking and strong finger vibrato. Another great aspect of his performance is the use of staccato notes.
These are shown in the music with a dot above the note; play slightly shorter than the note value suggests. Jeff often uses a subtle palm mute to help thicken the tone and add a definite percussive quality to the attack. The instruments on the track are intricately arranged so Jeff often follows and mirrors the riffs or exclamations. The main rhythmic subdivision Jeff employs is the 16th note, sometimes spiced up with triplets and plenty of syncopation (playing off the beat). He often starts his phrases like this and anticipates the next chord change to add a sophisticated flavour to the phrasing.
During the piece, Jeff often reflects the chord tones; some of them are outside the
Bb- home key (D Minor: D-E-F-G-A- C) so we have presented an open key signature that results in non-diatonic accidentals like C#
Ab and being shown in front of the notes.
The first unusual chord change is Fm-Dm which isn’t based in one key. To navigate these, it’s colourful to use F Melodic Minor
Ab-Bb-
(F-G- C-D-E) for the Fm and either D
Bb- Natural Minor (D-E-F-G-A- C) or D Dorian (D-E-F-G-A-B-C) for Dm as these will provide the most harmonic similarities (common tones) from chord to chord. Jeff highlights this in his discussion, where he uses a looper pedal to repeat Fm-Dm while he solos and discusses notions of scalic continuity and sophistication.
In the middle section of Hot To Trot, we find two unrelated Major 7th chords; Gmaj7-Emaj7. Jeff suggests using the
Lydian mode (Major scale with #4), which provides a richer sound than you’d get with the straight Major scale. While his playing over Gmaj7 could imply G Major or G Lydian, his treatment of Emaj7 is more clearly based in E Lydian (E-F#-G#-A#-BC#-D#), drawing on its flavour notes of A# (#4) and C# (6). If you want a Pentatonic approach to outline the E Lydian sound, simply dip into D# Minor Pentatonic (D#-F#-G#-A#-C#). The formula for any future Major 7th soloing is; go down a half step (here, D# is a semitone lower than E) and play the Minor Pentatonic. Jeff also uses another cool Pentatonic substitution: E Minor Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) over Cmaj7 to create a Cmaj9 sound.
Hopefully there will be techniques, licks or phrases in here for you to get inspired by and try out for yourself. When you discover something you like, memorise it and use in the future where Dorian, Melodic Minor or Lydian sounds would be appropriate. Once you have mastered the concepts in Jeff’s solo, aim to create one of your own over Hot To Trot (remembering what we said about common tones). See you next time!
‘‘Jeff’s techniques include string bends, hammer- ons, pull- offs, slides, fast picking and strong finger vibrato’’
Next month,Canadian guitarist, Nick Johnston returns with a rock solo full of legato runs and string bends over Jason’s specially written track, A Joy Fulfilled
What were the highlights of your music background?
Well the highlights could be referred to heroes that I jammed with. I would rather look at musical humps that I climbed over to grow as a musician. A pivotal moment that stays with me till this day is having my own recording studio setup. It allowed me early on to have a creative outlet and to judge everything about what I did and how I played. You are capturing and judging different aspects of the instrument, playing in time, guitar tone, songwriting, arranging and so much more. I started this process with a four-track cassette recorder when I was 14. It changed everything. It gave me a creative purpose to woodshed things and perfect them. My technique grew in leaps and bounds quickly. I started to develop my own identity. Then I got an eight-track reel to reel and kept going with it. Through the recording process one finds their voice as a writer and player. You experiment with mic placement and speaker choices. Nothing to this day has changed. It’s just gotten easier, cheaper and more convenient with technology. Let’s just say that any kid with a bedroom, Garage Band or ProTools and a guitar can get started.
How have you developed your technique and theory knowledge over the years?
When I was a kid, I would get on the bus and go to the big downtown Toledo library and gather as much material as I could on music theory and harmony, as well as listening to the guitar greats. I found guitar related material like the Ted Greene books, George Van Eps and Tony Rice transcriptions. I found so much audio available too including the Jamey Aebersold playalong stuff. It was great because I learned to sight read, so tab wasn’t really used at all. I started studying classical guitar at 15 and went through the repertoire. Along the way I met Gene Parker, an accomplished jazz musician. I studied with him for a while and it was so helpful to understanding jazz harmony and playing over changes. He played everything but guitar so I was learning from a different perspective. Learning from another guitarist can be too visual and pattern oriented.
What do you enjoy most about working with Alan Parsons?
Alan is a kind English gentleman. He is very respectful of his band and really puts us on a pedestal. It’s a big group of characters that are all very different. I would say that we complement each other on and off the stage. He really lets us shine on stage and brings out our individual talents. We released a record in 2018 called The Secret, and have a new one which will be out in July. There are a few live DVDs available including one with the Israeli Philharmonic. It’s great to be part of the writing and creating progress with such a legend.
During the process of making Hot To Trot, Jason asked Jeff about his musical background and the new album, East Of Heaven.
Are there any pieces you particularly like playing when you tour? Why?
With The Alan Parsons show I really enjoy playing Primetime. There are great melodies by the original recorded guitarist Ian Bairnson. The solo sections allow me to stretch a bit. It goes wherever it goes until I cue the end. Tom Brooks always plays a wicked piano solo where we break it down.
How did your own new solo album, East Of Heaven come about?
I’m always writing and recording ideas but this record came out of the Covid lockdown in 2020. The challenge was that there was zero interaction with the other players due to the isolation rules. After I gathered four or five songs, I started to notice a cohesiveness and musical direction forming and then
momentum kicked in. I find it very gratifying to make a record and especially when it flows from start to finish. That’s really the challenge.
What are some of the players that have influenced you?
I really loved Randy Rhoads for the intensity and orchestration of his solos. He is the reason that I started to study classical guitar. Hendrix, of course. I loved Eddie Van Halen’s innovation, swinging rhythm grooves and tone. Malcolm and Angus
Young, Gary Moore, Blackmore, SRV and Tony Rice. Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass were my favourite jazzers. Later on I started digging guys like John Scofield, Allan Holdsworth and Mike Stern. On the classical side I loved John Williams, Angel Romero and Julian Bream.
There’s a lot of stunning technique and harmonic sophistication on the album while still being rock. What elements of rock, jazz and fusion do you veer most towards?
Once I stumble upon an idea or riff that grabs me and feels a bit different, I’ll start to build on it. I’m usually looking to set a mood and enhance it with production, guitar effects, interesting harmonic devices and counterpoint melodies. I borrow elements of jazz and classical harmony to enrich my writing. I steer clear of cliché chord progressions that are often overused. I want to take the listener to places harmonically that weren’t expected or obvious. Also, if something sounds too much like another song or guitarist, whether it’s good or not I will dismiss it or change it harmonically to sound more like me.
Is there a track or two that you’re particularly pleased with, and why?
An example would be the song Ghostly. The main theme has an Em6 vibe and the sections that follow modulate through key changes without sounding forced.The B
Bbm6(# section is Gm6- 11)-Am7 -G#m7C#m-Gmaj7#11-Fmaj7#11, back to the home base E Minor. A good melody can tie it all together with the right chord voicings. It’s easy to work your way away from home base but it’s challenging musically sometimes to find your way back home. I will keep arranging and trying various melodies, voicings and substitutions until I feel I’ve come up with something that serves the song. There’s another piece called Isolation 2020 which captures a bit of the insanity. It sort of teeters between beautiful, melancholy and a bit of disturbed isolation. It’s not so easy to set these moods without lyrics. It’s rewarding when the listener feels the same thing.
What gear did you use? ELECTRIC GUITARS:
Hamer Newport
Gibson Wildwood Featherweight limited edition Les Paul with Original 1959 PAF (Patent Applied For) pickups. Fender Wildwood Strat (Sea Foam Green) with Brazilian rosewood fretboard Fender Wildwood Tens Strat (Daphne Blue) with maple fretboard (my favourite guitar) Gibson Les Paul special with P90 pickups Hamer Korina Vector Flying V with 59 Classic pickups
Gibson 1979 Black Flying V with Arcane Pickups ‘Brown Bucker’ (EVH-Bridge) and ’59 Classic neck pickup.
ACOUSTIC GUITARS:
Kenny Hill classical guitar
1979 Yairi classical guitar, made in Japan Larrivée P9 parlour guitar, made in Canada Martin 000-18 steel-string acoustic Taylor 410 acoustic tuned Baritone
AMPS:
1973 Marshall/Bogner ‘Warhorse’ threechannel amp. Built in 1991 for George Lynch and re-voiced for Jeff Kollman in 1999 by Rienhold Bogner. It’s a one-off amp. 1978 Marshall 100-watt Mark 2 head, re-voiced and modded by Jeff Kollman and Reinhold Bogner.
1965 Fender Twin Reverb
1966 Fender Pro Reverb
1968 Marshall cabinet with Pre Rola 25-watt Celestion Greenback speakers
Jeff Kollman’s album, East Of Heaven is out now, and watch out for a new Alan Parsons Project release which lands in July. More info on https.jeffkollman.com