Jazz Articles about Shawn Lane

Shawn Lane with Jonas Hellborg: Issues and Reissues

by John Kelman
June 1, 2004

While he was far from a household name when he passed away in September, 2003 at the tender age of forty, guitarist Shawn Lane was considered something of a god within fusion circles. Starting out professionally at the age of fifteen in the unlikely context of the '70s Southern Rock outfit Black Oak Arkansas, he quickly refashioned the band into more of a jazz-rock affair by the mid-'80s, more akin to Return to Forever than the Allman Brothers. When the ...

Remembering Shawn Lane: 1963-2003

by Souvik Dutta
December 14, 2003

Shawn Lane was a dear friend of mine and though he wasn't a household name outside the world of fusion and prog-rock, the impact he had on guitarist around the world was profound. His contribution to music can only be understood by listening to his collective works which crossed many genres. An endless learner, a passionate reader and a keen observer, he always appreciated the good in everything. He was a musician first, then ...

Hellborg, Lane, Umamahesh, Selvaganesh, Umashankar: Icon

by C. Michael Bailey
May 7, 2003

Last year's Personae was a fusion powerhouse, laying creative waste to all in its way. Not content to rest on his muse, über -bassist Jonas Hellborg has set out after the polyphonic and polyrhythmic music of India. Hellborg and long term collaborator Shawn Lane apply their synthetic method, meshing East and West with Indian vocalist V. Umamahesh and two percussionists, V. Selvaganesh and V. Umashankar--who play the ghatam and the kanjeera, two types of hand drums used in the Southern ...

Hellborg/Lane/Selvaganesh/Umashankar/Umamahesh: Icon

by Jim Santella
April 2, 2003

Music: the universal language.

As civilizations developed around the world, music evolved alongside regional and cultural differences. The most basic of elements have always been there in common, but differences exist and continue to keep cultures apart. The human voice takes on various colors, even without language. Tuning may give one program preferences over another, depending on the listener’s ear. Then, there’s the instrumentation to deal with. The kanjeera, konokol and ghatam may be unfamiliar to many of ...

Hellborg/Lane/Selvaganesh/Umashankar/Umamahesh: Icon

by Dan McClenaghan
March 10, 2003

Swedish-born bassist Jonas Hellborg--whose category-defying CDs have incorporated aspects of metal, jazz, fusion, Middle Eastern sounds, classical and punk--offers up Icon, music tinged with Sub-Continent sounds. He is joined by guitarist Shawn Lane, Indian percussionists V. Selvaganish and V. Umashankar, and Indian vocalist V. Umamahesh.Hellborg has played with John McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Public Image Ltd., and he cites as influences Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, and--interestingly--the original '60s power rock trio Cream. Interestingly, because Hellborg's bass ...

Shawn Lane: The Tritone Fascination

by Scott Andrews
January 1, 2001

Memphis guitarist and composer Shawn Lane continually blurs the lines between solo composer, guitar hero, and fusion improvisationalist. Lane may be the best unknown fusion guitarist, or the most musical guitar “shredder," or simply a gifted guitarist, pianist, and composer whose anonymity masks his impressive versatility and talent.

Instrumental guitar fans know Lane's work from his 1992 solo album Powers of Ten, on which Lane wrote all the music and (on one of the two released versions) played all the ...