RAUL MIDÓN ECLECTIC ADVENTURIST

How Raul Midón weathered a global pandemic with a little help from his friends…who just happen to be some of most talented guitarists on the planet.

OVER THE COURSE of eleven extraordinary solo albums and numerous studio sessions with musicians as diverse as Herbie Hancock, Jose Feliciano, Shakira and Snoop Dogg, singer-songwriter Raul Midón had achieved much. But there was one mountain he had yet to scale—recording an instrumental album that focused on his wonderfully distinctive acoustic guitar playing.

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“It is something that I wanted to do for a long time, but I’ve always been on tour or distracted by other projects,” Midón explains. ”When the pandemic hit, it was like, ‘Okay, this is the time to do it.’ This project gave me the excuse to really practice my guitar and focus on letting the instrument be the expresser rather than my voice.”

As the concept for the album began to unfold, Midón decided it would be even more fun and exciting to undertake the creative journey with some of his talented colleagues, and the goal of recording a series of duets commenced.

“The idea was appealing on so many levels,” he says. “It gave me an excuse to reconnect with a bunch of amazing players—some I hadn’t spoken with in 20 years—and it gave my compositions focus.”

For inspiration, the musician immersed himself in the music of the players he wanted to work with, and then wrote something that he thought would make a good platform for them to do “their own thing.” The result is one of the finest and most diverse musical experiences of this young decade.

Co-starring pickers as varied as jazz-rock shredder Mike Stern, studio legend Dean Parks and gypsy jazz virtuoso Stephane Wrembel, Eclectic Adventurist is a thrilling musical roller coaster ride with some of today’s greatest six-string masters.

Holding it all together and keeping the music firmly on track, however, is Midón and his engaging compositions and sophisticated playing. While he makes subtle adjustments in his playing to complement his special guests, it is his masterful rhythm playing, captivating chord voicings and lyrical soloing that make Eclectic Adventurist a surprisingly refreshing and cohesive artistic statement.

The Making of Eclectic Adventurist

EACH TRACK IS, indeed, an “adventure,” and like any excursion all of them have their own engaging story. As such, we asked Raul to give us a short guided tour.

“Serendipity”

FEATURING JONATHAN KREISBERG

“I wanted the album to start out with a bang and this is one of my favorite compositions on the collection. I went to school with Jonathan at the University of Miami, and he has since become one of the greats. I remember hearing him play in New York a few years ago and thinking, ‘Holy crap! This is what I have to contend with—this level of playing. I’m glad I sing.’”
"Una Mas”

FEATURING ALEX CUBA
“I appeared with Alex on one of his Grammy-winning albums, and we just clicked. This track is a mixture of Cuban and Brazilian rhythms and harmonies. All the soloing is over a clave rhythm pattern which is at the structural core of a lot of Cuban music. It’s pretty wild.”
“Prima Vera”

FEATURING MARVIN SEWELL
“Marvin is totally unique. Most people that play slide on a resonator guitar are usually blues oriented. Marvin can play the blues, but he also has an extensive knowledge of jazz. That’s what caught my ear—he could play slide in a jazz context.”
“Nautical”

FEATURING JULIA BAILEN
“This is the only tune on the album I didn’t write. Julia plays in an alternative band with her brothers called Bailen. She sent me this track, which is very dreamy, and I immediately fell in love with it. I told her I would just come up with a part to play over it. It’s almost like chamber folk music, and it’s quite different from anything else on the album.”
“Blues for Mike”

FEATURING MIKE STERN
“This composition is in a blues form, but I put in a few twists and turns so it would challenge Mike, who is one of the greatest jazz fusion players of all time. When Mike received the track, he called me up and said ‘Raul, this is really hard.’ I just laughed, because I had to tell him that it took me a couple weeks to learn how to improvise over my own freaking tune!”
“Waiting Game” and “Gentle Ascent”

FEATURING DEAN PARKS(
“People may not be familiar with Dean Park’s name, but as one of the greatest session guitarists of the last 30 or 40 years, they’ve definitely heard him play on albums by groups like Steely Dan and artists such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder. He is probably the best… I don’t know what other term to use other than ‘wandering improviser.’ If you put Dean on a track and tell him to play, he will always surprise you with something great and totally unexpected.”
“Loueke”

FEATURING LIONEL LOUEKE
“Lionel has such a unique approach to the guitar. He grew up in Africa and was influenced by all these interesting African rhythm guitar players. He is just beyond. He can play these unusual phrases that are all over the bar line, but at the same time, he’ll be totally locked into the groove.”
“Separate Identity”

FEATURING LINDSEY BLAIR
“Like Jonathan Kreisberg, I met Lindsey at the University of Miami. He’s like Dean Parks—he can play anything and in any style. I loved how he turned this track into a total rocker.”
“Why Not?”

FEATURING ROMERO LUBAMBO

“Romero is one of the quintessential Brazilian guitarists and accompanists. His rhythm guitar playing skills are incredible. When he sent me back this track with his parts, I had to change the way I comped for him. I literally thought, ‘Man, my rhythm part sounds terrible compared to his.’ He really pushed me to improve, and I love that.”
“11:59”

FEATURING STEPHANE WREMBEL
“Stephane is one of gypsy jazz’s great keepers of the flame. This is one case where I really had to completely immerse myself in a style I wasn’t used to writing for, to get it right. The rhythm playing in gypsy jazz is very old fashioned, and there’s a particular way that you have to play to make it sound authentic. Of course, it helps to have someone like Stephane to play with.”