THE BEST OF 2019
STEVE VAI
BEST NEW ARTIST
Jacob Collier “It’s always a thrill to discover a young, connected musician such as Jacob Collier. His show at L.A.’s Fonda Theater in March 2019 was astonishing. To see music flowing from a human so effortlessly, joyfully and inspired is a marvel.
“There’s a paradigm shift happening on the planet, and this can be seen in various fields such as technology, art and business.
This shift is led by people who come into the world with a fresh and unique creative perspective, and they come together for the co-creative process of raising the bar for all of us. They manifest their intentions without any excuses. Watching Jacob Collier navigate so powerfully through his performance gives me the feeling that he’s a major player in the paradigm shift of quality musical expression. He is an explosion of freedom and joy.”
BRIAN BELL (WEEZER)
BEST NEW ALBUM
Fat White Family, Serfs Up! “Think somewhere between Arcade Fire and Leonard Cohen with a dash of Joy Division. Music this hip sounding has to be from England, right? Yes, in fact that’s correct.”
BEST NEW ARTIST
Purple Mountains “This was the new project from David Berman, of the indie-rock band Silver Jews. The songs are just fantastic, but unfortunately, David was a depressed soul and committed suicide on August 7, less than a month after this release.”
BEST NEW GEAR GVIDO
“A Kindle for sheet music, with a beautiful layout. The dimensions are bigger than a normal piece of sheet music, and you can even apply a pedal to it that turns the page while you’re playing.”
BEST LIVE SHOW
The Rolling Stones at the Rose Bowl “Didn’t Mick Jagger
