The Guitar Player's Resource
Brian Donnelly is a guitarist and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia, who has taken his love and dedication to guitar music and an acoustic guitar and released One Of Those Guys, a CD of jazz standards reinterpreted using new guitar techniques developed by Donnelly. The fifteen-track CD also contains six Donnelly originals, that range from the bluesy ("Moko Jumbies") to the evocative and wistful ("Marf"). Many of the songs on One Of Those Guys suggest Al Di Meola as a jazzy reference point; imagine Di Meola after ten cups of coffee! The tempos and lightning-quick runs are dizzying at times, as Donnelly imparts several classical approaches to his interpretations.
Brian has taken his study of classical guitar, Charlie Parker and Al Di Meola and created an original style of playing that uses the songs to show the beauty and versatility of the guitar. Brian believes that the music should be "in your face" with no distracting effects that detract from the songs. His use of an unprocessed acoustic guitar on One Of Those Guys allows him to convey the essence of the music and advance the idea that one only needs a guitar to create a whole world of fabulous sounds.
Donnelly finds that his music can be difficult to categorize because the common thread running through his music is not based upon style, rather a great love and appreciation of fine guitar music. Each song selected for inclusion on One Of Those Guys was chosen because it had something specific and special Donnelly wanted to say.
Brian Donnelly
United States