Just Jazz Guitar Magazine,
Review of "Live @ The Uptowner" CD                

Kirk Tatnall, Jack Grassel,  Ernie Adams
by Vince Lewis, February 2006

    Jack Grassel is an extremely versatile guitar player with a modern soloing concept that is well ordered and logical. His previous recordings have consisted mainly of standards and original material based in that genre, as well. Players who are proven in their craft in so many styles often feel the need to experiment and grow musically , as can be perceived on this CD.

   Joined by former student Kirk Tatnall and drummer Ernie Adams, this free-wheeling romp through some interesting and thought-provoking material will challenge the listener from start to finish. The duo is performing on the Superax, an instrument that was invented by Grassel. It enables the players to play bass and guitar strings on the same neck. This allows a trade off between bass lines and guitar parts, eliminating the need for a separate bass instrument.

   This work comprises all original material, described as free, hardbop, funk, electric jazz by Grassel. The opening track, "Jade Castles", sets the mood with a floating rhythm figure underneath some energetic and free soloing by both players. "Song For Bill", and "Mom and Dad's Blues" offer a traditional swing rhythm moving beneath modern boppish single lines showcasing the technical ability of both guitarists. Adams is a fine drummer who provides solid support throughout the session. "Bossa Mama" is a nice uptempo Latin selection. The closing track titled "Noctilucent Vectors" shows the trio's true enjoyment of working together.

   Fans of Jack Grassel expecting a straight-ahead swing album will be surprised by the tunes on this disc. It should be listened to with a open mind and an appreciation of the group's very modern approach. Listeners who enjoy this style of music will find it to be a truly remarkable journey.

The Journal Times " Sounding Board"
by Patrick Fineran, March 2000

   The other night I had a dream about music. Not the usual one where local folks and festival organizers show up and wildly appreciate the great talent. No, in this dream a swan came to me in a club. The swan was tall and graceful and had gold inlaid frets running down the length of its neck. Rather than wings, the swan had four arms with sparks shooting from its fingertips. The swan floated up to a mild-mannered patron and opened its mouth. Out came a beautiful Hofner guitar. The swan laid the instrument at the feet of the startled man and said melodiously, "Take this and show others that it can do what no others can."

   At that, the man got up on stage, plugged in and let loose with a sound that caused some to cheer and others to weep. With the shimmering, vibrating guitar seemingly an extension of the man, he became a full orchestra. The man played bass guitar, rhythm and lead guitars all at the same time on the single instrument.

   The swan hovered above all in the crowd and said, "Appreciate what you have before it's gone." and burst into a flaming shower of arpeggios and disappeared. Hmmm, maybe I should stop having mushroom pizza right before bed.

   I really don't think a magical swan taught Jack Grassel to play guitar, but someone did a pretty remarkable job. In case you're not familiar with Grassel, he's the guy who comes to the Yardarm to perform with his wife, Jill Jensen. She's the one from the Pontiac commercials and Readers Poll winner for Favorite Female Vocalist. You know - Jack and Jill!

   Through innovative noodling Jack is able to play bass, rhythm and lead parts all at the same time. For tech heads out there, here's how he does it: On his own invention, the "Superax", Grassel has the bottom two strings electronically transposed down an octave and the signal sent to a bass amp. The top four strings get isolated and are sent to a guitar amp. For those who are only interested in the end result, it sounds like a chorus coming from one man.

   Don't get me wrong. It still takes some pretty amazing talent to make all this electronic mumbo-jumbo sound good. Grassel possesses some pretty amazing talent. Guitar One Magazine named him one of the "10 Best in the U.S." guitarists in its March issue.

   "Upon hearing him seamlessly weave bass lines, rhythm chords and melody lines - all at the same time - as well as noting his incredible command of the instrument, we knew Jack Grassel was a shoe-in for "Best in the U.S." the magazine said. "And if you're into lead guitar chops, Jack shows complete mastery in that arena as well, constructing melody lines on the guitar with the same technical prowess John Coltrane demonstrated on his sax. Simply put: He sounds like no other guitarist you've ever heard before.

The Journal Times: "Center Stage", Jack Grassel and Jill Jensen, July 31, 2003

   What happens when you take one of the nation's top jazz guitarists, add one of Wisconsin's favorite female vocalists and throw in the chemistry of two people in love? You've got the husband and wife team of Jack Grassel and Jill Jensen. This duo sizzles onstage. Don't miss them at the Yardarm, 930 Erie St.

   JIll's expressive voice sparkles with the sheer delight of singing as she wraps around lyrics and their emotional implications. Blended with Jack's stunning command of the guitar, they perform music that speaks in an easily undersood and enjoyable dialect.

   Grassel recently won his sixth Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) award as Jazz Artist of the Year. Guitarists worldwide have studied his many books, columns and recordings for decades. And he composes. You'll hear some of Grassel's compositions (with lyrics) at the Yardarm. Visit his instructional and entertaining web site: www.jackgrassel.com

   A Racine native, Jensen is well known as a vocalist, actress and television spokesperson with a smooth, confident stage presence. A fan recently described her voice as "Victoria's Secret for the Ears".

   Jensen has twice been voted by readers of The Journal Times as Favorite Female Vocalist of the year. More information is available by visiting www.jilljensen.com.

City Edition " 50 Watt Hands, 100 Watt Brain"
by Phil Gatewood, March 1997

   Guitarist Jack Grassel is a serious player. A staple of the scene for the past three decades, Grassel has augmented his career via a protracted relationship as a writer for Guitar Player Magazine and as the author of several very demanding practice books for the most accomplished players.

   A fixture in a local college's music department for the past 15 years, he was recently named chairman of the department. Grassel created the innovative "Occupational Music Program" there to produce musicians who are not only legitimate artists but also employable in their field.

The following is an interview conducted at Grassel's residence. His words reveal more about his extraordinary talent than my kudos ever could.

City Edition: I describe you as a serious musician not because it's your livelihood but because it's how you approach your art. It's how you play, not a show or a party; very disciplined.

Jack Grassel: It's as serious as your life. Dead serious. When I play, I treat it like I'm doing brain surgery. Like my life depends on it. That's why I no longer play dance music. I only play music I can feel that serious about. When I played non-jazz I was very unhappy.

CE: It didn't speak to you on any level?
JG: No. Every time I play the game, I go out to play like Michael Jordan plays. I'm out for blood every time, trying to surpass what I've previously done. It's a fault, really. Sometimes I'll come home after a gig and my hands hurt, my arms hurt, because I just went too far.

CE: Pushed yourself too far physically?
JG: I've got 50-watt hands and a 100-watt brain. (Laughs, almost apologetically).

CE: Beyond the athletic part of playing, the dexterous part of your art, is the soul of an artist. I recently heard you play "Lover Man" and your obvious sensitivity came across beautifully.
JG: I think of the lyrics when I play that piece and the Thelonious Monk recording. I feel that each piece possesses a different kind of feeling. I play all different kinds of tunes. To feel totally played out at the end of an evening, I have to play tunes that will express all of the feelings that I have. And I'm also a composer so there are a lot of different players inside of me. There's the player that plays solo and then there's the player who plays a guitar/saxophone duo with Berkeley Fudge, which I'll be doing tonight. That's a whole different ball game. When I play with a bass player I have to stop playing bass lines on the guitar. When I played at a jazz club last week I had a whole band. In that situation I have to play about 75 percent less guitar. You'll hardly ever see me with the same band at two gigs in a row. New players put a different spin on a piece and keep it interesting. I enjoy that fresh stimulation.

CE: Do you prefer to play your own compositions or interpretations of other works?
JG: I try to play music that's appropriate to the place I'm playing, without copping out. Some nights I'll play my stuff and then others I'll play all standards. Some nights I'll play allot of ballads. Next week I'm with a jazz vocalist. Jerry Grillo and I swapped our latest CDs one night, and then he called me and asked me to play duos with him. We got together to try some things, wonderful old things by Harold Arlen, Cole Porter and Sammy Kahn. When I play with him there is no bassist, so I play the bass lines , chords, melody, and percussion effects on the guitar. I try to be the whole band.

CE: What kind of preparatory process do you go through before you play?
JG: I play 200-250 gigs a year. I prepare all the time. I play something like three million notes in an evening. So I practice less on the day of a gig than a free day. I have to be careful because some of the things I do can be harmful to my hands. I soak my hands in hot water before I play and then in cold water after I finish to reduce inflammation.

CE: You do a lot of recording as well as live performance, which do you prefer?
JG: People forget that a recording is a mere imitation of a performance. If you want to "feel" music, you've got to go and get it live.

CE: How about session work?
JG: I played session work in the'70s and I really wasn't that sorry to see it go. Studio players do not play jazz that well because they spend all their time and effort trying to sound like someone else. First, I'd have to be Jimi Hendrix and then Lee Ritenour or John Williams. At the end of the day when I'd go play my jazz gig, I wasn't at my best. Things are different now.

CE: Thank you, see you at the concert tonight.

The Lake Geneva Regional News,
by Patricia Christian, Feb. 12, 1998

   Grassel has a long history, beginning at age three when his father started him on accordion lessons. Grassel started performing professionally at age four in a traveling variety show (Bar 'O' Ranch) and on local television talent shows. He won the state accordion championship four years in a row and then taught himself to play the bass guitar. Joining a rock and roll band when he was 12, Grassel played at youth centers, by 16 performed up to six nights a week through high school in the flourishing rock bar and teen bar circuit all over Wisconsin. When he graduated from high school, Jack was bored with rock music, sold his instruments and entered pharmacy school with the intention of avoiding a music career. But two years later he discovered and immersed himself into the secrets of the jazz guitar.

   Since then, Grassel, after over 9,000 performances, has been in almost every conceivable music situation. He is currently the department chair of the Milwaukee Area Technical College music program, the author of several advanced guitar technical books, a recording artist with six albums of his compositions and two of jazz standards and the recipient of several awards.

   Grassel has studied with local guitar geniuses George Pritchett and Don Momblow as well as world renowned guitar innovators George Van Eps and Tal Farlow and avant garde saxophonist Joe Daley.
Grassel performed with Luciano Pavarotti, Rosemary Clooney, Bobby Rydell, to name a few. He is also on the lastest CD by composer Lukas Foss, entitled "13 Ways of Looking at A Blackbird."

   Having written a master's series column for Guitar Player Magazine and giving practicing seminars for the Gibson Guitar Company, Grassel's guitar style draws from the entire history of jass and becomes a unique modern statement.

   Critics have said Grassel is, "not an imitator, he finds many dimensions in his instrument...skill, taste and conceptual integrity." and his "fingers defy the laws of gravity and friction as they move across the frets unhindered by anything but the dictates of his imagination."

Guitar Player Magazine
by Jim Fergusen November, 1989

   It's a basic truth that well known players represent only a small percentage of the country's talent. If you visit Milwaukee, check out Jack Grassel, a brilliant, progressive jazz oriented player who penned our Sept. '89 Masters Series, Power Practicing. Adventurous to a fault, Grassel explores everything - from "straight ahead" to modal to outside to avant garde - as long as it involves improvisation. His latest album ("If You're Too Crazy for Your Body") teams him with bassist Hans Sturm and drummer Mike Schlick, and features five extended tracks, each of which displays his formidable technique, musicianship, sense of humor, imagination, and ability to do the unexpected. Highly recommended.

Guitar One Magazine
The 10 Best Guitarists in the U.S. (you probably don't know)
by Mike Mueller, March 2000

   Jack Grassel has been performing music since he was 4 years old. In the interim, he has been an instructor at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in the Jazz Degree Program, won several local music awards, and authored a wide array of guitar instructional books. Currently, Jack is the Coordinator of Music Instruction at the Milwaukee Area Technical college, teaches at the National Guitar Workshop, and maintains a schedule of more than 250 performances and seminars per year.

   Upon hearing him seamlessly weave bass lines, rhythm chords, and melody lines-all at the same time-as well as noting his incredible command of the instrument, we knew Jack Grassel was a shoe-in for "Best in the U.S." And if you're into lead guitar chops, Jack shows complete mastery in that arena as well, construction melody lines on the guitar with the same technical prowess John Coltrane demonstrated on his sax. Simply put: He sounds like no other guitarist you've ever heard before.

   Gear: Jack is currently endorsed by Hofner guitars and uses Walter Woods amps exclusively. For gigs without a bass player, he uses his own invention, a specially designed guitar called the "Superax." the bottom two strings of which are electronically transposed down one octave and the signal sent to a bass amp. The top four strings are isolated and sent to a guitar amp. This setup essentially allows Jack to play bass, rhythm guitar, and the melody simultaneously, giving the listener the perception of hearing three separate voices.

   Practice: Jack never misses a day of practice. To describe his philosophy on practice, he refers to a favorite quote he once heard: "The water wears down the rock, not by force, but by constant falling." An interesting fact about Jack's practice habits is that he never practices the same thing twice. "I never play anything that I've played before. Why do I need to practice what I've already mastered? By not practicing what I already know how to do, I can progress faster."

   Influences: Jack credits his four teachers - Tal Farlow, George Van Eps, George Pritchett, and (saxophonist) Joe Daley - as his primary influences in terms of guitar playing. But, like many players, Jack has worked to achieve his own sound. Not wanting to be attached to any particular guitarist's style or sound, he stopped listening to music by guitar players altogether for a good portion of his career. "In the early '70s, I was tired of people coming up to me at shows and saying, 'You sound like Wes montgomery,' or whoever. So one night I went home and got rid of all my records with guitar players on them, and didn't listen to another guitar player for 10 years." And this helped lead to one of Jack's proudest achievements:

   Indeed he doesn't sound like any other guitar player; he sounds like jack Grassel. Jack regularly listens to his other two main influences: saxophonists Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. "I've listened to Coltrane's A Love Supreme every day in my car for nine years now."

   Turning Point: Jack related to us that a real turning point in his musical career came when he realized that music comes from the soul and not the fingers. "I realized that my own state of happiness colored the music I played, and I had a personal situation that prevented me from making good music. So I quit teaching guitar, made changes in my internal and external environments, and refocused on the music, and that allowed me to make good music again."