"Johnny Asia hails from Woodstock, N.Y., so the cosmic energy may just be in the water. Whatever the source, Asia's transcendent, genre-spanning guitar journeys chart new musical cartographies, juxtaposing Django Reinhardt-like hard swing with dangling fusion harmonics and the space-age chord structures of John McLaughlin."
- Editors' Picks in Worldbeat at Download.com Music"I love your playing. I am listening to your Matador tune... lots of fire and heart. Hope to meet you one day.....all innovators get negative comments. People don't like change or growth. To me it means you're doing something right. Keep doing what you're doing. Much success to you."
- Jazz guitarist Jimmy Bruno"Johnny Asia is a supernova of a player, spinning cosmic melodies at the speed of light." - Nov. 4, 2004 Chronogram, Mid-Hudson Magazine of Events & Ideas - "Nightlife Highlights"
"....strums that sent up an effervescence of notes...the mans' fusion of classic-flamenco-cosmological remains eternally memorable.....the music is a beatific mind-blow....." - Kitty Montgomery, Kingston Daily Freeman, Kingston, NY Sunday, Jan. 11, 2004
"Two more cosmic musicians would be hard to find in this galaxy. "Guitarist from the Future" Asia sets a break-neck groove while Mancinis' digi-sax soars to the sun..." - Nov. 3, 2003 Chronogram, "Nightlife Highlights"Review by Paul Smart, Phoenicia Times, Phoenicia New York - May 6, 2004
From Listen.com, Your Guide to Online Music
"When a man describes himself as a "guitarist from the future" the warning bells go off, ... But Johnny Asia really sounds like he's doing something new. .....Check the mans' music out and hear something different." - Nick Dedina, Staff Writer, Listen.com"I have seen the future, and it's name is Johnny Asia." -Ray Fashona, The Poughkeepsie Journal
"The music witched me back..I stopped to tell the man, "Your music is so beautiful.." - Cat Ballou, Woodstock Times, Woodstock, NY
"Cosmic beyond comprehension." - Hudson Valley Free Time
"Johnny's music is universal in the truest sense of the term. It embraces the musics of this world and anticipates those yet to be discovered in the future. In a concert at Pauline Oliveros Foundation's Gallery at Deep Listening Space, Johnny's riveting performance transported the audience across time to places MTV can only dream about." - Joe McPhee
Review from THEGLOBALMUSE.COM
Listening to guitarist Johnny Asia is like listening to a confession. Jazz, of course is a highly personal affair. But with artists like Asia, self-penned as "guitarist from the future," one strike of a chord and you cannot help but listen. Eclectica is music from the synaptic intersection where brain meets heart, where body meets soul in this expressive mix of Jazz, World and Folk. As a result there is directness, a purity, an unalloyed honesty that compels us to listen and therefore "see" anew from his perspective. Asia's inspired introspections, "Remembrance", "Blues from the Future", and "Sonoran Sun", are immensely and immediately satisfying. Asia has technique to burn, but never uses it for mere display. His mastery comes through in subtle ways: in seamless shifts of strumming style, in cascades of riveting notes that seem to grow organically out of the sonic background, and in floating rhythms. Asia has crafted a beautifully paced, balanced CD in Eclectica which is sheer beauty. - Carla Archuletta - THEGLOBALMUSE.COM
Review of Music of the Spheres by Gods of Music
What I listened to was probably the BEST instrumental music since Durutti Collumn's LC. It has a very nice echoish guitar, interesting melody, nice crispy sound. ..... If the future is like that, I want to be a guitarist myself.
RATING: 9.3/10
Johnny Asia at WDST radio in Woodstock, New York, December 2003
On the left is bassist Alan Murphy (formerly with John Scofield).
AUDIO TRACKS
Audio page 1 | Audio page 2 (pages will open in a new browser window, hold down the "Ctrl" key to disable popup blockers)
Johnny Asia and Joe Finn
Johnny Asia, Dom Minasi and Joe Finn:
"This trio, with avant-traditionalist Minasi and the groundbreaking Finn - is as mindful a "jazz" line-up as the Kingston scene has ever heard." - Nov. 4, 2004 Chronogram, Mid-Hudson Magazine of Events & Ideas - "Nightlife Highlights"
"It's not common to hear a guitarist compared to adventurous players like Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor, but Dom Minasi is not your common type of guitarist. " - Bill Milkowski
"Finn's playing reveals a smooth tone and immaculate technique, reminiscent of such players as Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis." - Dave Nathan All Music Guide
Listen to a live track of Johnny and Joe, with Gus Mancini on MIDI-Horn
Track 1: Dialup connections | High-speed connections | Download MP3
From Dom Minasi's journal:
November 13th. AIR Studio Gallery - Kingston NY. The Guitar Summit with Johnny Asia, Joe Finn and me..... Johnny is a very special player and stands alone in his original concept. .... Johnny organized this gig where the three of us could play. What a night! Each of us played a solo piece. Joe opened up with a beautiful rendition of Lush Life and set the standard for excellence that night. Johnny knocked everyone's socks off with his Himalayan Sunrise. I was next with an un-traditional take on 'Round Midnight and then we all played together in an open robust jam. It would be hard to describe what we played and what it sounded like. Imagine a musical jambalaya with a little bit of this and a little bit of that and some unusual spices for flavor....I can describe the feeling I got from that night and it was sheer joy."Joe Finn:
"Johnny Asia, Dom Minasi and I played our concert this weekend. It was everything I had hoped it would be. It was one of those musical experiences that we'll all continue to savor for a long while. Johnny gave us a definitive rendition of his signature piece "Himalayan Sunrise" that was superb and inspired. He played great all night as usual."
Kindred spirits and fellow musical travelers:
Latchmusic - "Latchmusic.com is the epitome of what music in the 21st century should be. Dave Latchaw has put together an enterprise that is entertaining, thought provoking and informative, from not only a musical perspective but also from the business and philosophical viewpoints, to create an online presence that no serious musician and artist can afford to ignore. Even if you�re not in the business, check out Latchmusic.com to hear some of the most innovative and fulfilling music of our time." - Michael Patterson
The Princes of Serendip - "[an]...absolute delight of ageless entertainment" Gary Alexander, Woodstock Times, January 18, 1998
Johnny Asia loves these picks!
Real Rock Genuine Gemstone Guitar Picks
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"Where The Vibration Starts"
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