BACKGROUND
Name: Jeff Urso

Playing History (years): about 17 years.

Genre: Instrumental Rock.

Gear: Ibanez 6 strings, Ibanez 7 strings, Takamine acoustics, Line 6 Pod Pro, Marshall Cabinets, BBE Sonic Maximizers, Carvin power amps. I like to keep it kind of simple so I don't use a whole lot of effects, just the ones in the Line 6 Pod Pro.

Gear Endorsements: None.

Past History: I grew up playing drums. I played drums in several bands doing originals & covers, then played rhythm guitar for a cover band, before eventually playing lead for several other bands (both original and cover).

Current / Upcoming Projects: My debut CD release "Straight Ahead".

What Will People Find In Your Music: Hopefully, tastefully written songs with enough melodic ideas to keep the listener focused. All which is complimented by melodic guitar lines and some heroics done here and there, but not overdone.

Influences: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Nuno Bettencourt, Paul Gilbert, Trevor Rabin.

Favourite Albums: Joe Satriani: Surfing With The Alien, Steve Vai: Passion And Warfare, Eric Johnson: Ah Via Musicom, Extreme: Extreme II Pornograffitti, Van Halen: 5150.

Aims: To write the best songs I possibly can & widen the audience of instrumental rock music. I want the guy/girl who has a Matchbox Twenty or a Creed CD in their collection, to have mine as well!

Contact Info / Website: info@jeffurso.com, www.jeffurso.com

JEFF URSO -  Straight Ahead

First of all Jeff gets very high marks for the quality inlay provided with his debut solo release. Along with the nicely laid out artwork Jeff has provided comments on each tracks giving background information and the like, this really does help with instrumental releases and helps give each track a more personal feel. 

The production on Straight Ahead is very good with Urso obviously making good use of the equipment available to him.  Whilst you should not expect a mega buck Vai type production there is sonically nothing to worry about here at all.

Opener Straight Ahead has a nice Satriani type feel to it reminiscent of the material from The Extremist. 

Feel Good is a highlight of the album with an upbeat melody that sees an acoustic framework fused with the extremely melodic lead lines, there is a good blend of Eric Johnson and Steve Morse here. 

Rhythmic Wave  is in a similar vein to Feel Good and again has a very strong melody that is very vocal in its phrasing. The phasing and panning effects work well 2 minutes into the track giving a good sense of space. 

Low Down lives up to its name with its dirty 7 string riff, there is a good bounce to the track and some quirky Zappa like melodies.

Down & Dirty has a modern feel to it that reminded of me of prime Nuno Bettencourt.  Jeff lays down a strong harmonised part towards the end of the track that has 4 harmonies going at once. 

Warm Day kicks off with a drum beat similar to Aerosmith's Walk This Way but for the rest of the instrumentation its more in common with Steve Vai.  The guitar tone here is very good with a nice amount of grit and note separation. 

Cyber Me has a modern techno quality to it in the drum work and keyboard samples, not my favourite track on offer but competent enough. 

Perfect is another highlight and in many ways sums up the Jeff Urso sound.  Again a mid tempo pace allows the acoustic guitar backing and melodic lead lines to blend extremely well to make up a beautiful sonic soundscape. 

Thinking Of You is Jeff's tribute to his partner, and the delicate melody and excellent phrasing are full of soul.  This is another highlight and again the electric/acoustic blend works superbly.  The melody lines are very vocal and Jeff makes good use of panning to separate lead lines giving the impression of different players trading lines.

I Alive is a one take tribute to one of Jeff's friends who tragically lost his life in a motorcycle accident.  There are no guitars here and it also shows Jeff is proficient on the piano as well as drums and guitar.  A nice tender way to close the album.

In summary Straight Ahead is a fine debut release that showcases a new player with his own sound that is especially apparent on track such as Feel Good, Perfect and Thinking Of You.  There are subtle nods to fellow instrumentalists e.g. Satriani, Vai and Eric Johnson here and there but in this day and age its very rare that you do not hear those guys in someone's playing. Having said that there are no riffs that blatantly ape these guys with Urso showing more of a feeling towards these players being present.  The tracks on offer have a good flow to them and show good arrangement skills and to be honest there is nothing I can really highlight for improvement.  Occassionally some of the electric guitars did sound a little processed, but this is by no means a problem isolated to Urso.

Overall Straight Ahead showcases a new multi-instrumentalist with a bright future ahead of him.