Triangulation [CD], Steve Morse Band, CD

Whenever we think of the greatest guitar players of all-time, Steve Morse is a name that's always in the conversation. The American musician started his career in the mid-70s playing mind-melting jazz-rock in The Dixie Dregs, racking up multiple Grammy nominations in the process. The following decade he formed the Steve Morse Band and joined arena heavyweights Kansas, before being recruited by rock and roll originals Deep Purple in 1994. And despite being in one of the world's biggest bands, he continued to innovate in other projects like Living Loud, Angelfire and Flying Colors - as well as guitar supergroup G3 - showing the world just how much versatility there was in those magic fingers. He announced his departure from Deep Purple in 2022, choosing to take care of his wife who passed away in 2024, by that point having become their longest serving guitar player. Naturally, the last few years have been the most personally traumatic of his life - which is perhaps why this year's creative comeback with the new Steve Morse Band album Triangulation embodies the spirit of a master returning to do what he does best. It's nine tracks are a thrilling ride through the mind of a musician who seemingly knows no bounds, crossing over into a cornucopia of sounds and styles from funk and blues to classical and metal. He is someone who has written some of the most powerful instrumental music the world has ever heard and certainly knows a thing or two about how to make his guitar resonate and command just as much attention as the human voice