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The albums that bassist Jonas Hellborg has made with guitarist Shawn Lane and drummer Jeff Sipes (aka Apt. Q-258) have all been an invigorating blend of jaw-dropping virtuosity and immediately accessible melodic and harmonic beauty. Personae is no exception to what has now become a pretty well established rule. As usual, Lane's guitar tends to be the focus of the compositions and takes the lead role in the performances. His style is quite elaborate and "notey," but he rarely places flash over substance — the joyful lyricism of his playing on " Heretics" is a fine example. Even when the density of his technique threatens to overwhelm the music, as it does on "Rice With the Angels," that very density creates its own interest and its own harmonic identity. Only fellow guitarists will be likely to find every minute of each long composition completely enthralling, but there's no denying both the excitement of his style and the depth of his musical thinking. Then there's Hellborg himself, who rarely chooses an inessential note and never fails to impress with his own amazing technical prowess. Sipe is a sympathetic and intuitive accompanist who never tries to upstage the others. Personae is a worthy contribution to the growing catalog of excellent recordings by this trio. Recorded during a live appearance in Mainz, Germany and composed by bassist Jonas Hellborg with Shawn Lane, the program asks the question, "Is modern music really a universal language, or does one musical persona differ too much from the next?”
by Rick Anderson------------------------------------------------------------
Shawn Lane (March 21, 1963 – September 26, 2003) was an American musician. He quickly became a noted player in underground guitar circles and joined Black Oak Arkansas when he was just fourteen years old.
He is best known for his solo album Powers of Ten and his long stint with former John McLaughlin bassist Jonas Hellborg.
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Jonas Hellborg (born June 7, 1958) is a Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin, Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Michael Shrieve, V. Selvaganesh, Mattias IA Eklundh and Buckethead.
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Jeff Sipe (born 1959, Berlin, Germany) is an American drummer. Sipe has played drums for a band named, Keller Williams with Moseley, Droll and Sipe. Previously, he was a member of the Aquarium Rescue Unit, and toured with the bluegrass super jam band Leftover Salmon, as well as being the founder of the Zambiland Orchastra, an experimental big band featuring members of Phish, Widespread Panic and others.
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