John F. Mello, Luthier

December’s month’s track is John Dodge’s Triple-E Suite, performed by him at a demo concert for my guitars at the Northwest Handmade Musical Instrument Exhibit, which I attend yearly, mostly to recharge my batteries staying with friends Jeff Elliott and Cyndy Burton, two of the event’s organizers. A little over a decade ago they arranged for their friend Peter Zisa to play for me. (Peter was later to charm the audience at the inaugural of my series of shop concerts). When P...eter showed up the day of the demo, noticing I also made steel strings, he said that, since he didn’t normally play steel, perhaps his friend John could help us out. Summoning him on his cell phone since he was in another part of the hall, Peter called out, and got as far as John, would you be willing to, before John interjected Sure!. They took the guitars away for half an hour before proceeding to play the mini- concert, individually and as a duo, as if they’d been familiar with my instruments for years. I recorded John the following year on an early version of my recording studio on a stick , two high quality condenser microphones, phantom powered with a battery pack, feeding a small Olympus portable recorder. I put the whole thing on a 1 ft. mic stand, and plunk it down on the stage floor about 6 ft. from the player(s). That day I managed to plop it down felicitously, so you’re listening to pretty much what I and the rest of the audience heard. While I surely appreciate a finely honed studio recording, I’m most fulfilled when a dynamic player just picks up one of my axes and intuitively mines its gifts at the service of his or her music. John is also a fine singer/songwriter. Explore his work here: johndodgemusic.com. He’ll be playing a shop concert when it’s again safe to gather. Listen to the track of the month here: https://www.johnfmello.com/track-of-the-month

The track of the month for May is Thinkin’ ‘bout My Home, written and performed by Ron Schmalfuss from his album Mr. Mojo, Thinkin’ ‘bout My Home. All of my posted tracks up to this point have been by professional musicians that I feel blessed to have heard use my guitars, sort of a greatest hits of recorded examples of my work. But for over 44 years the preponderance of my work as a repairer, restorer, and creator of instruments has been for amateur musicians of all sk...Continue reading

Introducing my "Track of the Month" Youtube Playlist Many years ago I put out a cd of recorded examples of my guitars, wanting it to be in the spirit of my favorite independent radio programs from the 60’s and 70’s by eclectic DJ’s who roamed freely among genres. One was unexpectedly introduced to artists and music that could delight, inspire, or maybe even bore, but certainly be more exciting than a playlist using algorithms to present stuff like you knew you already liked. ...Many copies went to friends and clients, but the bulk of the nearly 4000 out there were sold at shops, festivals and presentations, with all the proceeds benefiting charitable organizations, including either my local food bank or one in the area of the presenting venue. The passage of time has changed the way we acquire music, and the the number of folks who would even play a cd has decreased, but my desire to share the great music that I’m blessed to have been made on my guitars by soulful performers has not waned. I’ve tried to do this with my monthly tracks, and have now assembled them all on a continually updated youtube playlist: Sort of John F. Mello, Luthier radio. Limited appeal perhaps, but potentially mildly diverting. YouTube - John F. Mello, Luthier https://www.youtube.com/watch

November's track is The Walking Stick, composed and performed by Jack Gates, from his album Voyage of the Troubadour. Jack had one of my instruments in the late 70’s, and currently has a 2013 and 2018, spruce and cedar topped respectively. This recording was done with none of those, but using a guitar he took to record sound samples, using strings of different compositions and from different manufacturers, to help determine which sounded best on my guitars. This track was d...one during that time in his home studio, recorded simply with a stereo pair of microphones placed about 4ft. away and 4ft. above the instrument, capturing a natural room ambience. Since I met him those many years ago, Jack has been instrumental in the development of my craft. Whenever I complete a guitar, I feel I’ve locked my musical soul in this box, with my clumsy, fumbling technique hardly the key to set it free. Jack is one of the first people I call to help me hear what the new ax has got. His strong, clear, dynamic, colorful, and lyrical playing help me determine from where I’ve come, and where I want to go. And, crucially, knowing my work, he’s able to cogently weigh in on whether he thinks I’ve retained the traits I value, while perhaps adding something new. Learn more about Jack and access his music at www.jackgatesmusic.com Listen to the track of the month here: https://www.johnfmello.com/track-of-the-month

April’s track is Boo Marambá, a traditional Brazilian lullaby arranged and played by Alex De Grassi from his 1996 album Beyond the Night Sky, Lullabies for Guitar. From the mid 70’s to mid 80’s, my then tiny shop was tucked away in the basement of Tupper and Reed, a fine full service music store in downtown Berkeley whose tenure lasted almost a hundred years. In 1984 I got a call from Alex asking to come in and try one of my classical guitars. I was familiar with his name ...and the Windham Hill label, but had yet to hear his playing. However, I liked him right away, friendly and interested in the craft and my work. When he tried the guitar, he didn't use standard classical position, or play any of the classical or Latin American repertoire, but immediately started to explore the instrument’s tonal landscape, pulling out the kind of sounds I was most proud of having put there, but was certainly not capable of producing myself. After a bit he stopped and said This is a really unique sounding instrument. The only guitar I've ever played that sounds like this was one by Jeff Elliott in Portland." You could have knocked me over with a feather. Jeff and I apprenticed under the same maestro, Richard Schneider, had run a repair shop together in Detroit during and after our study with Richard, and drove a 24’ U-Haul from Detroit to the West Coast when we relocated to Oregon and California respectively. We've remained close friends since, and although the physical designs of our work differ, our feelings about what makes a fine concert guitar have remained closely aligned. He had more experience than I when we met and significantly informed my craft when we worked together. I was and would be honored to have my work remind someone of his. Alex went home with the guitar that day. I vividly remember how he was able to connect the spirits of two makers after playing their instruments months and miles apart. Learn about Alex’s new album, teaching publications, and his upcoming Mendocino workshop here: www.degrassi.com Listen to the track of the month at: https://www.johnfmello.com/track-of-the-month

October's track of the month is Lullabies, a poignant picture of the end of a relationship composed and performed by Judith-Kate Friedman from her album Bigger Things. About the time I completed my first Grand Steele Cutaway, Judith-Kate, my client, friend, and fellow Oberlin College (considerably later) graduate was in the middle of recording, and I offered her the use of my new guitar. I was gratified that it could support her evocative vocal and Jami Sieber’s warm expres...sive cello. Explore her music and writing at judithkate.com and her life-affirming work in fostering the musical collaboration of others of all ages at songwritingworks.org Listen to the track here: https://www.johnfmello.com/track-of-the-month

March’s track of the month is Lennon and McCartney’s For No One sensitively sung by Ava Victoria on her CD Kickin Up Life. Ava plays guitar, with Glen Swarts on harmonica. A skilled vocalist and vocal teacher well versed in the Great American Songbook and beyond, a longtime client and friend, Ava borrowed a classical and a steel string guitar for the CD’s recording sessions. Soon after it’s release many of us, much like today, saw our savings depleted, at least tempora...rily, during the 2008 recession. Rather than conservatively hunkering down, Ava gave me a call, asking if the classical she played was still available (it was), saying she was coming right down to get it, reasoning that she would use some of her remaining resources to get something not so easily spirited away. It’s her daily driver. Unlike any of my other guitars, I can use it all day for arranging without my hands getting tired. Listen to the Track of the Month here:https://www.johnfmello.com/track-of-the-month

The track of the month for September is Konstantin Vassiliev’s Cavatina, performed by Yuri Liberzon, who commissioned the work, at a shop concert on January 25, 2020. As performing and compositional techniques are ever expanding, there’s always room for such lyrically melodic playing and composing. Explore Konstantin's work at www.konstantin-vassiliev.de Yuri's upcoming concerts and cd releases here: www.yuriguitar.com ... Listen to the track of the month here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1RUMHrktXk&feature=emb_logo

February’s track is Anthony Weller playing Luiz Bonfa’s Manhã de Carnaval (Morning of the Carnival), composed for the 1959 Cannes Grand Prize winning film Black Orpheus, an adaptation of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Euridice. Quite early in my career I showed three instruments to the Cuban virtuoso Rey de la Torre, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rey_de_la_Torre) who, to my surprise and delight, liked them enough to deem them concert guitars, recommending the...m to his students, Anthony being the first. I not only got a timely, engaging, and supportive early client, but a lifelong, nourishing friendship. Anthony plays both jazz and classical music, in solo and chamber settings, with authority and sensitivity. He’s also a fine writer, about whose work and music you can learn here: http://www.anthonyweller.com/writingbio.html and here: http://www.anthonyweller.com/musicbio.html On the track he plays the instrument I made for him in 1979, of which he speaks here: https://www.johnfmello.com/testimonials (scroll down for full quote). Anthony’s tender rendition captures the heart of Bonfa’s bittersweet prelude to the tragic events that follow. Listen to the Track of the Month here: https://www.johnfmello.com/track-of-the-month

Track of the Month for July 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk9rBjT-XgY&feature=youtu.be

January’s track of the month is Maya Angelou’s poem Human Family, recited by Danny Glover, Priya Swan Jae and accompanied by the Shaker song Simple Gifts by Elder Joseph Brackett. I’ve always had an acting itch, only scratched publicly twice, in a high school production of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, and in Christopher Fry’s A Sleep of Prisoners with people from the town of Oberlin in a beautiful church on a snowy winter eve many years ago. Thus it was th...rilling to be able to perform with Danny, however briefly. OK, so it wasn’t I, it was my guitar, and in the far more capable hands of Sudhananda, who also played recorder and was associate producer. Vocals were by Priya Swan Jae. It was produced by my long time friend Leib Ostrow for This Land is Your Land: Songs of Unity, on his Music for Little People label. A portion of the proceeds benefit The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Program. Listen to the track of the month at https://www.johnfmello.com/track-of-the-month

Track of the Month The Loss Woody Harris June 8, 2020 Listen to it here: https://www.johnfmello.com/track-of-the-month

Join us for the upcoming Shop Concert, January 25th, featuring Yuri Liberzon. For tickets and more info visit https://www.johnfmello.com/events