What's That Dude Play? » Oz Noy

Oz and friends get ‘Twisted’

Blake — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:05:10 +0000

Israeli-born riff master takes on the blues

New York-based jazz/rock guitarist Oz Noy returns to the record racks (or reputable download outlet) this week and has brought a few friends along for the ride for Twisted Blues Volume 1 – an off-center, vamp-heavy take on the blues tradition with plenty of effects craziness mixed in for good measure. Cut half in Austin, Texas and half in the Big Apple, Noy – along with Roscoe Beck, Vinnie Colaiuta, Anton Fig, Eric Johnson, Chris Layton, John Medeski, Ralph MacDonald, Allen Toussaint, Reese Wynans and Jerry Z – weaves his way through nine tracks packed with everything from hyped-up traditional blues takes to subtle, sonic balladry and a lot of ground covered in between.

The choppy blues riff of the lead-off (and title) track ‘Twisted Blues’ gives way to the more traditional-sounding shuffle of ‘Oh Really?’ featuring Toussaint on piano. ‘You Are The State’ is a ballad and one of the best cuts on the record. Noy is joined by Texas guitar great Eric Johnson on the seven-plus minute track and invokes a softer, Hendrix-inspired vibe with subtle ‘island’ overtones.

The album is rife with the guitar pyrotechnics and effects prowess you would come to expect from Noy. Seeing him live over a year ago in New York and hearing new tunes like ‘Whole Tone Blues’ gave me a better appreciation for the amount of footwork that is involved in pulling off the Twisted Blues material, as well as most of his back catalog, in a live setting.

The one double-take I had when scanning the track list was ‘Cissy Strut’ – the oft-covered Meters classic. It’s a great song, but it has been done to death. I was partially, and pleasantly, surprised by the ethereal-styled intro, but the familiar groove of the descending main riff soon brought the song back down to earth.

The later cuts on the album swing from inspired covers of Thelonious Monk numbers to funk-inspired turns on tunes like ‘Steroids’. In all, Twisted Blues Volume 1 offers a great cross-section of what I’ve termed in the past as the “Art of Noy” – a groove-based, vamp-heavy trip through a soundscape of sonic daydreams and psychotic episodes. The addition of the high-quality guest artists this time out makes the journey all the sweeter. Bring on Volume 2!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Twisted Blues of Oz Noy

Blake — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:09:08 +0000

Finding ourselves in NYC on a Monday, we really had no other choice than to head over to The Bitter End in Greenwich Village to check out our old friend Oz Noy. Oz has been working on his ‘twisted blues’ album in the city recently. He plans on relocating to Austin shortly to finish the new effort at Eric Johnson’s studio. He, along with bassist Will Lee and drummer Anton Fig, played a couple of new tunes in the set including ‘Whole Tone Blues’, which we remember from an Austin gig last year. We did manage to shoot a little iPhone video, which we put up on You Tube for a brief period, but Oz asked us to take it down… and we obliged. The new one should be out next year!

The many sides of Oz Noy

Blake — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:22:38 +0000

Jazz, rock, blues, comedy? You get a lot when you attend a concert from Israeli-born, New York-based guitarist Oz Noy. Celebrating the release of his latest album ‘Schizophrenic’, Oz set out on a mini-tour of release party dates, which included a pair of gigs in Austin, Texas last weekend. Oz being an early adopter to WTDP? and us never having seen him live, we packed up the car and headed west two hours to see the man in action. A late start at The Saxon Club was no damper on the hour and a half set that saw Oz, bassist Roscoe Beck and drummer Anton Fig rip through several of his new tunes. Oh yeah… and Eric Johnson showed up. Pics and music after the jump!

Oz and the boys filled half the set with tunes from ‘Schizophrenic’ including Seven, Jelly Blue and the title track. He also mixed in a new blues song that he said will be on the next record he is working on, which he describes as a ‘twisted blues’ project. Oz had has ‘travel’ pedal board with him in Austin… which did include some changes from the last time we talked. The Line 6 DL-4s have been replaced with a M-13 that he mainly used for looping. His main board still had his standard and heavily-used Choralflange and Tremulator stomps among others. The one pedal that stood out as being a newer addition is the XTS Atomic Drive – from Deer Park, Texas’ own Greg Walton’s Xact Tone Solutions. He only had one guitar with him… the trusty ’65 Fender Custom Shop Relic Stratocaster. One amp as well – his Marshall head and cab.

Eric Johnson played a stunning ’50s era Les Paul backed by a pair of silver-faced Fender Deluxe Reverb combos. Johnson also had a minimal effects set-up including a Hermida Zendrive, Xotic AC Booster, a TC Electronic stomp I couldn’t get a good look at… and a Maestro Echoplex.

Take a listen to the trio with Eric Johnson on this track from Oz’s new album. Shaky at first (Eric was working off sheet music), but it really starts to cook once they hit the groove!

Oz Noy Trio w/Eric Johnson – 120 Heart Beats (from 2009′s Schizophrenic)

Enjoy the pics from the show below!

The Art of Noy

Blake — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:49:27 +0000

Jazz/funk vamp master Oz Noy has made a name for himself with his unique song arrangements and even more curious use of effects both live and on his pair of studio albums. The Israeli-born Noy has rooted down in New York City where you can often find him leading his trio through multiple sets at venerable rock club The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. He also has one of the most impressive pedal boards around… both his main board set-up and his smaller ‘travel’ board, which is larger than most pro boards I’ve seen!

Noy has played with several noted musicians including Will Lee, Anton Fig, Keith Carlock, Dave Weckl and Tim Lefebvre among others, and has become a cult favorite of guitarists across all genres. His latest record ‘Fuzzy’ was releases last September and is a memorable mix of jazz/rock instruments showcasing Noy’s unique approach to songwriting. WTDP? had a chance to chat with Noy about his use of effects and the mix of vintage and new components that make up his guitar rig.

WTDP?: Effects play a key role in your music – how do you end up settling on which brand to use? Is it mainly trial-and-error?
Oz: I just check some stuff out and what ever sounds good enough I’ll use. The problem is that you cant really hear a pedal till you play it live. Sometimes a pedal will work, and sometimes it won’t.

WTDP?: What is your ‘desert island’ pedal from each board – the ones that you couldn’t live without?
Oz: I would say Octafuzz and a Line 6 DL-4 delay

WTDP?: The Robotalk is an interesting stomp – is it the culprit to those unique sounds heard on the Fuzzy CD in the intro of ‘Which Way Is Up?’, during the mid-section of ‘EpistroFunk’ and in the opening riff to ‘Evidence’?
Oz: Yes to the first, no to the other two. On ‘Evidence’ it’s my Octafuzz. On ‘Epistrofunk’ I play a straight sound with a Leslie sometimes. If your talking about the fast riff at the end, its a sample of one of my licks played in reverse and double time.

WTDP?: Let’s play Get One/Lose One – what pedal that you don’t currently own would you like to have? Now, which pedal loses its spot in your set-up to make room for it?
Oz: I own an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man that I would love to add to my rig, but it doesn’t fit at the moment space-wise… and the fact that its mono in and out is a little bit a of a problem also. I’m working on it. I’d lose one of my DL-4′s, but I’ll have to add not only the Memory Man but a few other delay pedals to cover the other sounds.

WTDP: Why three DL-4s – each must have song-unique setting dialed in and at the ready?
Oz:One is a dedicated sampler and the other two have different delay settings. Sometimes I’ll use one delay going to another.

WTDP?: Give us the low down on your two Strats?
Oz: The Rosewood Strat is a ‘62 re-issue that came out in 1989. It has DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups – Area 56 for neck and middle, and a custom for the bridge. I’ve had it since 1994. The Maple is a Custom Shop ‘57 Relic with stock pickups. Lindy Fralin re-wound the bridge to give it more volume. The rest is all original. I got it last summer.

WTDP?: What about your amps?
Oz: I use a ’67 Fender Band Master head with a 2×12 Bad Cat Cab with Vintage 30 speakers. I also use a ’73 Marshall with a 4×12 Bad Cat Cabinet with loaded with Green Back 25′s.

WTDP?: Any plans to record a new album in 2008?
Oz: Yes, I’ll be recording a new record in October.

Thanks Oz. You can learn more about Oz Noy by checking out his website at www.oznoy.com.

Enjoy the pics!