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SCOTT MCGILL

Jazz Rock/Fusion • United States


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Scott McGill biography
Born September 23, 1966 (Abington Township, USA)

Proclaimed as the thinking man's Yngwie Malmsteen by celebrated jazz and fusion author/critic BILL MILKOWSKI, SCOTT MCGILL has been playing guitar for over twenty five years. His formal training includes a B.M. in Jazz Performance & Composition from Temple University (Summa Cum Laude). For ten years he studied with legendary composer and theoretician DENNIS SANDOLE (teacher of JOHN COLTRANE, PAT MARTINO, and JAMES MOODY among others). Currently SCOTT is guitarist for FREAKZOID, JONES MCGILL DECARLO and MCGILL/MANRING/STEVENS. He was featured in Guitar Player Magazine for February 2007.

During 1985 to 86, and at the ripe old age of 19, SCOTT became the lead guitarist for the RCA recording artist ROBERT HAZARD ('Escalator of Life', 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun'). Gigs included "Fourth of July on the Parkway" at the Philadelphia Art Museum with JIMMY PAGE, JOAN JETT and the BEACH BOYS and with 800,000 people in attendance. He formed his first group THE HAND FARM in 1991 touring with SPOCKS BEARD, TRANSATLANTIC, and MACEO PARKER. Praise for the first disc 'The Hand Farm' (1997) came from BILL BRUFORD, WAYNE KRANTZ, GREG HOWE and JENS JOHANSSON.

MCGILL joined the prog-rock/fusion band FINNEUS GAUGE (also featuring members of the former and future ECHOLYN), releasing the 'More Once More' and 'One Inch Of The Fall' albums between 1997 to 1999. The musical echoes of UK/BRUFORD got critical acclaim in both progressive rock circles and the mainstream press (e.g. Guitar World's "Top 10 Prog Bands" and Keyboard Magazine's "Best Of 1997"). Around this time SCOTT released his second solo HAND FARM album Ripe featuring VIC STEVENS (drums), CHICO HUFF (bass) and DEMITRIOS PAPPAS (keyboards). He left FINNEUS GAUGE in 1999 to write material for what was to be the first album by MMS - MCGILL, MANRING & STEVENS.

World renowned bassist MICHAEL MANRING and drummer VIC STEVENS joined MCGILL for the first MMS album 'Addition by Subtraction' (2001, produced by Grammy-winning producer NEIL KERNON) and also the 2002 double album 'Controlled by Radar'. DREAM THEATER/LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT's keyboardist JORDAN RUDESS, guested with MMS, being prominently featured on ABS. Promotion of ABS included touring North America with a special guest, the legendary bassist PERCY JONES. Various members of MMS also appeared on a couple of A TRIGG...
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SCOTT MCGILL discography


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SCOTT MCGILL top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.97 | 6 ratings
The Hand Farm
1997
3.64 | 11 ratings
Ripe
1999
3.09 | 3 ratings
Awareness
2006
3.33 | 3 ratings
Jones, McGill & DeCarlo: Debut
2008
0.00 | 0 ratings
Symptom Imperative
2009
3.83 | 6 ratings
Scott McGill, Percy Jones, Ritchie DeCarlo
2010
4.50 | 2 ratings
Jones, McGill & DeCarlo: Third Transmission
2014
5.00 | 1 ratings
Moon Over America
2019

SCOTT MCGILL Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

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SCOTT MCGILL Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Ripe by MCGILL, SCOTT album cover Studio Album, 1999
3.64 | 11 ratings

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Ripe
Scott McGill Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by JazzFusionGuy

4 stars Hand Farm, this incarnation, is McGill, (ex-Finneus Gauge), on electric and acoustic guitars, Chico Huff, (Mistaken Identities), on bass, Vic Stevens, (Gongzilla, Mistaken Identities), on drums, and Demetrios Pappas guesting keys on two tracks.

This is McGill's second offering. It loses no momentum from the first fusion locomotive that monstered past with his self-titled debut Hand Farm. You'll find all the rockin' jazz fusion you dug in Hand Farm and more. There are two solo acoustic tracks and an acoustic lead in "DDR" that is perfect for the song's mellow moment. The short acoustic songs have that Bill Connors/ Theme To The Guardian and Larry Coryellian feel. Pappas' keyboard leads are a nice change up too. His synth work on "Skwerbie" is brazen, brash but definitely fusion cool. Think Corea, Hammer, or Holzman.

Some folks may say Ripe is a nebulous cloud of notes, meandering chords, and too enigmatic for their proggy tastes. Such is a typical reaction to Holdsworth, Connors, Freeman, La Greca, Garsed, Helmerich, Lane or so-called "out-there" fusion. It requires massive neural remapping by years of intent listening to correctly appreciate such.

McGill expertly honors Holdsworth's matchless legacy, leaning towards a rockier, overdriven-voiced, sharp-edged crunch in his delivery. Ripe echoes Holdsworth's Road Games, Metal Fatigue, Heavy Machinery collaboration, and I.O.U. You'll even find some Fripp moments in "Ong's Hat". Still no vocals.

One minor complaint, Vic Stevens' drum solo intro on "Industrial Blowout", smothered the song's dynamic flow. My head fell into a gigantic Florida pothole after doin' 85 mph on I-95. The song screamed for a Tony Williams/ Billy Cobham stick-burst. Stevens took too long in getting there. Save for that one subjective complaint, superb musicianship ruled. Highly recommended fusion.

 The Hand Farm by MCGILL, SCOTT album cover Studio Album, 1997
3.97 | 6 ratings

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The Hand Farm
Scott McGill Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by JazzFusionGuy

4 stars If I had received this CD without liner notes or the disc itself unlabeled and had to name the guitarist, my vote would have been Bill Connors doing one of his finest tributes to Allan Holdsworth. Chord phrasings, song structures, legato leads yet edged with furious picking brought to mind Connors' Step It or Assembler release. The virtuosity McGill explodes with over and over is my kind of guitar work. McGill burns the frets closer to Holdsworthian modes than anyone I have ever heard. His execution stands inseparable from Bill Connors' and goes beyond Shawn Lane's. I heard snatches of Eric Johnson bleed through in places but McGill cranked up the speed, mixed up his lead phrasings and he went right back into jazz-rock fusion. You'll also hear superb Andy Summers tone and styling in many places.

Don't be misled, McGill isn't into jazzy, "out there" abandon. He knows how to kick out some serious rock jams in the midst of complex stop-n-go time signatures. In speaking with Scott by phone I was amazed to find out he was more a picker than left-hand legato runs predominately. You'd never know it by the seamlessly smooth flow of notes.

Hand Farm is graced by the expert musicianship of Kevin Woolsten and Matt Cantwell on bass. Anthony DeSimone drums right up there with the likes of Wackerman, Chambers, Husband, and Weckl.

File this future classic under favorite, killer fusion right next to Connors and Holdsworth. McGill is a musician's musician and a nice guytoo. Highly recommended.

 Ripe by MCGILL, SCOTT album cover Studio Album, 1999
3.64 | 11 ratings

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Ripe
Scott McGill Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

3 stars After a very succesful debut under Scott McGill's Hand Farm from 1997, this excellent and yet unfairly unknown guitar player is offering a second album named Ripe issued in 1999. Between these two albums, he was recruted by prog fusion band Finneus Gauge (featuring members of the former and future Echolyn) releasing with this band two albums - More Once More' and 'One Inch Of The Fall' albums between 1997 to 1999. Back to his second solo album , here Scott is trying in some parts some experimental rock passages, melted together with his jazzy fusion unique guitar sound, the result is more then ok to me, but little less inspired then the debut. The music is energic, I can hear influences from Allan Holdsworth to King Crimson in places, pieces like Ripe On and few more a real delight, but as I said I found this Ripe album less excellent then the debut. Anyway , I can only recommend both albums released under Hand Farm name, while is little known in prog fusion circles, he influenced already lots of guitar hearoes from this scene. For me Ripe is a good one, desearves 3 stars, in places 3.5 . An unfairly underrated guitarist.

 The Hand Farm by MCGILL, SCOTT album cover Studio Album, 1997
3.97 | 6 ratings

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The Hand Farm
Scott McGill Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Scott McGill maybe is not among the most well known jazz fusion/rock guitarists in last 3 decades, but his style and manner of composing, his guitar tone and ideas are definetly among the most intresting ones you'll ever hear. Even famouses drumer Bill Bruford and the excellent keybordist Jens Johansson were pretty much very impressed by McGill guitar technique specially on his debut The hand farm from 1997 issued at Mellow records. His career lasting for almost 3 decades, being member in diffrent bands like Finneus Gauge or colaborating with many musicians. His first solo album The hand farm showing that he must be far more known then is seen today. helped by a bunch of talented musicins, Scott offer an instrumental album crossing bounderies from jazz fusion to jazz rock with progressive rock leanings. His playing is excellent , quite unique and inventive just listen to the first 3 pieces, The Great Unwashed, The Secret Linen Service and Pools, very fluent and catchy passages. The rest of the pieces are also great. I was simply shocked that this album is so unknown, really, here is everything for any fan from jazz fusion lover to prog listners, the album is diverse, intresting and as a plus has a truly great art work. For me definetly a winner from all sides and one of my fav albums of the genre. This is not usual stuff, only killer tunes for serious listners. Easy 4 stars.

 Ripe by MCGILL, SCOTT album cover Studio Album, 1999
3.64 | 11 ratings

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Ripe
Scott McGill Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by topographicbroadways

4 stars This is energetic Jazz Fusion at it's finest. This album clearly takes a lot of influence from 70's Brand X and Dixie dregs with lots of fast guitar playing, synth backing and fast tempo'd Jazz Fusion all through it's duration. And the main issue is the duration. Over an hour which is a long time to be listening to music that stays quite similar through out, this is where this fantastic album falls down and is the case with a lot of albums from this period of the late 90's where albums were drawn out just too fill the C.D's. If you wish too get through this album in one sitting it requires a lot of patience but it is definitely worth while. Scott Mcgill's guitar playing is absolutely astonishing all through offering the perfect Jazz Fusion experience.

Songs like The Ripe One, Fred-O-Cal and Skwerbie all offer a similar sounding Heavy chord based Jazz Fusion with lots of distorted guitars and incredible shredding accompanied by some great keyboard solos, and a great keyboard solo featured in Skwerbie, which is one of the most exciting tracks on the album. DDR is a similar track to the afore-mentioned 3 with great chord progressions but features a slower tempo'd feel closer to the sound of Return to Forever and an all together Ali-Di Meola style. Industrial Blowout is the heaviest track on the album featuring prominent electric guitar riffing that would fit straight onto a Steve Morse album, and less guitar soloing featured in the track, with an impressive Drum solo in the middle.

The album also features acoustic guitar solo tracks in Un Monde De Incertitudes and Marcella which clearly take a lot of influence from Ali Di Meola with the fast playing style and unusual chord patterns. 7-24 and 24-7 which open and close the album show an experimental side featuring guitar noises creating with clean and distorted sounds which offer a good intro and outro to the album.

This could be a 5 star album given just a little more focus, but hey if you wanted focus you wouldn't be exploring such an obscure level of Jazz Fusion, I give this one 4 stars as it is one of the most energetic Jazz Fusion albums I have heard from recent years and will be enjoyed by anybody who loved the classic era of boundary pushing Jazz Fusion particularly fans of Dixie Dregs and Return To Forever

 Awareness by MCGILL, SCOTT album cover Studio Album, 2006
3.09 | 3 ratings

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Awareness
Scott McGill Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by snobb
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars This album is a hymn to fretless guitars and great techniques. Scott McGill is one of really interesting modern jazz-rock guitarists, and on this album, with support of rhythm duo, he demonstrates his musicianship level and fretless guitars possibilities.

Music there is angular and very fast ( just think about very first Al Di Meola albums - and imagine him playing nervous guitar staccatos using fretless guitar). Rhythm section is strong ( DeCarlo will collaborate with McGill on some their later albums), but it is a guitarist album. Other instruments are required for his support only.

Sound on the album is cold and quite heavy (incl. guitar shredding in some moments). Some electronics devices are used as well, so as a result you hear soulless guitar's acrobatics in cold and nervous minimalistic rhythm space. Often the composition sound more as techniques demonstration than like music itself. But the techniques are demonstrated by real master.

In whole - more album for fretless guitar acrobatics maniacs. Not enough musical component to make it attractive for wide listener I think.

 Ripe by MCGILL, SCOTT album cover Studio Album, 1999
3.64 | 11 ratings

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Ripe
Scott McGill Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Kazuhiro
Prog Reviewer

4 stars It might be a little difficult to think easily when catching as various items concerning the diversity if it thinks as a definition of Jazz Rock and Fusion in modern days. Part where racial element and flavor of Latin were united. Or, other genres are introduced and it unites. And, it is partial of progressive Jazz Rock. In the music character, it might be a current state that it is classified in modern days in detail and new music is produced.

Specific of the genre repeats the revolution and advancement further so that Fusion/Crossover used as a synonym may exist almost as a connection to relativity with Prog Rock. There might be a situation in which the position of the genre pushes in the music character that the musician imagines because expedient limited shades of meaning how many are included in a specific genre in an advanced flow as the genre has diversity. And, often, the musician might also have the opinion made not to have relations that unify a specific genre to the created music.

Scott McGill is a part of the done Music character and his history. And, the absorbed music character. If these are considered, it is likely to be able to think as a line of Jazz Rock and Hard Fusion/Prog Rock. However, there might be what with the music character not installed on the frame is blocked in this album for a fact, too. It is a leader that has decided the directionality of course and is Scott McGill that operates all musics.

Scott McGill starts playing the guitar at 15-year-old time. The name of Jimi Hendrix and Randy Rhoade rises to the item of Rock as a musician from whom he was influenced. In the item of Jazz, there is a name of John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, and Bill Connors, too. Or, man who was researching the classics music is putting excellent results in the university. And, man who receives the lesson is accomplishing competing with various musicians.

Scott McGill has formed "Hand Farm" that is own band in 1991. The activity of participation in competing and the compilation album with various musicians etc. comes to be admitted gradually. It came to be spoken very highly by musicians such as Greg Howe and result Bill Bruford. However, the activity of "Hand Farm" comes the depression period afterwards. Scott McGill participates in "Finneus Gauge" in 1996 and is related to the recording of two albums as a result. Advanced Hand Farm announces "The Hand Farm" in parallel with this activity in 1997 long though it did not continue the activity of Scott McGill in Finneus Gauge. And, the album announced the two years later becomes this "Ripe".

Scott McGill has been influenced from various musicians and the guitar player as previously stated. The listener will feel the sound in which Allan Holdsworth is reminiscent. However, the music character that Scott McGill absorbed might have an original flavor as a result. The music character that the flavor of an acoustic guitar, the sound of Hard Rock, and the element also took enough might be a performance for him. Chico Huff has been appointed by the Bass player. And, Vic Stevens of a familiar drum player in the performance of Gongzilla has a lot of competing with Scott McGill.

"7-24" has the role of Intro of the album. Production of anacatesthesia by Volume control. The tension of the melody that gives an inorganic impression might be appearance of the music character that the character and Scott McGill of this album do.

The band makes a complete in union a dash feeling in "The Ripe One". Extremely difficult progress of Chord and flavor of Hard Rock. The melody of the theme that develops one after another and Riff of the guitar have a comfortable tension. The sense of relief in solo of the guitar might have a little rough impression. However, the method of making the sound and the solution in the progress of Chord in technical respect might be splendid. Solo of Bass following it is calculated well. A good flow of Jazz Rock might be exactly constructed. There are a tension and a sense of relief with good part where the change was given to the theme repeated at the end a little.

As for "Fred-O-Cal", the progress of a flavor of Hard Rock and complex Chord gets on the rhythm of the shuffle. The switch of the effect that the guitar does will recollect Allan Holdsworth. This tune is extremely difficult the theme and the melody. Part of solo of tension of solo of guitar and Bass. Or, the obbligati of the guitar is calculated well. A technology overwhelming the melody of 2nd solo with the guitar is offered.

"Un Monde De Incertitudes" has the role of interlude for this album. Melody with which tension with acoustic guitar overflows. An inorganic impression is given a little. However, the technology of solo is overwhelming. There might be a little experimental element, too.

On-beat of the drum in "Skwerbie" might be comfortable. Busy of complete groove and syncopation constructs the flow of good Jazz/Fusion. Part of rhythm and melody that moves to free transforming. The combination of an intense sound and a transparent feeling might be splendid. Solo of the keyboard that Demetrios Pappas to participate in this tune by the guest does is overwhelming. The melody and the euphoria that catches the progress of Chord well and expresses it might be splendid. The tension of solo of the continuing guitar doesn't drop the quality of the tune and either it progresses. The composition of the tune is splendid.

The theme of "DDR" with the anacatesthesia is impressive. The rhythm has expanded the width of the tune as much as possible. Complex development is given including the line and the rhythm of Bass that moves freely. Solo of an acoustic guitar to get on the Chord is suitable for the tune well, too. The uniformity of the character of the album including technical respect might be attempted. The side where solo of continuing bass is different by the tune is offered. And, the width of the melody that solo of the drum added at the end of the tune is complex is expanded.

"Industrial Blowout" progresses as the theme with the sense of relief has the flavor of Hard Rock/Hard Fusion. Because the quality of the sound of a guitar is kept by the midrange a little, a peculiar impression is given. The melody is extremely complex though there are impressions of a few Hard Rock. The performance that the band does in union is considerably technical. Solo of the drum that will appear complete guitar solo later also gives the change to the progress of the tune.

"Marcella" also plays the role of Interlude for this album. Solo done with an acoustic guitar gives an extremely original melody.

The melody that gives a little inorganic impression and the sound that gently affects give "Cause For An Effect" the relief a little. The usage of harmony is complex as much as possible. Very part of solo of guitar to emphasize tension. And, solo with the keyboard of Demetrios Pappas also develops solo with the tension. It might be a tune with a good flow of Jazz Rock/Fusion.

"Ong's Hat" has development that is reminiscent of "The Ripe One". The theme with a complete dash feeling and complex development is given one after another. Part of sound of guitar to make good use of effector. And, it is partial of the processing of the rhythm in close relation to the repetition of heavy Riff. It shifts there to solo of a complete guitar to make good use of the overtone. The tension continues.

"24-7" plays the role of Outro of this album. Playing the guitar to make good use of the Volume control has a complete anacatesthesia and the tension. A little inorganic part and a nervous impression might be had.

The part of progressive Jazz Rock/Fusion/Prog Rock might be developed as a route where the element of an original sensibility and Improvisation of Scott McGill was unified as a result.

Thanks to dick heath for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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