Tonight will be one of those truly special nights again, as I take the stage at the legendary Iridium Jazz Club in NYC with not only The Les Paul Trio (headed up by Lou Pallo), but also with my band too! This is such a great venue to play in New York, especially because it just oozes goodness and great memories of all those wonderful nights that Les Paul “held court” there, and it’s so wonderful to feel that I have a part in continuing his legacy, as well as building on my own.

Many folks can find the world of professional music paved with many hardships and difficulties, and no matter which way you turn, your reputation and how others perceive you is always at stake. It is especially important if you really want to build confidence in your ability to really be there for people both musically and physically, and for others to know if you can really be counted on to do the right thing.

I suppose how you treat your instrument says a lot about you, and I’m sure you have thoughts on this subject, but I have found that the treatment of my guitars has kind of ebbed and flowed over the years. I can remember in the beginning, when I was first starting out, and finally got some good guitars, I was almost “anal” about not letting others play, touch or even so much as breathe on them! I was that way about many things in my life at that time, such as everything from my record collection to my guitars, and everything in between, too!

Arlen Roth on his search for a 1958 original and barely played Gibson Flying V.

I had the great honor a couple of years ago to do an album with Levon Helm, the late, great drummer for The Band, and also one of the most important singers in the history of rock music. We lost Levon Helm, just a few short months ago to cancer, and this was devastating to all who knew him, and to all in the world of music.

This is truly an insider’s look into what it was like to work on such an amazing and lasting project. I mean, what could be more satisfying than actually playing on a tribute to Les Paul!? Is there a man who has contributed more to the world of guitar and to music in general? Could there have been a charming, charismatic and supportive person, ever? Well, with the exception of my father, the late great Al Ross, who passed this year at 100 years young, I can’t imagine a better “father figure” than Les Paul himself.

Delighted to continue to report on the development of this wonderful project, and also so proud to be a part of it, along with my daughter, Lexie Roth, who sang on this wonderful new album. The other night, in NYC at the Iridium Club, where Les Paul had “held court” for so many years, we all got to celebrate the release of Lou Pallo’s wonderful project with the Les Paul Trio called “Thank you Les��, a true tribute to the man himself, said as only so many great artists can say it; with their music!

This week my daughter Lexie and I performed at the Americana Music Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a very impromptu gig that we kinda did at the last minute since we were playing in New York City two nights before for the Les Paul Tribute album release on which we had recorded. We decided to perform just the two of us and make it into a great father-daughter trip and we drove the whole way from New York. We tried to get in touch with many friends who we wanted to come to the show and some did but it was very hard because it was such a last minute gig. One thing that I can say is that even though the crowd was relatively small it was a lovely club to play (Douglas Corner Cafe), the audience was extremely enthusiastic.

A lot of the things I found out about studio work I sure found out the “hard way.” I had started very young doing sessions in New York, and even though folks would see me play live and then love it and call me in for sessions, it often would become quite apparent that what I did live with such freedom had absolutely nothing to do with what they really wanted from me in the recording! It’s not say they didn’t want the “talent” that they saw, but I think that they were so used to “studio guys” who would just crank out the tracks, regardless of style, that they somehow figured I’d be like that too.

I often like to say that many times, I can even have the album cover and concept of choice decided on even before I record any music! This is certainly not the usual way it happens, but me being a very visually oriented person, it only makes sense for me to have these concepts ahead of time.