Shawn Lane: March 21, 1963 - September 26, 2003
Shawn Lane was a young guitar prodigy, touring with Black Oak Arkansas at the age of 13 and astonishing audiences across the United States with his extraordinary guitar technique. Virtuoso on both guitar and piano, he had his major solo break with the one-man masterpiece Powers of Ten, released by Warner Brothers in 1992. After practically an entire decade of obscurity, playing in cover bands and remaining an underground legend in guitar circles, he finally had a chance to tour in support of his record, contribute to guitar press, give clinics worldwide, and release two instructional videos. His debut album was followed by Powers of Ten Live. His second solo album Tri Tone Fascination didn't come out until 2001.
1994 saw a historical pairing of Shawn and Jonas Hellborg, highly accomplished Swedish bassist known, among other things, for his work with John McLaughlin. Shawn released seven records with Jonas, intitially with Kofi Baker on drums, followed by Jeff Sipe. Together with Sipe, Shawn and Jonas toured the world extensively which resulted in four live recordings that documented the mind boggling energy of the trio, and showcased Shawn's earth-shattering command of his instrument. This period was followed by a foray into the Carnatic music of southern India, with Shawn and Jonas being joined by Selvaganesh on Good People in Times of Evil and by Selvaganesh, Umamahesh and Umashankar on 2003's Icon. Due to various health complications, Shawn was in poor shape during the early 00s, although he did continue to tour relentlessly and kept developing as a musician. Things turned critical in September 2003, and Shawn passed away on September 26th, aged 40 and leaving countelss music enthusiasts devastated.
In 2004 a DVD of a 2001 concert featuring the Icon lineup playing two sets of brilliant Indian fusion at New Morning Club in Paris was released to great acclaim.
Aside from his solo work and collaborations with Jonas Hellborg, Shawn has appeared on a number of records alongside players like Frank Gambale or Brett Garsed. He has played on albums by The Highwaymen, Ringo Starr, and North Mississipi Allstars among others.
Shawn Lane was known not only as a great guitarist but also an exceptional man. Extremely knowledgable about a range of subjects spanning from classical music to philosophy, he enjoyed lengthy discussions with his fans. He was a source of particularily immense knowledge regarding European cinema and the music of Franz Liszt. He will be missed by all who knew him or his work.
Discography: Solo Albums
Powers of Ten
Powers of Ten Live
The Tri-Tone Fascination
Discography: With Jonas Hellborg
Abstract Logic
Temporal Analogues of Paradise
Time is The Enemy
Zenhouse
Good People in Times of Evil
Personae
Icon
Paris
Discography: Other
MVP feat. Frank Gambale, Brett Garsed, and Shawn Lane - Centrifugal Funk
Michael Shrieve - Two Doors (with Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Jonas Hellborg, and Shawn Lane)
Please visit the following links:
The Memphis Monster Forum - The Shawn Lane fan forum
ShawnLane.com - Official site run by Shawn's family
Shawn-Lane.com - Tribute site by Shawn's sister
Tarsun.net - An extensive site about Shawn and his music
noproblemhere.com - A tribute site to Shawn
shawnlane.jp - A Japanese fan site to Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane tribute video created by Dave B, miscellaneous of quotations by various musicians.
