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Jason Becker, (born July 22, 1969) is an American neo-classical metal guitarist and composer. At the age of 16, he became part of the Mike Varney-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman. They released Speed Metal Symphony in 1987 and Go Off! in 1988.
StyleJason Becker studied the works of violinist Niccolò Paganini and was a playing partner with Marty Friedman
. He later arranged Paganini's 5th Caprice, performing it during an instructional guitar video. Becker's compositions often include high speed scalar and arpeggio passages, both of which are trademarks of his 'shred' style of guitar playing. He demonstrated the arpeggio sequence during a clinic at the Atlanta Institute of Music. A video of this performance first appeared on his Hot Licks guitar instructional video and can now be viewed on YouTube..
Becker started out playing alongside Marty Friedman in the Mike Varney produced duo, Cacophony. Becker and Friedman toured together with Cacophony in Japan and across the United States. In 1989 Becker left to pursue a solo career, releasing his first solo album titled 'Perpetual Burn' in 1988, and has since released 'Perspective' and 'Collection' , as well as two albums of demos, entitled 'The Raspberry Jams' and The Blackberry Jams
Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisAt the age of 20, he joined David Lee Roth's band, replacing Steve Vai, who went on to join Whitesnake. While recording the ''A Little Ain't Enough'' album and preparing for the subsequent tour in 1990, Becker began to feel what he called a "lazy limp" on his left leg. He was soon diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and given three years to live. He could barely finish the recording, using low-gauge (thin) guitar strings and other techniques, which would make it easier to play with his weakening hands. Although he managed to finish the album he did not join the supporting tour due to his inability to perform on stage; former Lizzy Borden guitarist Joe Holmes took Becker's place on tour.
He eventually lost the ability to speak and now communicates with his eyes via a system developed by his father. Although his ALS gradually robbed him of his ability to play guitar, to walk, and eventually even to speak, he still remains mentally sharp and, with the aid of a computer, continues composing. In the back of the Perspective CD case, Becker states "I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It has crippled my body and speech, but not my mind." Now in his 30s, his medical condition has remained stable since 1997. In 2003, Jason posted on his website that he was feeling better and had gained some weight. There have been no updates since then.
Perspective and the Berry JamsIn 1996 Becker released an album entitled Perspective, an instrumental album composed by him (with the exception of Bob Dylan's song "Meet Me in the Morning"). The writing of the music had been started before ALS completely crippled his abilities. By using guitar and later, when he was unable to use both hands, a keyboard, he continued to compose while his disease worsened. However, when Becker could no longer physically play even a keyboard, his friend and music producer Mike Bemesderfer helped him with a music-composing computer program which could read the movements of his head and eyes enabling Becker to continue to compose after he lost control of his entire body.
Several years later Becker released Raspberry Jams (1999) and Blackberry Jams (2003), the first contained various unreleased demo-tracks and the latter contained demo-tracks and alternate versions of songs that were later reworked and published into other albums.
Two tribute albums to Jason Becker have been issued. Respectively entitled Warmth in the Wilderness I and Warmth in the Wilderness II, they feature guitarists such as Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Joe Becker, Rusty Cooley, and Mattias Eklundh. The album profits were sent to Becker to help him with his medical finances.
CollectionOn November 4, 2008, Shrapnel Records released a new Jason Becker album entitled "Collection". The album includes three new songs in addition to some older recordings (some never before released) and features Marty Friedman, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, Michael Lee Firkins, Steve Vai, and Steve Hunter.
Track Listing:
- Rain
- River of Longing
- Images
- Opus Pocus
- Higher
- It's Showtime!
- Altitudes
- End of The Beginning
- River of Longing (Reprise)
- Meet Me in The Morning
- Air
- Electric Prayer for Peace
- Mandy's Throbbing Little Heart
Enhanced CD Features:
- End of The Beginning Demos (5 Tracks)
- Go Off! Intro
- Noodling For Rob and Tony
EquipmentIn the early days of Cacophony, Jason used Hurricane Guitars. The first Cacophony album was recorded with a white Hurricane EX Series model a Limited Edition with a DiMarzio Steve Morse model humbucker pickup in the bridge position and a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard with 22 frets. For Perpetual Burn he used another Hurricane EX Series model with unknown model DiMarzio pickups, maple neck with maple fretboard and 24 frets. For the 2nd Cacophony album, Jason switched over to Carvin gear, utilizing 2 DC127 models, one in a trans blue finish, one in a burgandy finish. Both have double cutaway bodies, Kahler locking tremolo systems, 6 in line headstocks and 2 Carvin humbucker pickups. He used these up until he contracted ALS in 1990. During the period of 1989-1991, Jason used various guitars, most notably a Peavey custom model with the numbered fretboard markers. There are a few of these around. Also used were an Ibanez unknown model an RG, a custom from Performence Guitars, a couple of unknown Strat style guitars and a black Hurricane EX Series with 3 pickups. As of very recently, Jason has allowed Paradise Guitars USA to release a Jason Becker signature guitar. It is similar in appearance to the numbered Peavey but with a different headstock shape. In his earliest days of playing, Jason used an unknown model acoustic and a black stratocaster type guitar a MIJ Fender. Amp wise, Jason used various pieces. In his pre Cacophony days, he used a small Peavey practice amp a [[backstage] or an audition with the older style Peavey stripes]. For the first Cacophony album, Jason used an ADAMP1 preamp. Perpetual Burn was a 70s Marshall half stack and a BOSS Super Overdrive and Cacophony second album was a Carvin X100B stack. He also used the SX300H head at some point during that era. After Cacophony Jason used various amps, including a "Fender M80", an unknown Marshall amp, an ADA Preamp and possibly the aforementioned Peavey combo.
Paradise GuitarIn 2008 Paradise Guitars worked with Jason to design a Jason Becker signature guitar. The design is based on the wooden Peavey with colored number fret inlays. Features include a genuine alder body, maple neck with steel 2-way truss rod, maple 16" radius fingerboard, 24 jumbo thin frets with colored number fret marker inlays, black Floyd Rose Pro Style floating Tremolo with Floyd Rose Tremolo stop, Sperzel red satin tuners, 14 degree tilt-back headstock with black Paradise logo and matching tremolo and electronics plates. The pickups are DiMarzio pickups; a P.A.F. Pro-Custom in the neck colored yellow and red, a DP116 HS-2 in the neck colored green, and a Tone Zone-Custom in the bridge colored pink and blue. These colored frets compliment the colored inlays and seem to give the guitar a rainbow effect. There is also a red 5-way switch and purple 1-11 volume knob.
DiscographyCacophony
- Speed Metal Symphony (1987)
- Go Off! (1988)
Solo
- Perpetual Burn (1988)
- Perspective (1996)
- The Raspberry Jams (1999)
- The Blackberry Jams (2003)
- Collection (2008)
David Lee Roth
- ''A Little Ain't Enough (1991)
Marty Friedman
Instructional
- Hot Licks - The Legendary Guitar of Jason Becker
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Jason Becker
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