Buzz Feiten
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Howard "Buzz" Feiten is a North American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and session musician.
He is best known as a lead and rhythm guitarist, and for having patented a unique, scientifically designed tuning system which re-configures its stringboard / neck for more accurate tonality. Thus Feiten qualifies as a luthier, as well as a guitarist.
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[edit] Early years
Feiten grew up in Centerport, New York, where he was known by schoolmates and friends as 'Buzzy'. Son of a musical mother, Pauline (a classical pianist), and an airline pilot, Howard Sr., Feiten received training in classical music as a child. Feiten's older sister Paula was a top fashion-world 'cover girl' model in the mid-1960s. A younger brother, Jon, was also involved in music and the arts.
He studied several musical instruments, finally settling on the French Horn. He played in all-county (Suffolk) and all-state (New York) youth orchestras on the instrument.
Feiten first played Carnegie Hall in 1966, on French Horn, in a select All-American orchestra, American Youth Performs.[citation needed] He would later return with other major acts, such as Rickie Lee Jones.[citation needed] In 1966, he auditioned at the Juilliard School on the French Horn but was not admitted. Feiten was credited on the French Horn on one of Paul Butterfield's 1960s albums.
He debuted in commercial pop / rock music with a high school band called The Reasons Why (other players were Steve Beckmeier (rhythm guitar), Al Stegmeyer (drums), Danny 'Fingers' Horton (lead guitar), and Daniel Kretzer (keyboards)). The Reasons Why were locally successful on Long Island, and two of their songs, "Tell Her One More Time" and "Same Old Worries" briefly appeared on the Billboard Top 100 singles chart in 1966.[citation needed]
[edit] The Butterfield Blues Band
Still known as 'Buzzy', he jammed in New York City with Eric Clapton the next year,[citation needed] during Slowhand's 1967 first visit to the USA with supergroup Cream. This experience helped qualify Feiten, now increasingly seen as a 'wunderkind', to join the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, filling the post of the departed Elvin Bishop, who had gone solo. He recorded on the group's fifth album, Keep on Moving.
With Butterfield, Feiten played such famous gigs as the Atlantic City Pop Festival and the legendary Woodstock Festival, polishing his 'chops' on rhythm 'n' blues. As he matured into the adult music scene, his nickname became modified to 'Buzz'.
[edit] Other projects, and Full Moon
Feiten's next major combo engagement was as lead guitarist with The Rascals, Felix Cavaliere's group (formerly known as the Young Rascals) on their Peaceful World and Island of Real albums, including a few original Feiten songs.
But as a young-adult player, Feiten achieved musicians' musician status in 1971 with his project album Full Moon,[citation needed] featuring Neil Larsen (keyboards), Freddie Beckmeier (bass), Phillip Wilson (drums), and Brother Gene Dinwiddie on tenor saxophone. Sidemen contributing to Full Moon included Randy Brecker, Airto Moreira, Ray Barretto, Dave Holland, and vocalists Robin Clark and Tasha Thomas. Considered one of the greatest early jazz-rock fusion albums,[citation needed] Full Moon gained airplay and vinyl album sales in many metropolitan and urban-suburban markets. It was re-released in 2000 on CD with a bonus track not included on the original. A sequel album, Buzz Feiten & The New Full Moon, was released in 1999, with a modified different complement of musicians: the original member Freddie Beckmeier, bass (brother of Steve from The Reasons Why), plus new members Jai Winding on keyboards, Brandon Fields on saxophones, and Gary Mallaber on drums. Two other Feiten projects had the 'Full Moon' name attached; one a Larsen-Feiten band studio-recorded release, and the other a 'live' album, Full Moon Live -- early 1980s recordings of some of the original Full Moon and Larsen-Feiten Band songs, with Neil Larsen on keyboards, Lenny Castro on percussion, Art Rodriguez on drums, and Vernon Porter on bass.
Feiten has played with many well-known acts, and his discography includes well over 100 collections with various artists, playing music ranging from straight blues, cabaret standards, pop, rock 'n' roll, rhythm 'n' blues, jazz, and fusion. His own musical projects have included The Reasons Why (with whom he first played electric bass), Full Moon, the Larsen-Feiten Band, and the Whirlies. In 1998-99 he was a member of the Dave Weckl Band, and recorded songs (including some of his originals) on two of Weckl's CDs, Synergy and Rhythm of the Soul. Synergy is considered some of his best jazz / fusion work.
Feiten's recordings and/or performances include the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Rascals, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, The Brecker Brothers, Bruce Willis, Gregg Allman, James Taylor, Wilson Pickett, Chaka Khan, Olivia Newton-John, Neil Larsen,[1] Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder, Bette Midler, David Sanborn, Dave Weckl, Kenny Loggins, Art Porter Jr., Michael Franks, Dave Koz, Felix Cavaliere, Jeff Lorber, Commander Cody, Stuart Hamm, Jason Miles, Claus Ogerman, Boz Scaggs, Mr. Mister, Richard Pelkoff, Bill Quateman, and many other great jazz, pop, rock and blues musicians. His much-imitated style and techniques on the electric guitar can be heard throughout late 20th century and early 21st century pop, rock, jazz, and fusion music.
Feiten's songwriting (and sometimes singing) credits include tracks with the Reasons Why, the Rascals, Chicago (#18), Full Moon, Larsen-Feiten Band, Casino Lights, Whirlies, the Dave Weckl Band, and Guitar Workshop in L.A. (1988). On the latter rare CD, Feiten 'faced-off' in a 'battle of the guitarists' with three other great rock and pop fretmen, Teddy Castellucci, James Harrah, and Jeff Baxter, who may be best known for his work with Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers.
Some of Feiten's CDs, compilations, and re-releases have only been marketed in Germany and Japan, with minimal commercial publicity in the USA.
Steve Postell, formerly with Little Blue and Pure Prairie League, reported in 2008 that Feiten was featured on three tracks from his new CD, released that year. Postell said that Feiten "... plays beautifully, and wrote two of the songs."
There was a late 2008 release of the Japanese-published 'Buzz Feiten with special guest Brandon Fields' on CD, recorded at Musicians Institute in Los Angeles on January 11, 2007. The band includes Jerry Watts, bass, Dave Beyer, drums, and John Thomas, keyboards—disc credits are in English and Japanese. Notable among the six included tracks is a tribute to the late Brotha Gene Dinwiddie, saxophonist in the original 'Full Moon' project album. A video of the tune's live performance, 'Hey Dinwiddie', can be found on YouTube as of this writing.
In 2010, BGO Records, in cooperation with Felix Cavaliere, re-released the 1971 and 1972 Rascals albums Peaceful World and Island of Real as a re-mastered double CD. Feiten joined the Rascals (formerly known as the 'Young Rascals') in the late 1960s upon leaving the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, with whom he played at Woodstock. The double CD includes 3 original Feiten songs, 'Jungle Walk', 'In and Out of Love', and 'Icy Water'. He is also credited as co-writer on the title song 'Island of Real'. Feiten is featured on rhythm and lead guitar in all 23 tracks.
[edit] 'Buzz Feiten Tuning System'
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In 1992, after much experimentation, Feiten was able to patent a new tuning system for guitars, called the 'Buzz Feiten tuning system'. His structural tuning system made it possible to tune guitars and basses more accurately, specifically on the lowest 3 or 4 frets, which can tend to be somewhat out-of-tune compared to notes played on the rest of the neck. The difference, though subtle, is especially evident in the playing of open chords.
The system requires some minor alterations to the instrument that can be retrofitted to most guitars that do not already have it. The retrofit normally retails for around $139; it is factory-installed on only nine brands of guitars and two brands of basses, including those bearing the Washburn™ brand. there are, however, over 3 or 4 dozen 'guitar builders' who are able to accommodate Feiten's temper-tuning mathematical formula.
Despite the originality and technical validity of his several patents on it, some individuals dispute Feiten's claim to have invented this (mathematical) system, saying that Luthiers had used compensated guitar nuts prior to his patents. Although the jury is still out, no court challenge is known or can be documented.
The Feiten tuning system can make use of a special guitar tuner featuring "Buzz Feiten presets" — the strings have to be tuned slightly flat or sharp because of the nut's compensations.[2] Feiten's web site contains instructions on how his system can be tuned without such a tuner. The original intonations of the altered guitars must be done by a Feiten-licensed technician.
