Blindfold Test: Vernon Reid

VERNON REID first hit the scene in Ronald Shannon Jackson's swaggering harmolodic adventure, the Decoding Society, where his role rapidly expanded as he evolved different voices on his array of guitars. At the same time, he continued to pursue a wide range of parallel interests, which led, among other results, to a fascinating effort (Smash & Scatteration, Rykodisc CD) with fellow guitar explorer Bill Frisell, during which they deconstruct and reclaim the full range of the instrument's tradition from acoustic duos to guitar-synth tone poems.