JOE LYNN TURNER (+ Brazen Abbot + Cem Köksal review)

Joe Lynn Turner (JLT),

http://www.joelynnturner.com/

Akira Kajiyama and jlt

born Joseph Linquito August 2, 1951 in Hackensack, New Jersey, is a melodic hard rock singer best known for his work with Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen and his brief stint in Deep Purple. He played the accordion as a child, grew up with an appreciation for classic R&B and became an accomplished guitarist in his early teens.

Early Career to Present

In high school, Joe formed Ezra, performing original material and cover songs by such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Free and Deep Purple. In 1976, JLT enjoyed his first taste of national success with Fandango, a band described as an eclectic mix of R&B, pop, country, jazz and melodic rock. Turner sang and played guitar on all of the band's four albums. Fandango toured with numerous artists including The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Beach Boys and Billy Joel.

After Fandango split, JLT received a phone call from legendary Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. This resulted in an audition and Blackmore was so impressed that he immediately enlisted Joe in Rainbow.

Rainbow, while popular in Europe and Japan, had not reached the same level of success in the US before JLT joined. With Turner's contributions (largely considered more pop-oriented), the group was catapulted to a new level of American success. Several tracks from albums with Turner reached the Top 20 on rock radio charts in the early- to mid-80's. "Stone Cold" became Rainbow's first Top 40 hit and the band's videos were played in heavy airplay on MTV. Turner recorded three studio albums with Rainbow: Difficult to Cure, Straight Between the Eyes, and Bent Out of Shape, which featured the single "Street Of Dreams". Rainbow disbanded in 1984, and Blackmore rejoined Deep Purple.

After the break-up of Rainbow, Joe released a solo album, Rescue You, produced by Roy Thomas Baker, known for his work with Queen and The Cars. JLT co-wrote most of the songs with keyboardist Al Greenwood (Foreigner). The first single, "Endlessly," received extensive airplay on radio and MTV. A tour with Pat Benatar and an acting role in the movie Blue Deville followed.

In 1988, he joined Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and recorded the greatly successful album Odyssey (1988). The brief tour that followed the release of the album included a concert in Leningrad which was recorded and then released as Trial by Fire (1989). In 1989 he left the band to join his ex-bandmates Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover by replacing Ian Gillan in Deep Purple, making him their fifth singer. With Deep Purple Joe recorded the album Slaves & Masters. The album's sound was different from the traditional Deep Purple sound, and although many thought it sounded fresh, in general Deep Purple fans did not like it. The tour supporting the album was financially successful, but the audiences were unhappy with Turner's performances and vocal about their desire for a return of previous singer Ian Gillan. After the tour, Joe was fired, reportedly much to his and Blackmore's displeasure.

Joe Lynn Turner has been working mainly on his prolific solo career since his departure from Deep Purple and has worked with Glenn Hughes under the "Hughes Turner Project" name and with the Bulgarian guitarist Nikolo Kotzev and his band Brazen Abbot. Joe also participated in Nikolo Kotzev's rock opera Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus. He has also put out 3 albums under the band name Mother's Army. In recent years he took on very successful studio project Sunstorm and worked with Japanese Guitar player Akira Kajiyama for the album Fire Without Flame. Joe Lynn Turner was a guest in the Voices Of Classic Rock Shows, along with his colleague Glenn Hughes. In 2005, Joe had a guest appearance on Blackmore's Night album The Village Lanterne singing on the Bonus track Street Of Dreams, which was originally written by him and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore with the band Rainbow.

Discography

With Brazen Abbot
Eye of the Storm (1996)
Bad Religion (1997)
Guilty as Sin (2003)
A Decade of Brazen Abbot (2004)
My Resurrection (2005)

With Deep Purple
Slaves & Masters (1990)

With Fandango
Fandango (1977)
One Night Stand (1978)
Last Kiss (1979)
Cadillac (1980)
The Best of Fandango (1999) Japan only

With Mother's Army
Mother's Army (1993)
Planet Earth (1997)
Fire On The Moon (1998)

With Hughes Turner Project
HTP (2002)
Live In Tokyo (2002)
HTP 2 (2003)

With Rainbow
Difficult to Cure (1981)
Jealous Lover EP (1981)
Straight Between the Eyes (1982)
Bent Out of Shape (1983)
The Very Best of Rainbow (1997)
The Millennium Collection (2000)
Pot of Gold (2002)
All Night Long: An Introduction (2002)
Catch the Rainbow: The Anthology (2003)

Solo
Rescue You (1985)
Nothing's Changed (1995)
Under Cover (1997)
Hurry Up And Wait (1998)
Under Cover 2 (1999)
Holy Man (2000)
Slam (2001)
JLT (2003)
The Usual Suspects (2005)
Second Hand Life (2007)
Live In Germany (2008)

With Yngwie J. Malmsteen
Odyssey (1988)
Trial by Fire (1989)
Inspiration (1996)

With TNT (additional vocal)
Intuition (1989)
Realized Fantasies (1992)

With Michael Men Project
Made In Moscow (2005)

With Cem Köksal
Cem Köksal featuring Joe Lynn Turner - LIVE!! (2007)

Studio Projects
Akira Kajiyama + Joe Lynn Turner - Fire Without Flame Sunstorm (2007)

Sunstorm

Sunstorm (2000)
House of dream (2009)

a hard rock project featuring lead vocalist Joe Lynn Turner (formerly of Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Yngwie Malmsteen), bassist/vocalist Dennis Ward and guitarist Uwe Rietenauer (both of Pink Cream 69 fame), drummer Chris Schmidt, and keyboardist Jochen Weyer. The album also features artists like Dann Huff and Jim Peterik as additional songwriters.

Film appearances
1982 Rainbow - Live Between The Eyes
1985 Rainbow - The Final Cut
1991 Deep Purple - Heavy Metal Pioneers (interviewee)
2006 Rainbow - In Their Own Words (interviewee)
2008 Guitar Gods - Ritchie Blackmore (interviewee)

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Cem Köksal

http://www.cemkoksal.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cemkoksal

born on July 3, 1976 in Istanbul, Turkey. His first encounter with music was in his primary school years, where he started playing the mandolin. His parents made him listen to the music of the 60's during his childhood. He started playing the guitar in 1987.

During 1991-1992, he took music theory classes from Derya Yener, which played significant role in his development as a musician. He practiced music in his basement with his friends, and also attended musical activities in his high school Alman Lisesi in Istanbul. At first he was influenced by the popular rock groups of those times, but after a while he began to search for new directions. Musical pieces such as Air by Bach guided his musical perspective and creativity in a new direction. At this point he started preferring tonal modes in his music. Listening to Odyssey by Yngwie Malmsteen made him search for a new synthesis of classical music elements with contemporary tunes using the advanced guitar techniques, while still preserving the melody.

Koksal also continuously worked on improving his guitar playing, and sought improvement not only in standard techniques but also in extended ones (e.g. sweep picking). He was interested in learning how to make a guitar, and read books such as Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscock, and Building Electric Guitars by Martin Koch. After months of work, he built a guitar from scratch, and named it Shark.

His musical style was influenced by Yngwie Malmsteen. He worked with world famous musicians such as Joe Lynn Turner.

Albums
Just Set Me Free - 2003
Cem Köksal featuring Joe Lynn Turner - LIVE!! - 2007
Siyah Beyaz Masallar - 2007

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Brazen Abbot

http://brazenabbot.nostramusic.com/

is a Finnish rock band. Originally a studio project of Bulgarian guitarist, producer and song writer Nikolo Kotzev, who is a Finnish resident, the band has since made several live performances.

One of the defining aspects of Brazen Abbot is the employment of multiple singers; every album features three or four singers, with Göran Edman and Joe Lynn Turner having appeared on most Brazen Abbot albums. Nikolo Kotzev originally intended to use only one singer; original singer Göran Edman could only commit to recording two songs for the first album due to contractual obligations. Glenn Hughes was then supposed to record the remaining songs; however contractual obligations hindered him from recording more than three songs, at which point Kotzev brought in Thomas Vikström to record the remaining songs. Kotzev was so pleased with the end result that he decided to keep using multiple singers for future albums. When performing live, however, Joe Lynn Turner is typically the only singer.

Several of the band members have also appeared on Nikolo Kotzev's ambitious rock opera Nostradamus (2001); Brazen Abbot was on hiatus during the time Kotzev was working on the rock opera (1998 - 2001).

Former members include Mic Michaeli, John Levén and Ian Haugland, all members of the famous rock band Europe.

Current members

Nikolo Kotzev - guitars, violin, production, mixing
Göran Edman - vocals
Joe Lynn Turner - vocals (1996- ) ex htp ex deep purple ex rainbow...
Tony Harnell - vocals (2005- )
Erik Mårtenson - vocals (2005- )
Nelko Kolarov - organs (2005- )
Wayne Banks - bass (2004- )
Mattias Knutas - drums (2005- )

Former members

Glenn Hughes - vocals (1995) ex htp ex deep purple
Thomas Vikström - vocals (1995-1997)
Jørn Lande - vocals (2003)
Mic Michaeli - keyboards (1995-2003)
Lars Pollack - keyboards (2004)
Svante Henryson - bass (1995)
John Levén - bass (1996-2003)
Ian Haugland - drums (1995-2003)
Thomas Broman - drums (2004)

Discography

Live and Learn (1995)
Eye of the Storm (1996)
Bad Religion (1997)
Guilty as Sin (2003)
A Decade of Brazen Abbot (live) (2004)
My Resurrection (2005)

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This list includes all solo releases, releases as member of a band & all guest appearences done by Joe throughout the years. Note: this list is presented with Joe"s most current projects first.

ICARUS WITCH Songs for the Lost 2007
JLT Second Hand Life 2007
BLACKMORE'S NIGHT Village Lanterne 2006
Single EP The One 2006
Akira Kajiyama and Joe Lynn Turner Fire Without Flame 2006
Vitalij Kuprij Revenge 2006
Usual Suspects JLT 2005
Eddie Ojeda Axes 2 Axes 2005
Iron Maiden Tribute Numbers from The Beast 2005
Michael Schenker Heavy Hitters 2005
Mikhail Men Made in Moscow 2005
Brazen Abbot My Ressurection 2005
Classic Rock Revisited The New Road Ahead Vol 1 2005
Heaven and Earth Heaven and Earth Revised Re-Release 2005
Metallic Attack Metallica The Ultimate Tribute 2004
Karl Cochran's Voodooland Give Me Air 2004
Hughes Turner Project HTP2 2003
Murray Weinstock Tails of the City 2003
Rainbow Catch The Rainbow 2003
Brazen Abbot Guilty As Sin 2003
Mr. Big Tribute Influences and Connections 2003
Joe Lynn Turner JLT 2003
Hughes Turner Project HTP-LIVE IN TOKYO 2002
The Tour Bus Radio Show The Road Trip 2002
Mountain Mystic Fire 2002
Hughes Turner Project HTP 2002
Baron Love Valley 2002
Terry Brock Freedom 2001
Joe Lynn Turner Slam 2001
Queen Tribute Stone Cold Crazy 2001
Joe Lynn Turner Challenge Them All 2001
Rock Ballads WTC Benefit 2001
Nikolo Kotzev Nostradamus 2001
Voices for America Special WTC EP 2001
Aerosmith Tribute Let The Tribute Do The Talking 2001
ACDC Tribute Remixed to Hell 2000
Joe Lynn Turner Holy Man 2000
Various Artists Fire Woman: A Tribute to The Cult 2000
Ozzy Tribute Bat Head's Soup 2000
Van Halen Tribute Tribute to Van Halen 2000 2000
*SPECIAL* Randy Rhoads "Tribute" 1999
Leslie West As Phat as it Gets 1999
Yngwie Malmsteen Inspiration (Bonus CD) 1999
Fandango Best of 1999
Deep Purple Shades 68-98 1999
Joe Lynn Turner UNDER COVER 2 1999
Joe Lynn Turner Waiting for a Girl Like You 1999
Vick LeCar Never Stranded 1998
Stuart Smith Heaven & Earth 1998
Don Johnson Heartbeat 1998
Niji Densetsu Rainbow Tribute 1998
Various Heard It On The Radio 1998
Mothers Army Fire On The Moon 1998
Guitar Compilation Sounds of Wood and Steel 1998
Deep Purple Purplexed 1998
Joe Lynn Turner Hurry Up & Wait 1998
Mojo Brothers Mojo Brothers 1997
AC/DC Tribute Thunderbolt 1997
Brazen Abbot Bad Religion 1997
Joe Lynn Turner Undercover 1997
Mothers Army Planet Earth 1997
Yngwie Malmsteen Inspiration 1996
Toshi Kankawa Toshi Kankawa 1996
Brazen Abbot Eye Of The Storm 1996
Rainbow The Very Best Of 1997
Deep Purple Tribute - Black Night 1995
Joe Lynn Turner Nothing's Changed 1995
Nerds Poultry In Motion 1995
Bloodline Bloodline 1994
Blues Bureau International Cream Of The Crop 1994
Deep Purple Tribute Smoke On The Water 1994
Mothers Army Mothers Army 1993
Yngwie Malmsteen Collection 1992
TNT Unrealized Fantazies 1992
Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne 1992
Hellcats Hellcats 2 1992
Lita Ford Dangerous Curves 1991
Deep Purple Slaves & Masters 1990
Kathy Troccoli Pure Attraction 1991
Michael Bolton Time, Love and Tenderness 1991
Foundations Forum Compilation '90 Vol. 2 1990
Slyce Slyce 1990
Billy Joel Storm Front 1989
Paul Carrack Groove Approved 1989
Yngwie Malmsteen Trial By Fire Live 1989
Jimmy Barnes Freight Train Heart 1989
Alexa Alexa 1989
Bonnie Tyler Notes From America 1988
TNT Intuition 1988
Don Johnson Let It Roll 1988
Yngwie Malmsteen Odyssey 1988
Bonfire Bonfire 1987
Mick Jones Mick Jones 1987
Lee Arron Lee Arron 1987
John Waite Rovers Return 1987
Cher Cher 1987
Michael Bolton The Hunger 1987
Rainbow Final Vinyl 1986
Joe Lynn Turner Rescue You 1985
Official Soundtrack The Heavenly Kid 1985
Rainbow Bent Out Of Shape 1983
Rainbow Straight Between The Eyes 1982
Rainbow Best of Compilation 1981
Rainbow Difficult To Cure 1981
Fandango Cadillac 1980
Fandango Last Kiss 1979
Fandango One Night Stand 1978
Fandango Fandango 1977