Former MEGADETH Guitarist JEFF YOUNG Releases 'New/Old Original Instrumental' Track

Former MEGADETH guitarist Jeff Young has issued the following update:

"To highlight some of the pieces I'll be performing in live settings very soon, I just uploaded my very favorite instrumental songwriting collaboration with dear friend, Badi Assad. The song is entitled 'Butterfly' and the songwriting process we shared on this song was definitely very 'butterfly-esque,' to say the least...

"This song above any other collaboration I've ever experienced was the most like, 'two people finishing each others sentences.' I remember coming up with the opening 'tapping/guitar-beating' section at Badi's old casa in Sao Paulo, Brasil... we are both very influenced by guitarist Michael Hedges who had just passed away, so I wanted to pay homage in some small way... once Badi and I began tossing ideas and motifs back and forth this composition became one of the most organic and magical collaborations I've ever experienced. We continued the writing process while on tour for 'Chameleon' and I can recall how the diverse environments where we continued this piece including Greece, Belgium and Spain all fed the momentum of the 'butterfly's journey.'

"The track appeared on Badi's 1997 Verve/Polygram release 'Chameleon', produced by yours truly. The album went to No. 1 in Europe and despite the fact that this track is instrumental, it enjoyed a respectable amount of airplay. The stunning flute solos were improvised by Viviana Guzman (Chile) who also will be appearing on my forthcoming album, 'Equilibrium'."

Check out the "Butterfly" track at this location.

Jeff Young recently joined the Guitar Institute of Technology teaching staff at Hollywood, California's Musicians Institute.

Musicians Institute offers a comprehensive, hands-on education in contemporary music performance, recording, guitar making, music business and film.

Jeff's entire career with MEGADETH was spent recording and touring in support of the band's 1988 platinum-selling album "So Far, So Good...So What!" Following his stint with MEGADETH, Jeff began contributing the "Fingerprints" column for Guitar magazine. For a portion of the 1990s, Jeff stepped away from his career to deal with the untimely deaths of first his father and later his mother while immersing himself in the further study of classical, flamenco, gypsy jazz and other world music varieties. In 1998, he resurfaced with new Brazilian musical partner, Badi Assad. Together, the duo crafted exotic soundscapes for their first collaboration, BADI ASSAD's "Chameleon". The album, co-written, arranged, and produced by Jeff, introduced their acoustic-world-fusion sounds to diverse audiences worldwide. Opening concerts for renowned artists, including Joe Cocker and Cassandra Wilson, as well as performances on 1999's Lilith Fair and Farm Aid 2000, are testament to the considerable cross-over appeal of Badi and Jeff's "new world music" explorations. In 2003, the track "Waves" from "Chameleon" was featured in the Michael and Kirk Douglas film "It Runs in the Family", as well as on the movie's soundtrack.