Stephen Colbert’s New Guitarist Talks Pentatonics

I’m pretty stoked for the (kid!) guitarist Maddie Rice from pop-rockers DrewOfTheDrew, who scored a gig in Jon Batiste’s band on <em>The Late Show With Stephen Colbert</em>. Unlike some of the more straightforward rock-with-horns big band music that gets played on those shows, Batiste’s jazz/funk/pop fusion is no cakewalk – a child prodigy, Batiste attended Julliard when he was 17 and counts Duke Ellington among his influences.

It’s sick to see someone so young get the call, and Maddie rips. See for yourself below, as EMGtv recently posted a lesson with her about pentatonic substitutions (which you might also call modal pentatonics). These tips are a great way to spice up your pentatonic game without too much nitty-gritty theory, and sound really cool!

Check out the clip, and keep an eye out for Maddie on Colbert…