Fusion maestro Martin Miller has an impressive track record of recruiting A-list electric guitar talent for his YouTube covers series.
Not only has he partnered with Kirk Fletcher to pay tribute to Daft Punk and perform Cream's Sunshine of Your Love, Miller has also previously tapped Mark Lettieri for a rendition of Prince’s Purple Rain and Paul Gilbert for Stevie Wonder's Superstition.
In a continuance of his fine collaborative form, Miller has now partnered with his fellow Ibanez signature artist Lari Basilio for an extended performance of Derek and the Dominos’ 1970 hit, Layla.
Wielding their respective Ibanez signature guitars – the LB1 and MM1 – it’s Miller who leads the lick procession, busying himself with pentatonic bends aplenty while Basilio and acoustic guitar player Nico Schliemann introduce the slow-tempo riff of Layla’s unplugged version.
The band – which also features vocalist/bassist Ben Jud and drummer Felix Lehrmann – gets comfortable in the slower tempo for a full verse and chorus, before a brief breakdown paves the way for Basilio and Miller’s devastating dual guitar action.
Two minutes in and Basilio finally lets loose, seasoning the upper-register main lick with subtly spicy vibratos and pristine delivery, while Miller – who then juggles some vocal work – forms the foundation through the lower, open-string-heavy harmony.
Basilio’s main guitar solo comes around the 3:20 mark, and is filled to the brim with just about everything you’d expect from the Brazilian guitar titan. Operating through sheer muscle memory, Basilio relentlessly rifles through lick after lick, migrating the fretboard through chord motifs, box-breaking licks and whammy bar wiggles galore.
It’s the extended version of Layla, remember, so Basilio’s solo is then followed by the anthemic piano outro, which features a plentiful supply of show-stopping electric lead action from Miller: think legato licks, arpeggios and mind-bending string-skipping acrobatics.
Last month, Basilio dropped her hotly anticipated third studio album, Your Love, which was previewed by its mesmerizing title track and seven-string-heavy second single, Alive and Living.
Basilio officially began work on the album back in August 2021, after she confirmed the then-untitled effort would feature bass session legend, Lee Sklar.
To watch more Martin Miller covers, head over to his YouTube channel.
