Whenever we think of the greatest guitar players of all-time, Steve Morse is a name that’s almost always in the conversation.

The American musician started his career in the mid-70s playing mind-melting jazz-rock in The Dixie Dregs, racking up multiple Grammy nominations in the process. The following decade he formed the Steve Morse Band and joined arena heavyweights Kansas, before being recruited by rock and roll originals Deep Purple in 1994, replacing virtuoso trailblazer Ritchie Blackmore. And despite being in one of the world’s biggest bands, he continued to innovate in other projects like Living Loud, Angelfire and Flying Colors – as well as guitar supergroup G3 – showing the world just how much versatility there was in those magic fingers. He announced his departure from Deep Purple in 2022, choosing to take care of his wife who passed away in 2024, by that point having become their longest serving guitar player.

Naturally, the last few years have been the most personally traumatic of his life – which is perhaps why this year’s creative comeback with new Steve Morse Band album Triangulation embodies the spirit of a master returning to do what they do best. Its nine tracks are a thrilling ride through the mind of a musician who seemingly knows no bounds, crossing over into all sorts of sounds and styles from funk and blues to classical and metal. He is someone who has written some of the most powerful instrumental the world has ever heard and certainly knows a thing or two about how to make his guitar resonate and command just as much attention as the human voice…

“I learned a lot about what people respond to by watching total strangers walk by during our free shows before we had paying gigs,” explains Morse. “I think that having melodies woven into the music, as well as tighter solo sections, helps keep people interested. It’s all about positive and uplifting melodies, easily digestible riffs and keeping the songs relatively concise to maximum impact.”