Music Theories RecordingsJourney‘s Neal Schon and Yes‘ Trevor Rabin are among the rock guitarists who’ve lent their talents to Triumphant Hearts, an album by ex-David Lee Roth guitarist Jason Becker that was released earlier this month. In 1990, Becker was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and has since lost ability to walk, speak and breathe on his own, but he’s able to communicate and write music through eye movements using a system developed by his father.
Triumphant Hearts features 14 songs composed by Becker and performed by various musicians, including Schon, Rabin, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Deep Purple‘s Steve Morse, Mr. Big‘s Paul Gilbert, ex-Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth, and Joe Bonamassa. Recordings of Jason’s own guitar playing dating from the 1980s and ’90s have been incorporated into a number of the tracks.
Schon is one of 13 guest guitarists featured on a track called “Valley of Fire,” along with Vai, Bonamassa, Gilbert, former Alice Cooper and Lou Reed guitarist Steve Hunter, ex-Megadeth member Marty Friedman, Richie Kotzen and others.
In a video trailer for the album, Becker says of the tune, “I thought it would be fun to write a song where a bunch of my favorite guitarists contributed, so I started ‘Valley of Fire.'” He adds that the 13 guitar players “all played with love and passion.”
A guitar prodigy, Jason played in a duo with Friedman called Cacophony as a teenager. At age 20, he joined ex-Van Halen frontman Roth’s solo band, taking the place of Vai, and was featured on the 1991 album, A Little Ain’t Enough. Around that time, he was diagnosed with ALS and given three to five years to live. However, 29 years later, he continues to create music.
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