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.

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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…