Session musicians are used to being told what to play.

      New York City-based guitarist Jeff Golub has been in that situation many times, but when it comes to recording his own albums, he takes a less-controlling approach with his supporting cast. "I try to let everybody contribute, and for me, that gets a better end product," he says. "Sometimes it's not the product that I set out to get. Maybe I wrote a song and I thought it was going to sound completely different, but after it filters through all the musicians, it's always better than what I came up with on my own."

      For his latest solo effort, Grand Central, due this month via Narada Jazz, Golub is backed by such notable players as Rick Braun on trumpet, Lincoln Goines on bass and Steve Ferrone on drums, among others. The instrumental disc features a jazzy, bluesy mix of originals and covers, one of which is a rendition of the Sly and the Family Stone hit "If You Want Me to Stay."

      "Everything was running very smoothly, and we accomplished everything that we set out to do in less time than we allotted for," Golub recalls of the session resulting in that recording. "Everybody was still in a good mood and playing well and up for playing, so I asked everybody if they knew that song."

      The response was "sort of," he says, and so Golub and the other musicians took a stab at it, but not before he told them, "When I raise my hand, we'll go on to the next section."

      He says, "That's one of the lovely things about cutting with everybody there [in the same room]. I make sure that there's always a line of sight for everybody when we're recording."

      Aside from that song and a rendition of the Beatles' "Something," the rest of Grand Central was rehearsed. "I like to do that now," says Golub. "If I go in with the band to do a rehearsal and run the stuff over, then by the time we actually go into the studio, we don't have to do anything. And everybody's kind of absorbed the arrangements, so they're not reading the paper and trying to learn it. They're actually playing music, and they're altering."

      Most of Grand Central was recorded at Manhattan's Sear Sound, with Golub using a different amp for the first time in years-a Fuchs Overdrive 50. "That, with my Stratocaster, is for me the best sound I've ever had," he says.

      Golub is scheduled to perform March 24 at Nokia Theatre Times Square. For tickets and more information, visit www.nokiatheatrenyc.com. Jeff Golub's official site is www.jeffgolub.com.

Gurus Invade Gotham
      Crowded House isn't the only Australian rock band that's about to end a long gap between U.S. gigs.

      The Hoodoo Gurus, who haven't played stateside in about a dozen years, are set to showcase March 16 during the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas. Four days later, the band is scheduled to perform at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W. 42nd St. in Manhattan.

      "We're just looking forward to playing and having fun," says singer/guitarist Dave Faulkner. "We don't care who comes, just as long as they're prepared to enjoy themselves. If they're too young to have seen us before, we're not going to worry about it. If they're too old to be there, we won't worry about that, either."

      The Hoodoo Gurus disbanded in 1998 and reunited in 2003. Since then, the band has issued an album (Mach Schau) and a two-disc DVD set (Tunnel Vision) in Australia, but neither came out in America.

      In October, New York's Virtual Records will release the latter title in the United States and Canada, as well as a reissued version of the first Gurus album, Stoneage Romeos.

      In hooking up with Virtual, Faulkner says the band had a goal to get as much of its back catalog "under one roof, and also finally sort out some digital rights as well, which we never addressed. [Virtual] seemed to make most sense [for all of that]."

      As for a new studio album, Faulkner says he expects to begin writing after the Gurus finish their U.S. tour, with recording to commence around the end of this year and the finished product available by mid-2008.

      Tickets are $25 for the Gurus' March 20 show, which begins at 8 p.m. For more information, call 212-997-4144 or visit www.bbkingblues.com. The official Hoodoo Gurus site is www.hoodoogurus.net.

Worth Checking Out
      Nanci Griffith, on tour in support of Ruby's Torch (Rounder), will perform March 6 and 7 at Blue Note, 131 W. Third St. Shows start at 8 and 10:30 p.m. each night. Tickets, priced at $20 (bar) and $35 (table), can be purchased via www.bluenote.net.

      To contact "Manhattan Sounds" columnist Chris M. Junior, send an e-mail to chrisjr@mindspring.com.