Jason Becker remains an active figure in the guitar community, despite his decades-long struggle with Lou Gehrig's disease, which ended his ability to play.
He regularly welcomes virtuosic visitors to his home, and young progressive titan Luis Kalil – who grew up idolising the Cacophony guitarist – was one of his most recent guests.
Viral 11-year-old metal star Maya Neelakantan and Sicilian hotshot Matteo Mancuso have swung by Becker's home in recent years, with the shredder still keeping tabs on the scene's most talked-about players.
It turns out Kalil – who plays in Red Devil Vortex – has also been on Becker's radar for a while.
“Around 2014, I started posting YouTube videos playing Jason Becker and Cacophony songs,” Kalil tells Guitar World of how their meet-up came to be.
“Then last year, my friend Tony MacAlpine introduced me to someone from Jason’s camp who has been watching my stuff for a long time. I’ve always flown Jason’s flag, talking about him in interviews, playing his music, even at my live shows, and he appreciated that.
“After a few months, this guy calls me up saying that I’ve been invited to Jason’s house to meet the shred lord himself. He said, ‘...and bring your guitar because you are playing for him!’”
Becker has brought some of the best of the best to his living room for personal concerts over the years, with Eddie Van Halen famously getting an invite in 1996. Kalil's showing was equally inspirational for all involved.
“It felt surreal,” he says, looking back on the day. “You’re hanging out with your hero for one hour, then they go, ‘Okay, cool, now pick up the guitar and show us what you got,’ and Jason Becker is right there, no warm up, no nothing.”
Kalil got the nod one week before the trip, and it was a week spent drilling down on his chops.
“I wanted to do him justice and truly convey the strong flow of emotions those songs have,” he says. “Especially Altitudes, I wanted it to sound like a testimony of gratitude for all the inspiration he’s given me throughout the years.
“Like, ‘You gave me all of this, and now I’m here to give it back to you.’ He makes me feel a certain way when he plays, and I wanted them to feel that passion and excitement too. That’s what I think music is about.
“He’s taught me that it’s all about making people feel something and not about perfection,” Kalil develops. “Fast or slow, melody or arpeggios, mean what you play, play what you mean, and make it fun!
“Plus, his life story reminds me that the passion for music can transcend life. When you see him finding a new reason to keep living, it reminds me that you can’t sweat the small stuff and you’re better off appreciating what you have in life.”
Despite no longer being able to play the electric guitar, Becker has continued to write new music via an eye communication system.
In 2018, his record Triumphant Hearts featured a prestigious cast of guest players, including Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Neal Schon, Steve Morse, Paul Gilbert, and Joe Bonamassa, helping to bring his ideas to life.
Then, in 2024, he fashioned a new single from an old demo and enlisted Nita Strauss, Cacophony bandmate Marty Friedman, Steve Lukather, and more to ignite the seven-minute shredathon.
Becker is showing no signs of retiring, and Kalil will continue to champion his talents.
“Until I’m gone,” he concludes, “I will always fly Jason Becker’s flag!”
