Hit List

Steve Baughman and Robin Bullock, Celtic Guitar Summit.

It's a rare joy to witness the start of something new in Celtic music. That's just what Steve Baughman and Robin Bullock have accomplished here—arranging Celtic tunes, well-known and exotic, perky and pensive, for two interlocking guitars. In the hands of these masterful players, the results are rich and engaging. The O'Carolan harp airs blossom with new depth and harmonic possibility, and the excursions into Breton and Welsh repertoire make one wonder why we haven't heard more of this stuff. Celtic Guitar Summit makes your fingers itch to play along, especially on tunes like "Hewlett," which Baughman and Bullock turn into a wild ride to Grateful Dead territory and back again. Judging from the guffaw on the CD jacket, it was clearly as much fun for the boys to record this as it is to listen to. (Solid Air, www.solidairrecords.com)

—Danny Carnahan

 

Tom Russell, Modern Art.

Tom Russell emerges from relationship angst, beautifully mined in his last CD, Borderland, to sing of the same kind of heroes and sinners that populated his brilliant 1999 recording The Man from God Knows Where. From the uptempo autobiographical title track to the calypso-flavored "Muhammad Ali," this diverse CD casts a backward glance as hard-won wisdom trumps youthful idealism. Andrew Hardin's crystalline guitar moves from background to foreground in subtly expressive arrangements throughout. Standouts include the melodic improvisations in "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" and Russell's duet with Nanci Griffith on "Bus Station." "Crucifix in a Death Hand/Carmelita," a Woody Guthrie—style recitation of a Charles Bukowski poem over Russell's steady fingerpicking and Hardin's Spanish-style steel-string fills, is a tour de force. (HighTone, www.hightone.com)

—Céline Keating

Masada Guitars.

Featuring Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, and Tim Sparks (playing individually, not together), Masada Guitars presents solo guitar arrangements of Jewish music written by an avant-garde jazz saxophonist—not something you come across every day. It consists of music from John Zorn's Masada repertoire and is a testament to the stunning capabilities of three of the finest players on the jazz guitar scene. Except for a few tracks by Frisell (such as "Katzatz," which recalls the best of his "out" electric days), Masada Guitars is all about stretching the limits of the acoustic guitar. Between Ribot's wobbly-yet-brilliant arrangement of "Kedem" and Sparks' multitiered rendition of "Ravayah," the album explores a huge range of the instrument's possibilities. Quirky virtuosity is a large part of its appeal, but Masada Guitars is also full of some incredibly beautiful music. (Tzadik, www.tzadik.com)

—Teja Gerken

 

Brigitte DeMeyer, Nothing Comes Free.

Following her promising 2001 debut, Another Thousand Miles, San Francisco Bay Area songwriter Brigitte DeMeyer has headed south to New Orleans, finding a new sound that's as funky as it is folky. She's sad but strong, writing on the pop side of folk and recording with the band of her dreams: co-writer Chris Rossbach on guitar, Ivan Neville on keyboards, and Spyboy's Tony Hall and Brian Blade on bass and drums. The results are tastefully played and beautifully recorded, stylish and swampy, smart and soulful. (Brigitte DeMeyer, www.brigittedemeyer.com)

— Kenny Berkowitz

 

The Angelo Debarre Quartet, Impromptu.

Angelo Debarre emerges from the pack of young Gypsy jazz guitar lions on this CD brimming with beautiful acoustic jazz guitar and dazzling improvisational verve. Swing violinist Chris Garrick matches Debarre solo for solo, and together these brilliant, daring musicians tread the fine line between thoughtful, melodic interplay and technical pyrotechnics. Performing tunes like Django Reinhardt's little-known "Festival 48" and brooding "Lentement Mademoiselle," Debarre and Garrick illuminate the depth and soul of Gypsy jazz. (Lejazzetal, www.lejazzetal.com)

— David McCarty

 

Tommy Edwards, Good Company.

Tommy Edwards has been a fixture in the North Carolina bluegrass scene for many years, and Good Company should win him appreciation from a wider audience. Edwards is a sweet-voiced singer and an accomplished songwriter, and this album, recorded with his band the Bluegrass Experience and guest artists, showcases ten of his originals. In "I'll Be There before the First Teardrops Fall," he has crafted a fine old-fashioned heartbreak song reminiscent of the Carter Family. "The Musician's Lament" and "Dark Side of the Moon" (no relation to Pink Floyd) illustrate his deft hand with lyrics and melody. Edwards is also a guitarist with a gutsy flatpicking style much influenced by the blues-tinged mandolin of Bill Monroe, but his playing here also encompasses some sweet solos and classic gospel fingerpicking. (Salisbury Street, tedwards@centernet.net)

— Sue Thompson

Pat Kirtley, Brazilian Guitar.

It's hard to know what to expect when a Kentucky fingerpicker who's best known for solo steel-string work in D A D G A D tuning records a set of Brazilian music, some of which is played on a nylon-string guitar with a band. But Pat Kirtley does a remarkable job grooving his way through this CD, which includes John Standefer on second guitar (often playing a resonator instrument), Derek Jones on bass, and Craig Russell on percussion and bass. The album features such well-known tunes as "One Note Samba" and "Manhã de Carnaval," as well as Latin-inspired originals like "El Cerrito" and "Movimento." (Mainstring, www.win.net/mainstring)

— Teja Gerken

Various artists, Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

Beginning in the 1940s, Moses Asch's Folkways label was a seminal force in recording and documenting the rich variety of country blues that sprang from America's southern river deltas and mountain hollers. This excellent compilation, culled from field recordings, radio broadcasts, live performances, and studio sessions, spans half a century and dozens of artists. The casual listener eager to explore the acoustic sides of the blues will find examples of Delta stylists, such as Son House and David "Honeyboy" Edwards; songsters like Pink Anderson and Leadbelly; sophisticated city performers like Bill Broonzy and Lonnie Johnson; and Piedmont pickers like Elizabeth Cotten and Etta Baker. Blues enthusiasts will likely discover obscure artists like K.C. Douglas and his great automobile ode "Mercury Blues." The sound quality is very good throughout, and in typical Folkways fashion, the song notes are illuminating. Few labels, in fact, could match the depth and breadth of blues offered here. (Smithsonian Folkways, www.folkways.si.edu)

— Ian Zack

M. Ward, Transfiguration of Vincent.

Deeply rooted in folk and trad country, M. Ward has spent most of the last decade working the edges of indie rock. He's recorded with Rodriguez, played with Howe Gelb, and toured with Bright Eyes. Now, on his second solo album, he's got a style that's as lazy as a back porch strumming session but with a rawness that gives Transfiguration of Vincent a quiet intensity. Playing guitar and piano, with backup from Portland, Oregon's Old Joe Clarks, Ward writes "to keep the loss alive and behind me," singing about death in a meditation that's rich, restless, and poetic. (Merge, www.mergerecords.com)

— Kenny Berkowitz

Manfred Dierkes Trio, Caldera.

The compositions and playing of this German fingerstyle jazz guitarist are marked by an elegance and melodicism even on uptempo, no-holds-barred tunes like the funky jazz/blues "Out of Bounds." A strong Brazilian influence runs through many of Dierkes' tunes, particularly the hypnotic title cut and the beautiful bossa "Down to Porto Negro." The well-structured and beautifully realized pieces on Caldera could stand on their own as complete compositions, but they also serve as points of departure for Dierkes' deft and imaginative improvisations. Caldera should be heard by anybody interested in fingerstyle jazz guitar. (Acoustic Music, www.acoustic-music.de)

— Ron Forbes-Roberts

Excerpted from Acoustic Guitar magazine, July 2003, No. 127.

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