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CDs | Videos
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CDs
L.A.G.Q.
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet's latest release is an evocative
program of world music. Quartet members reach beyond the traditional
sounds of nylon-string guitars by attaching alligator clips and
staples to the strings, effectively evoking the sounds of African
thumb piano and Indonesian gamelan gongs. Sheer creativity and virtuosity
enable them to elicit the timbres of Japanese koto and Andean charango.
Guest artists on clarinet (for a klezmer dance suite), percussion,
C-flute, shakuhachi, and pan flutes add dimension on various numbers.
The music is irresistible and the performances are breathtaking.
(Sony Classical)
--Mark L. Small
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John Miller and Ruthie Dornfeld, Noches de Fiesta.
John Miller, long an acoustic guitar cult hero, has partnered with
fiddler Ruthie Dornfeld on this wide-ranging collection of duets
that includes many of his own compositions. Miller's fingerstyle
playing is unique, and his musical ideas are eclectic. On Latin
numbers, like the Brazilian choro "Cheguei," the fiddle soars over
his wonderful percussive groove. On slower numbers such as the hauntingly
lovely "Sicilienne," his guitar work is sparser and more melodic,
almost classical in feel. For some beautiful tunes and fine playing,
give this disc a listen. (Orb, 2123 Fourth Ave. N. #1, Seattle,
WA 98109)
--Sue Thompson
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Cosy Sheridan, Grand
Design
With a pocket full of songs written mostly in a three-month creative
explosion, powerful singer-songwriter (and talented and gutsy guitarist)
Cosy Sheridan is back. She offers her fellow boomers strong, thoughtful
messages and more stories from life's darkest corners. Like Bruce
Cockburn, she has the ability to handle tough issues (the rape of
the environment, sexually abused children) with sensitivity and
eloquence. Like Mary Chapin Carpenter, she knows how to mine the
hearts and minds of her 30- and 40-something listeners. "I Won't
Worry Anymore" and "I Think I Can" are wonderful bookend pieces
that celebrate the courage it takes to see life in terms other than
work and success. (BWE, 55 North 300 W., Suite 315, Salt Lake City,
UT 84110-1160)
--Steve Givens
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Don Jones, My
Back Yard
This left-handed Tennessee guitarist shows that good things can
happen when you turn the instrument upside-down-literally. Jones
achieves remarkable results playing a right-handed flattop backwards
(high E on top) on a set of 18 original solo instrumentals. Melodic,
often jazzy writing and squeaky-clean fingerpicking characterize
Jones' style, especially on "Rainwalk," "Stones River Blues," and
"Inertia." Although much of his work has a rhythmic similarity,
the different moods and feelings Jones evokes linger in the memory
like snapshots in a photo album. (Grand, 20 Music Square W., Suite
200, Nashville, TN 37203)
--Jim Ohlschmidt
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The Mysteries of Life, Come Clean
Singer-songwriter-guitarist Jake Smith and his bandmates have produced
an album of heartland power pop that adds another link to the chain
forged by Buddy Holly, Big Star, and R.E.M. The band's unadorned
arrangements and loose playing on bass, drums, and electric guitar
(with occasional harmonica and piano flourishes) grow organically
from Smith's bass-string riffs. His sardonic, romantic slacker tales,
delivered in a phlegmatic Jackson Browne-like voice, are wedded
to a set of catchy folk-rock melodies-just the kind of music you
wish was leaking out of the garage next door. (RCA)
--Scott Nygaard
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Balfa Toujours, La
Pointe
Balfa Toujours carries on and enlarges the tradition of the Balfa
Brothers, who brought Cajun music from the brink of obscurity to
wide popularity during the folk revival of the 1960s and '70s. Cajun
music's enduring popularity testifies to its power and vibrancy,
and this recording radiates those qualities. A mix of original and
classic songs and tunes, La Pointe is intensely soulful music
that really rocks. Christine Balfa's guitar playing is earthy, driving,
and rhythmically dead-on, dovetailing with the fine accordion and
fiddle playing of Dirk Powell and Kevin Wimmer. The Balfa legacy
is clearly in no danger of fading. (Rounder)
--Sue Thompson
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Ken Hatfield and Hans Glawischnig, Music for Guitar and Bass
Ken Hatfield demonstrates a keen mastery of the acoustic nylon-string
guitar on this set of original jazz compositions. From the swinging
riffs of "Feudility" to the sensuous Latin groove of "Mario's Garage,"
Hatfield and Glawischnig play with admirable cohesion while turning
out many nice improvisations. Glawischnig switches from double bass
to acoustic bass guitar on several tracks, such as the hip, minor-key
"Bhutan Blue." Hatfield's exceptional writing particularly shines
on "Venezia," a lovely, mid-tempo ballad, and "Juniper Street,"
a pleasantly melancholy jazz waltz with an especially clever bridge.
(Arthur Circle, 20-62 31st St., Astoria, NY 11105)
--Jim Ohlschmidt
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California Guitar Trio, Pathways
Combine one classical guitarist, one surf guitarist, one jazz-rocker,
and three acoustic guitars and cook for seven years. That's the
recipe for the California Guitar Trio. The group's members, Bert
Lams, Hideyo Moriya, and Paul Richards, met while studying with
Robert Fripp in London, and Fripp's disciplined influence is apparent.
The tight ensemble creates sounds that range from raindrop pointillism
to a three-ton harpsichord gone berserk. Pathways opens with
the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, roars through
12 other melodies, including "Classical Gas" and "Moonlight Sonata,"
and finishes with a manic "Misirlou." The pristine production quality
will knock your socks off. (Discipline Global Mobile, PO Box 5282,
Beverly Hills, CA 90209-5282)
--Gary Joyner
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Videos
Paul Bourdeau, The
Guitar Style of Lenny Breau
This 94-minute video by Canadian guitarist Paul Bourdeau effectively
illuminates the groundbreaking harmonies and melodies of the late
Lenny Breau. Bourdeau is the consummate professional; he speaks
clearly and articulately and creates a relaxed atmosphere while
adopting the role of medium between the audience and Breau. The
visuals and sound are as good as it gets, and the accompanying musical
examples are presented in a full 81/2-by-11 format. If you are curious
about how Breau created those magical tones and textures, this video
is for you. (Segment, 506-20 Deerfield Dr., Nepean, ON K2G 4L2,
Canada)
--Charles H. Chapman
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Phil Johnson, Slide
Guitar as a Second Language
Very few guitarists develop new and unique approaches to the instrument,
and fewer still go out of their way to share what they've done with
the rest of us. In this video Phil Johnson joins this small group
as he lays out a fascinating and exciting standard-tuning slide
guitar style that utilizes extensive fretting, pull-offs, hammer-ons,
bends, and even harmonics played behind the slide. This is an eye-opening
video for anyone who thinks they know every possible approach to
slide guitar. (Aster, 323 McEntire Rd., Tryon, NC 28782)
--Dale Miller
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