Eric Elias & Luke Nelson "My Compliments", Phunquie Pholk Records, 2002 Wow! From the opening notes of this release, I was instantly transported to a 1930's film noir set. There I was, looking all dapper in my white tuxedo, sipping a dry martini with an olive at my table, checking out the cigarette girl prancing by with Chesterfield Kings and Lucky Strikes for sale. I was about to tell the piano player to "Play it again, Sam", but my reverie was interrupted when I realized I had never heard 1930s acoustic jazz guitar sounding so fine. Turns out, I had not placed an Eddie Lang or Django Reinhardt collection into the CD player after all. Nope, the musicians conducting me on this magical mystery tour are very much a part of the new millennium, employing digital recording to capture the sound of 30s acoustic jazz guitar like never before. Indeed, the opening cut which triggered my fantasy was not a 1930s tune at all, but one written for this 2002 release. Eric Elias and Luke Nelson have been playing together since 1998, refining and tightening their chops for this debut. Playing Luke Nelson's arrangements entirely on Stromberg guitars, they tackle standards ("All the Things You Are", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "After You've Gone", "All of Me", and "In a Mist") along with originals inspired by this jazzman's genre. Luke Nelson contributes seven originals (his "Take Your Pick" seems inspired --- if only in title --- by Eddie Lang's "Picking My Way"), and Eric Elias contributes two ("The Sandman" and "Rumor Has It"). All are effective, worth hearing, and demonstrate that this is no mere nostalgia act. © Patrick Grant

John Wunsch "Looking Toward Leelanau", 2001 John Wunsch's "Looking Toward Leelanau" contains a wealth of melodic progressions and a delicate array of pizzicatos and harmonic overlays. At times, Wunsch's elegant guitar playing blends the best of a soft, jazz-sound with the warmth of a truly accomplished, classically oriented technique. Nature is the dominant theme here, and its musical expression for Wunsch in this instance is a kind of passionate quietude. Even though Wunsch is an expert player, this very successful blend of different aesthetic registers is indicative more of an exploration in melody and sound rather than a pre-formulated performance of speed and technical expertise. Most impressive of Wunsch's nylon-string guitar playing is the artist's ability to be simple in focus, while at the same time using rather complex arrangements and timing to execute each song. ©Bernard Richter