Spring 2021 Short Takes Brief Reviews
Geordie Little "(s)he" 2020
An Australian living in Germany, Geordie Little is an innovative player who combines the best of the modern fingerstyle techniques. His compositions are wonderfully melodic, often evoking jazz modalities
(Bill Evans) as well as big anthemic chords (a la Steve Kahn's use of fourths). The opener, "Fade," builds on a chordal melody with what Little calls "lap percussive" style playing--and his drumming is spot
on, perfectly melding melody with groove. Perhaps because he plays mostly nylon-stringed guitars, I hear a little of the wistfulness of Swedish player José Gonzalez (Junip). Some of Little's tunes have
neo-soul or modern R&B flavors, including my favorite, "Own Way Down," which sounds like a cousin twice removed to Lee Ritenour's "Maybe Tomorrow." An altogether wonderful player, (s)he (named for his wife
and son) is one of the best recent fingerstyle releases I've had the pleasure of hearing.
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Brian Clark
Michelle Qureshi "Within" 2020
To immerse yourself in the sixty plus minutes of classically trained guitarist, Michelle Qureshi's debut release for Myndstream, Within, is to be adrift on a sea of tranquility. If you can give yourself over to
the precision and purposeful articulations of her fretboard artistry you will be rewarded. The best of New Age oriented music has the power to cleanse and renew, and Qureshi's Within does so unequivocally.
Comprised of 24 musical steel and nylon string vignettes, which feel more like one larger, organic whole, Within is the perfect antidote to the insular pandemic related stress so many are feeling. Although she
is a multi-instrumentalist, Qureshi's focus here is the acoustic guitar. Nurturing these instruments as she plays, yields a lush clarity the transcends her earlier releases. It is no wonder that Qureshi often
performs at yoga related events. You can find a multitude of videos on YouTube of her music, and her involvement in sound immersions and meditation.
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James Filkins
Mike Moss "Just in Time" 2020
Jazz guitarist Mike Moss plays solo and ensemble gigs around Birmingham, Alabama, and
has growing audiences on Facebook and YouTube. His second release reveals wide-ranging interests, from the Great American Songbook and early rock to his own compositions for solo guitar. The album begins with
"Amblin'," an original, bluesy variant of "I Got Rhythm," played at a relaxed pace on acoustic guitar. He plays the standard "Just In Time" on amplified archtop, with clear melodic lines, walking bass and the
harmonic sophistication of a big band jazz arranger. "A Wait Lifted" exemplifies his original ballads - lyrical and reflective, but with an occasional surprise, such as rapid-fire single string lines played in
answer to the main theme. Other standards include "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and "Autumn Leaves," but every tune he covers is a tour de force of solo jazz guitar. Mike Moss presents well-loved songs as
improvisational springboards, creates compelling original music, and swings like the devil
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Patrick Ragains
Jamie Anderson "Songs From Home" 2020
The world needs more folk singers like Jamie Anderson. With a compelling contralto and discerning eye, Anderson mirrors our world with original compositions that make us smile, ache, scratch our heads and laugh
at ourselves. Her six-track Songs from Home is a bit of an ode to Covid, written during the pandemic. Aided by her guitar and ukulele, Anderson serenades us The Truth in three-minute quirky novellas; she's
serious about her art without taking herself too seriously. "Six Feet Away" views love from a safe social distance; "Marry Me" has Anderson offering a tongue-in-cheek proposal to Rachel Maddow "if you're going
to dream, dream big," she says; and the bittersweet "Scene from a Cafe" recounts what happens when you run into an ex-lover - and her pre-teen son has no idea who you are. She also takes on white privilege,
digs deep into a fabled Martin guitar, and on "Remember Me" jazzes it up on the ukulele. Sonically strong, the CD includes James Stephens' able backing on fiddle, mandolin and bass. A fine, but all-too-brief
EP from a fellow Minor 7th contributor.
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Fred Kraus
Ric Hickey "Outsider Looking Out" 2020
Ric Hickey made quarantine productive, filling his Bandcamp page and putting together Outsider Looking Out, decidedly lo-fi home recordings promising "irreverent wordplay and deliberate abstraction." He delivers.
"Been a Long Time" opens, a road song brimming with inside jokes and great lines ("Husbands and lawmen emerge empty handed from the shit storm that covered our tracks"). "Rough and Tumble," features a deeper six
string sound and fancy finger work. "Going Public with Our Love" gets real describing the aftereffects of an affair. The narrator answers the naysayers, "Them that talk don't know, and them that know don't talk / And
either way Hell I don't care." "The Man Who Left the Band," is a highlight, a reunion with a daughter and a new band formed. The title track depicts a rebel persona while Hickey works the bass strings. In the end, the
rebel finds his place is home, where Hickey recorded this album.
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David Kleiner
Emma Rush "Wake the Sigh" 2020
A program of 19th century guitar music composed by women, Wake the Sigh is a significant addition to the library of solo classical guitar recordings. Rush has selected works by seven largely unknown composers,
including two pieces which bookend the album by Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi, the daughter of Mauro Giuliani, and Julie Fondard, a student of Fernando Sor, who also earns two tracks. "Six Waltzes" by Spanish-born
Delores de Goñi, for whom the first x-braced Martin guitar was made and named, rightfully enjoys pride of place on this recording. Although Rush's nuanced phrasing and thoughtful interpretation shine best on these
pieces, her engaging tone, enviable technique, and intuitive musicianship are enjoyably evident throughout this brilliantly sequenced program.
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David Pedrick
The Furious Seasons "La Fonda" 2020
La Fonda, a 10-track collection by acoustic folk trio The Furious Seasons, finds singer/songwriter David Steinhart sifting through, embracing and questioning his emotions following the death of a very dear
friend to alcohol abuse. With titles such as "Slide into Sadness," "Pitch Black," "Vast Divide" and "Your Irish Funeral," one might expect a dirge-like venture into mourning and melancholy. Steinhart instead
takes his grief and holds it up like a multifaceted prism, thoughtfully considering its many emotions, layer by layer. While his cumulative ache of sadness is revealed and examined, it is the memory of the
one lost that lingers and sustains, and ultimately moves one forward. Steinhart's plaintive vocals are unwaveringly steady, and his story-like verses are steeped in Americana and gentle folk-pop. Brother
Jeff Steinhart adds acoustic bass and guitarist Paul Nelson contributes a bevy of tasteful and often jazz-like supportive leads on the Los Angeles-based group's seventh album.
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Fred Kraus