Summer 2022 Short Takes Brief Reviews
Tom Ball "Autumn Guitar" 2022
The first thing, the very first thing that will hit you on Tom Ball's solo fingerstyle guitar collection, Autumn Guitar, is the rich, mellow, nuanced tone of his instrument. Ball plays his 1936 PG-00 Gibson,
converted from a four-string to a six-string - a move some purists may find issue with, but there is no denying the shimmering result. Recorded at Studio Z in Santa Barbara, California, Autumn Guitar is sonically gorgeous,
with musical breathing space throughout the 15 tracks. Ball's steady, sure-handed work creates a thematic atmosphere that is mellow and nostalgic. A sense of calmness is conveyed, and the album feels like the musical
embodiment of a life well-lived, looking back through the years. The liner notes say this CD was 13 years in the making, and it feels like it, from its thoughtful selections to its wistful, delicate beauty. Ball
includes three selections from Russian composer Anna Inozemceva and four from Italian composer Ennio Morricone, including his "Deborah's Theme" (from "Once Upon a Time in America"). Ball provides an inspired arrangement
of Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere," letting us hear the song anew in all of its sense of wonder. He makes nice work of the traditional Irish tune "The Maids of Mourne Shore," Pat Coldrick's "Lament," Andrew York's
"Home," and Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine." Ball has nearly 300 CD credits, five solo guitar CDs, eight CDs with Kenny Sultan, and he has also authored five music instructional books and two novels.
©
Fred Kraus
Leo Wijnkamp "The Incredible" 2022
Wijnkamp first gained attention in the 1970s when he recorded for Kicking Mule Records. This career-spanning overview includes eight of those Kicking Mule recordings, three others from 2017 and the balance from years
in between. Leo, a steel-string acoustic renaissance man, caught the wave of the ragtime guitar movement started by Dave Laibman and Rick Schoenberg and developed sensitive renditions of classic rags by Scott Joplin and
James Scott, whose compositions are included here, as well as the rag-influenced "Harry Lime Theme." Wijnkamp's four originals reflect influences ranging from twentieth century European classical to mid-period John
Fahey. His renditions of fiddle tunes and country blues feature daring dynamics and reharmonizations. This collection provides the best look yet at an important guitarist with wide-ranging interests.
©
Patrick Ragains
Del Scott Miller "Afterthought" 2022
Del Scott Miller is a musician, composer, and poet from South Yorkshire, England, who's released a dozen albums to date. His focus here is on solo guitar instrumentals. He plays steel string acoustic and electric
guitars and offers a lot of tonal variety across the selections. There's compositional variety, too. Some pieces are carried by their melodies, others have strong grooves, and some are built from short, guitaristic
motifs or licks. Regardless of his approach, the pieces are strongly lyrical. My favorites are "A Sleeping Blues", played on electric, and a short, Celtic-sounding piece, "Pale and Distant." At his best, Miller takes
the approach of a skilled songwriter, which makes me want to hear more of his music.
©
Patrick Ragains
Luke Gard "Surely You Are There" 2022
Luke Gard's third release, Surely You Are There, showcases his clear and articulate fingerstyle fretwork with ten melodic originals. The quietly reflective "Plan & Path" opens the CD and introduces the listener to the
serene and contemplative mood that runs throughout the disc. Gard's style will appeal particularly to those who treasure reflective resonant melodic solo acoustic guitar, unencumbered by flashy dynamics. The notes of
"The Journey" cascade from Gard's fingers like the gentle flow of a mountain creek in one of his stronger performances. Gard uses of repetition and silence to great effect throughout tunes like "Against The Tide" and the
playful "Cats & Dogs." Doug Young's mixing and mastering is pristine and give the entire the self-recorded CD a sense of fullness and completeness that satisfies. Surely You Are There is the perfect anecdote for those
looking to step away for the hustle and bustle for a brief time.
©
James Filkins
John Tinger "Suite of the Woodland Hollows" 2022
The cover art seems to foretell what will be heard inside, this four track collection as meditative and minimalistic as a woodland image. "Bunyan Hill Road," "In These Hills" and "Mid April" are drone-like steel string
reflections reminiscent of the quieter music of John Fahey, each lingering persistently and dreamily around the tonic chord. "Prelude" sees a switch to nylon strings and, in contrast, surprising and pleasant chordal resolutions.
Suite of the Woodland Hollows will find fans in those listeners who seek a contemplative mood over flash.
©
Alan Fark