Hit List

John Reischman and John Miller, Bumpy Road.

Despite its title, this follow-up to mandolinist John Reischman and steel-string fingerstylist John Miller's 1998 release, The Singing Moon, is anything but jarring, even when barreling along at high speed on flag-wavers like Miller's "Danza." Like several others on this varied CD, this tune has a strong Latin flavor reinforced by Miller's excellent in-the-pocket rhythm playing. He also plays some fine melodic single-note solos on tunes like Reischman's Django-esque "Snake Eyes." The pair shifts rhythmic gears on Celso Machado's reflective chorinho "Pacoca" and the beautiful jazz waltz "Wind Song," which is as smooth and bracing as driving a convertible down a newly paved country road on a perfect early spring day. (Corvus, www.festival.bc.ca/corvus/index.html)

—Ron Forbes-Roberts

K.J. Denhert, Girl Like Me . . .

Even before Cassandra Wilson, Norah Jones, and their various guitar-playing accompanists nudged the category into national prominence, New York native K.J. Denhert was calling herself an "urban folk and jazz artist." This diva plays guitar, strumming and picking her acoustic in settings that include electric guitars and bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, and occasional sax, cello, looping, and programming. She personalizes the James Taylor and Joni Mitchell influences in her original songs with funk beats and soulful vocals that sound both streetwise and sophisticated. Denhert's radical revamp of the Beatles' "She Loves You" is just one revelation on this, her first full-length studio album, which also harks back to such blues, jazz, and soul forebears as John Mayall (circa Turning Point), Les McCann (a la "Compared to What"), and Roberta Flack. (Mother Cyclone, www.kjdenhert.com)

—Derk Richardson

David Mallett, Artist in Me.

The acclaimed bard of rural Maine and composer of the modern folk standard "The Garden Song," David Mallett delivers another set of reflective ballads and easy-rocking Americana. Set mostly to sparse, guitar-anchored acoustic string-band accompaniment that vividly evokes his small-town New England milieu, Mallet's quietly authoritative vocals and astute observations about life's unexpected twists and gnawing inevitabilities convey a world of universal truths. The title song, "Didn't Nobody Teach You," "Strange Life," "The Wind Is on the Water," and "Livin' on the Edge" pack the plainspoken poetic power of this consistently on-the-money songwriter's best work. (North Road, www.davidmallett.com)

—Mike Thomas

Rosa Passos and Ron Carter, Entre Amigos.

This is bossa nova at its best–dreamy, understated, and elegant but full of sensual, playful life. Rosa Passos possesses a beautiful voice, and her rhythm guitar work captures the essence of the bossa nova style. In tandem with Ron Carter's bass playing, Passos' guitar gently but surely powers many of the bossa nova standards and other Brazilian pieces that make up this CD. Guest guitarist Lula Galvao takes some jazzy single-note and chord solos, notably on his arrangement of "Girl from Ipanema," which is underpinned with surprising chord voicings that give new life to the old chestnut. His introduction and flowing solo on "Caminhos Cruzados," a highlight among many here, is pure guitar poetry. (Chesky, www.chesky.com)

—Ron Forbes-Roberts

Blind Willie McTell, Statesboro Blues.

Since the folk revival era, the music of Blind Willie McTell has always had a strong reputation, owing in large part to cover versions of his "Statesboro Blues" by Taj Mahal and the Allman Brothers. His pleasing, twangy tenor and unique 12-string guitar work, which is closer to Piedmont blues stylists than to someone like Leadbelly, can be heard on more than 150 blues, ragtime, pop, and gospel sides from the 1920s through the '50s. A must for blues lovers, the present collection is drawn from the beginning of his career. Blues scholar Dave Evans does an excellent job of describing McTell's unique style in his fine liner notes, and the sound here is clearer than it was on LP issues of this material. (Bluebird, www.bluebirdjazz.com)

—Duck Baker

Patty Loveless, On Your Way Home.

Since moving toward bluegrass on 2001's Mountain Soul, country star Patty Loveless keeps getting better. Her performances are subtler, her voice more vulnerable, and her material more grown-up, making On Your Way Home her best album in years. Using the neo-trad backup of guitars, banjo, mandolin, steel guitar, and twin fiddles, Loveless sings about flirting ("Lookin' for a Heartache Like You," by Jim Lauderdale and Buddy and Julie Miller), honky-tonking ("Draggin' My Heart Around," by Paul Kennerly and Marty Stuart), and rolling in the sheets (Rodney Crowell's "Lovin' All Night"). Best of all is the title track, a chillingly painful cheating song that shows newfound depth in Loveless' voice as she masters the art of growing older gracefully. (Epic, www.epicrecords.com)

—Kenny Berkowitz

Various artists, Legends of the Ukulele: Hawaiian Masters.

Legends of the Ukulele, not to be confused with the similarly titled 1998 CD from Rhino Records, gathers 22 tracks from some of the finest uke players of the past 50 years. The CD opens with a rousing version of "Stars and Stripes Forever" played with great brio by 12-year old Imua Garza and closes with a sweet version of "Stardust" played by nonagenarian Bill Tapia. In between these two tracks are selections by Eddie Kamae and Jesse Kalima, who brought a new technical virtuosity to the uke in the 1950s; Herb "Ohta-San" Ohta and Eddie Bush, who added a new harmonic sophistication in the '60s and '70s; and Benny Chong and Jake Shimabukuro, who have been experimenting with jazz and rock on the uke since the 1990s. (Cord International, www.cordinternational.com)

—Michael John Simmons

David Grisman, Life of Sorrow.

David Grisman may be most widely known for his acoustic jazz "Dawg" music, but this fine 15-track compilation, gleaned from Grisman's own archives, is strictly bluegrass. He made these recordings mostly during the last 15 years with such tradition-bearers as Mac Wiseman and Ralph Stanley and musicians who learned from them, like the Nashville Bluegrass Band and Bryan Bowers. The performances are much freer than the spit-shined studio productions of much contemporary bluegrass, and many of the songs are done as duets and trios, adding to the album's considerable charm. Highlights include a wonderfully soulful and funky rendition of "Doin' My Time" by the late John Hartford, accompanied by only banjo and mandolin, and Wiseman's sweet but not overly-sentimental performance of "When You and I Were Young Maggie," backed by his own solid guitar work and Grisman's understated mandolin. (Acoustic Disc, www.acousticdisc.com)

—Sue Thompson

Scott Perry, Hero Worship.

A fingerpicker from Virginia, Scott Perry clearly has done his homework woodshedding on pre—World War II blues. These 16 wide-ranging renditions traverse the Delta blues of Robert Johnson and William Moore, the East Coast ragtime of Blind Blake, and the uptown swing of Tampa Red. Perry avoids the pitfalls of many tribute records by choosing infrequently covered material, such as Blake's "Hey, Hey Daddy Blues" and Moore's "One Way Gal," and making the tunes his own with the front-porch quality of his smooth and expressive picking and mellow singing. Perry plays solo on some cuts; on others he's backed by harmonica, jug, washboard, and bass. Ralph Berrier supplies an excellent rough-sawed fiddle on several tracks. (Oh Papa, www.ohpapa.com)

—Ian Zack

Strunz and Farah, Rio de Colores (CD), In Performance (DVD).

In keeping with its title ("River of Colors"), Jorge Strunz and Ardeshir Farah's 12th release is a multihued stream fed by diverse musical tributaries. The Costa Rican/Iranian guitar duo's palette includes the flamenco/ tango of "Fuente Vieja," the Costa Rican salsa/jazz of "Bribri," the sultry Persian influences of Farah's "Bandari," and the Venezuela joropo rhythm of violinist Charlie Bisharat's "Arabesca." The pair's extraordinary virtuosity and improvisational skills are amply exhibited on the DVD, which includes eight pieces recorded in a live performance-like theater setting (without audience) and two from a 2002 concert. The DVD includes the haunting "Zagros," from 1998's Wild Muse, and the moody choro piece "Rosa Blanca," from the excellent 2001 release Stringweave, and allows viewers to better comprehend how the pieces are constructed. The camera zeros in on Strunz' right-hand adaptations of flamenco techniques and his toggling between fingernails and pick, but the biggest thrill for guitarists will come from watching Strunz and Farah's nimble left-hand finger work as one bravura passage follows another. (Selva, www.strunzandfarah.com)

—Céline Keating

Excerpted from Acoustic Guitar magazine, April 2004, No. 136.

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