The Burns Sisters, Tradition. This Christmas album is a thoughtful, heartfelt celebration of the season, offering sentiments that transcend presents, lights, and jingle bells. It includes traditional carols ("Little Drummer Boy," "Silent Night") and some thought-provoking selections, such as an African-American spiritual, a 13th-century Persian poem, an Israeli prayer, and the Burns Sisters' daughters' wish for peace in world trouble spots, "This Christmas." Tradition offers sublime vocals; elegant guitar, fiddle, and Dobro accompaniment; and the power to spread the holiday spirit. (Philo/Rounder)
--Ben Elder
Patrick Regan, Presence of Mind. On Presence of Mind, Patrick Regan sings mystical, Celtic-influenced music with a supernaturally deep baritone. Like an ancient storyteller, he reveals seemingly aged yarns in an assured, all-knowing fashion. Shannon Anderson adds vocals, and Andy Goessling and Alison Boardman round out the Patrick Regan Band, playing a wide range of wind and stringed instruments that add to the mood and music. The real finds here are Regan's well-written, melodious songs, which sound as if they have existed since time began. (Long Wave Music, PO Box 20, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920)
--Roger Deitz
Rolly Brown, Max's Ramble. A former winner of the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship, Brown presents 18 tunes in an exceptionally melodic, articulate playing style that takes full advantage of the acoustic guitar's beautiful tone. Songs range from jazz standards like "On Green Dolphin Street" and "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" to bright original pieces such as "Five of Cups" and "Fezzik's Rag." With stylistic nods here to everyone from jazz saxophonist Eric Dolphy to fingerstyle legends Gary Davis and Joseph Spence, Max's Ramble takes fingerstyle guitar fans on a very fine journey, indeed. (Aussie Dog, 14 Chapel Rd., New Hope, PA 18938)
--David McCarty
Laurie Lewis, Earth and Sky: Songs of Laurie Lewis. A mainstay of the Bay Area bluegrass scene for the last 20 years, fiddler Laurie Lewis is a first- rate singer, player, and arranger, and a writer whose best songs are honest and timeless. The love songs, like "Old Friend," are as simple as they are wise, and the country songs, like "Texas Bluebonnets" and "Green Fields," are deeply felt. The musicians include Russ Barenberg (guitar), Sam Bush (mandolin), Jerry Douglas (Dobro), Buddy Emmons (pedal steel), and Mark Schatz (bass)--the best that Nashville has to offer--and the music blurs the lines between country, folk, and bluegrass, gently pushing the limits of all three. (Rounder)
--Kenny Berkowitz
Randy Melick, Acoustic Passages. Melick offers a convincing, well-executed set of ten new age acoustic guitar instrumentals and one vocal tune, often introduced by nature sounds. Melick favors open tunings, most prominently D A D G A D, and injects this all-original set with plenty of percussive harmonics, à la Michael Hedges. He's best in spacious, lyrical settings such as "Willow Passage" or "Indian River (First Prayer)," which also demonstrates his penchant for dramatic rhythmic transitions. (Sacred Soul, 20040 Turtle Creek Rd., Bunceton, MO 65327)
--Bryan Powell
Geoff Bartley, Hear that Wind Howl. On two levels, this recording pays homage to the great guitar legends who created Delta and country blues. Bartley first shows that he can play and sing the classic songs with the restraint and dignity of a performer who has mastered the techniques, yet knows that in blues, soulfulness is as important as flashy licks. By adding a few of his own tunes, complete with his signature rollicking blues riffs and smooth vocals, Bartley also builds on the legacy of the past to create his own style of highly inspired, expressive contemporary blues. (Magic Crow, 3 Salem St., Cambridge, MA 02139)
--Roger Deitz
Darrell Scott, Aloha from Nashville. A Nashville session ace who plays with such standout artists as Guy Clark, Sam Bush, and Tim O'Brien, Darrell Scott has recorded a fine debut album of original material. With a neotraditional songwriting sensibility and a voice somewhere between Ry Cooder's and Lyle Lovett's, Scott is a mind-blowing multi-instrumentalist, turning in tracks on acoustic and electric six- and 12-string flattop and archtop guitars, bass, pedal steel, mandolin, Dobro, banjo, Weissenborn, Autoharp, drums, and harmonica. The title suggests something about his range of styles, which includes old-time, country, rock, and swing. Tasty. (Sugar Hill, PO Box 55300, Durham, NC 27717-5300)
--John Herndon
Various artists, African Troubadours: The Best of African Singer/Songwriters. Africa has a long tradition of solo performers, playing harps made out of gourds (kora), bamboo tubes (valiha), or hollowed-out logs (sintir). More recently, they've been picking up guitars, and the results are stunning. Once you've heard Madagascar's D'Gary or Guinea's Kante Manfila, you'll never play the same. Covering the range from Gnawa trance music to Zulu jive, African Troubadours goes well beyond acoustic guitar, but the lessons are close enough. Like their American counterparts, Africa's singer-songwriters are trying to find the simplest way to get their message across--and coming up with solutions the rest of us can't even imagine. (Shanachie, 13 Laight St., Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10013)
--Kenny Berkowitz
Raul Reynoso, Royal Street. One of the leading American proponents of Gypsy jazz guitar, Raul Reynoso first gained attention playing bluegrass guitar with banjo player Larry McNeely, but he now concentrates on the music created by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. Reynoso's mature, secure solos emerge almost effortlessly on Hot Club of France tunes like "Dinah" and original compositions like "Matelot" and "Waneta's Waltz." Unlike many other purveyors of this style, Reynoso sounds energetic without being frenetic; his technique is controlled yet inspired. The result is exquisite acoustic jazz guitar music, further enhanced by the brilliant violin solos of Chicago's legendary swing violinist Johnny Frigo and a talented rhythm section. (Raul Reynoso, 17300 17th St., Suite J-304, Tustin, CA 92780)
--David McCarty
BOOKS
Jim Beloff, The Ukulele: A Visual History. Although the ukulele is the most diminutive of fretted instruments, it has played a surprisingly large role in popular music in America. Using photos of early Hawaiian musicians, sheet music, advertisements for tropical cruises, album covers, and other ephemera, Beloff traces the history of the uke from its origins in Portugal to the height of its popularity in the 1920s to its current Hawaiian revival. He also includes biographies of popular performers like Ukulele Ike, Arthur Godfrey, and Tiny Tim as well as copious photos of ukuleles. This book proves that the uke is more than a musical instrument; it's a lifestyle. (Miller Freeman)
--Michael Simmons
Pete Prown and H.P. Newquist, Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. The title of this book is misleading because it is not just an anthology of rock players, but 263 pages chock-full of information on over 300 guitarists who are legends by anybody's standards. The book is well researched, comprehensive, and entertaining. Many acoustic players are profiled, including Robert Johnson, James Taylor, and Joni Mitchell, and the book incorporates extensive discographies and photos. The pièce de résistance is a color section that shows the covers of influential albums. (Hal Leonard)
--Charles H. Chapman
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