Duo Tandem "Watching the World Go By" 2018
Played on classical guitars, the duo of Necati Emirzade and Mark Anderson bring the world to their fingertips. Partnered up as Duo Tandem, their debut album, Watching the World Go By, focuses on American and
Turkish Cypriot folk tunes influenced by a wide range of harmonic and melodic ideas from a wide range of sources, including Persian, Turkish, and American blues. Note bending, slide, and body percussion, techniques
not typically seen on a nylon-stringed guitar, dovetail nicely with Phrygian and other “exotic” modes to produce a wonderful melange. Technically challenging yet sonically coherent, Duo Tandem have arrived. Let’s
hope they expand their musical horizons even more while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on classical guitars to the limit.
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Brian Clark
Jesse Terry "Natural" 2017
With delicate lyrics, a Nilsson tenor bringing the melancholy, and duets with the likes of Kim Richey and Dar Williams, Jesse Terry makes "Natural" an achingly beautiful record. "Kaleidoscope" opens, with a chorus
so pretty it defies its claim that "all the pretty lights were false hopes." Folks come to "Runaway Town" hoping "no one here will crush our hopes." It's the disk's most uptempo track. The only cover (Jeff Lynne's
"Mr. Blue Sky") transforms the Beatlesque original into something new and revelatory. "Close My Eyes" (with Liz Longely) is a highlight and a rarity on this record, a straight-ahead love song. The title track closes,
solo acoustic, natural. What a beautiful way to admit you'll never stop missing someone ("When a tin can holds a sky of rain… and a heart beats but never breaks… maybe losing you will feel natural to me.") Don't miss
this lovely disk.
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David Kleiner
James Woolwine "Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar" 2018
I don't think the pages of Minor 7th have often featured a solo fingerstyle guitarist whose first recording was solo piano, but James Woolwine is that man. A composer and teacher, as well as a performer,
Woolwine's initial guitar CD, "Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar," came out this year, and it shows his ability to create music and ear-catching arrangements, and his classical background peeks its head into some of
his phrasing on several songs. Of the 10 songs on the CD, seven are his own compositions, and he covers Metallica's "Sad But True," as well as "Ashley's Star," written by his mentor and teacher Jon Finn, and the
song "Pure Imagination" from the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." For lovers of all things Willie Wonka, his cover of "Pure Imagination" effectively uses harmonics and the melody to capture the hopeful
tone of the song. On "Emmanison," Woolwine tries his hand at alternating bass lines ala Tommy Emmanuel and Steve Davison; it's not up to their lofty standards, for sure, but it's a nice tune. All of the songs on
"Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar" are enjoyable listening for anyone who likes solo acoustic guitar music.
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Kirk Albrecht
