Notes from Mark:

            This project started out as a fingerstyle jazz guitar arranging book, but developed into a full-fledged recording project. With the steadfast support of Solid Air Records magnate James Jensen, and my wife and longtime partner Greta Pedersen, this CD came to fruition in the autumn of 2008. It is always a pleasure to work with such great people and such great material: the comment "They don't write 'em like that anymore" contains more than a grain of truth!
            The guitar is an amazing instrument for playing multi-voiced arrangements like these. To some degree it is easier to play this kind of material on the piano, but the guitar sounds so great and offers so many nuanced textures and tones. It has been a pleasure to arrange and record these, and a bit of a challenge to play some of them! My arrangement of "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" is dedicated to all of the veterans of the U.S.A. harmed in the service of their country.
- MH

 

 

 

Who puts out 2 CDs at the same time? Someone with a LOT to say. As with his Love Songs for Guitar, Mark Hanson has a plan for Great American Songbook for Guitar: to show off these great songs with his trademark terffic arrangements and to let 'er rip with the chops that are held back for the Love Songs.

The CD gets off to a swinging start with Take the A Train, where a great walking bass line underpins a series of beautiful chord melodies. This version has zip, zazz, and pizazz as well as all the flourish it takes to salute Billy Strayhorn and the great Duke.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime is an emotional tour de force. As if it were not meaningful enough today, Hanson's interjection of When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again is a poignant shot to the gut and a reminder of how much worse off are those who are trapped in war and those who must wait for them. What a marvelous demonstration of the evocative power of instrumental music!

After that we are ready for something a little lighter, and what song better than Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart? Here we have more verve and pizazz in the playing, as the bass and chords fly now in tandem, now in opposition, but always in the service of this fun song. Hanson zings all six strings along the entire range of the fretboard.

Georgia brings us yet another great tune, in a fine arrangement that is both true to the song and yet Hanson's personal take on it. With its lush tone, this track could easily have found a home on Love Songs for Guitar, and is one of several that must have been potential candidates for that CD as well.

The opening notes of the next song get us right In The Mood. This song has always had a 'guitar' sound to it for me, and Hanson makes the most of it with a solo arrangement that sounds like an original guitar boogie. What guitar player is not going to want to play this arrangement? I won't be the only one hoping for an accompanying book of transcriptions!

I will admit that I came to Ain't Misbehavin' with some trepidation. Fats Waller is one of my absolute favourite songwriters and some guitarists have failed to really do justice to this masterpiece. Hanson does start off with a slow version, but soon he treats it to some eccentric triplet-type figures before heading off to grander territory and then returning to the song with a light bouncy step. This is the type of playing with the song that Fats Waller did so well, and it is a treat to hear the song played so well.

We return to the Love Song domain with a lush, romantic version of Angel Eyes. Once again Hanson conducts a master class in arranging a melody in contrasting ways to bring out different facets of its character. Plenty to learn here, and just as much to enjoy.

After the hint of another familiar tune, we find ourselves Swingin' on a Star. Yet more verve and panache awaits in this jaunty arrangement. The arrangment features a great duet between chord melody and accompanying bass, with some extra accompaniment thrown in just for more fun.

Now how could this be the Great American Songbook without Misty? Here we are treated to a romantic vision of the song that gradually becomes more ornate without ever losing that classic melody. Another fine arrangement that would not have been out of place on Love Songs, at least until the tempo changes and the song's hero / heroine gets a bit more "pro-active". Great playing!

One classic deserves another (actually a dozen more) and so on to Body and Soul. Hanson takes his time exploring the possibilities in this melody, tossing in the occasional unexpected chord, slap harmonic, or bass run before letting his playing wander farther afield. You will want to let yourself just drift along and explore this fine song with a guitar master.

Come Sunday is another straightforward arrangement that might have been on Love Songs, except perhaps for the implied love of the lyrics. Still, mighty pretty playing.

All of Me is played with a light bounce that suits it so well. It gets jauntier and happier as it goes along, accompanied with the occasional percussive slap. This is a guitarist who clearly enjoys his 'work'!

The CD ends with with a rumination on Here's That Rainy Day. Once again a topical reference is hard to avoid these days, but this is also a classic melody beautifully played, and a classy way to end a great collection of songs.