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"A warm inviting tone and some of the most beautiful playing
I have heard in a long time. A fine , fine player"
--Amrit Sond / UK
"a lyrical, taste-conscious performer with considerable chops"
--Art Edelstein
Solo Guitar is a solid 16-track
compilation of original compositions by rising star Jim Tozier. Tozier's
tunes are lyrical, and yet groove. Produced and recorded by Al
Petteway, this collection is reminicent not only of Al's wonderful work
behind the recording desk, but his tasteful playing as well. Songs are:
Monkeyshines, The Water-Crossers, Song for Shannon, Dalliance of the Eagles,
Dragonflies, The Sheffield Shuffle, The Copper Waltz, Skylight, Ripples,
Frenchman Bay, New York, The Rakes of Roscommon, Train Station Blues, Riverwind,
Trinity, Sleight of Hand/The Magician's Jig.
Jim Tozier, "Solo Guitar", Solid Air Records SACD 2044, 2005 CD
Jim Tozier has been laying down the tracks lately. In addition to this
fine collection of 16 original instrumentals, Tozier simultaneously
released "Celtic Guitar," his arrangements of many standard
British-Isles tunes for solo steel string guitar. From the first chord,
it is apparent that Tozier has been immersed in the form and feel of
Celtic music; his tunings of DADGAD and CGCGCD are widely used by
modern interpreters of Irish and British music first played on
fixed-pitch instruments. Many of modern fingerstyle guitar's brighter
lights like Laurence Juber, Amrit Sond, the frailing of Steve Baughman,
and Al Petteway echo through Tozier's work. Petteway's hand is all over
the recording as co-producer and sound engineer at his Fairewood
Studios. We never move too fast, or too slow, but Tozier allows us to
drink in the notes as they fall off his fretboard. There are various
moods conveyed in this collection. We soar and dip on the winds with
"Dalliance of the Eagles" with its strumming, tapping, and gentle
fingerpicking. "The Sheffield Shuffle" syncopates, while "Train Station
Blues" is a brief stop along the tracks. We see the smile of his young
daughter in the lilting "Song for Shannon," and gracefully take a turn
with him in "The Copper Waltz," dedicated to his wife Marilouise. "New
York" gives us a musical memory of a night in the Big Apple, while
"Frenchman Bay" caresses our senses with an almost hypnotic melody
woven against a drone bass line. All in all, it's a fine release of
solo guitar music very easy on the ears.
© Kirk Albrecht/Minor 7th.com
JIM TOZIER : CELTIC GUITAR sacd 2046 , SOLO GUITAR sacd 2044 (2005)
Jim
Tozier plays tunes from all parts of the Celtic world, as well as his own
original pieces that draw on many facets of folk heritage with clarity and
a distinct touch. Not too much ornamentation, not a lot of flash and dash,
but a devotion to melody and to the guitar as a storytelling instrument with
a voice all its own mark his works. Many of the tunes on his collection
of original works , SOLO GUITAR, are inspired by aspects of landscape, and
his liner notes give just enough information to illuminate that without overburdening
the listener's enjoyment of the music. Outstanding tracks include " The
Copper Waltz" , "Frenchman's Bay" and "Dragonflies". On CELTIC GUITAR,
he investigates well-known pieces , including "The Star Of County Down" and
"Carolan's Cottage" with a quiet yet vigorous style that bears repeated listening.
(KD) Dirty Linen Magazine
| Artist: |
Jim Tozier |
| Product Type: |
AMR CDs |
| Item #: |
SACD2044 |
| Price: |
$15.00 $13.50 |
|
