Guitarist: New SOLO Laurence Juber CD!
IN THE ARTIST’S WORDS ~ ~ I think that Guitarist is a pretty accurate description of what I do professionally and artistically, although the title is a little bit ironic. The album is essentially a collection of compositions for solo fingerstyle guitar. It’s my first since 1999’s Altered Reality to emphasize that aspect of my self-expression. LJ Plays The Beatles was a study in “fab four” arranging, while Different Times used the compositions as a springboard for ensemble improvisations. The recording style on Guitarist harks back to the in-your-face approach of Naked Guitar with no reverb and minimal EQ. We sought to present the material exactly as it was recorded and, thanks to the Martin and Collings instruments used, allow the listener to hear the natural ambience of the instrument. There are a couple of tunes in CGDGAD tuning: Green Kitchen, with its slightly “Chet” flavor and Eye Of The Storm, a tone poem with a bit of a Celtic feel. A number of the tunes are in DADGAD: the swing Catch! ; the rock shuffle Breaking Point; the ragtime Buffalo Nickel; the ballad Love At First Sight. There are three standard tuning pieces: the ragtime/swing The 5:55; the alternate bass picking Along The Way; a solo rendition of Liquid Amber, which fi rst appeared as an ensemble piece on the “Wood & Steel” CD. Cannery Row (in the tradition of Bob’s Your Uncle) and a blues improv Blues For Now rounds out the collection.
I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did making it. ~~ LJ