Autumn 2022 Short Takes Brief Reviews
Maurice Mori "Dragon Quest Guitar Collection, Vol. 1" 2022
Classical guitarist, composer, and arranger Maurice (Songyuan) Liu is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, completing his Master's Degree and Graduate Diploma in guitar performance with Eliot Fisk.
In addition to live performances in various settings, including his premiere of Rodrigo's "Fantasia para un gentilhombre" in China with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016, Liu has been recording and
performing as mauricemori on YouTube since October, 2021. Dragon Quest Guitar Collection, Vol. 1 is a homage to Koichi Sugiyama, the renowned composer for the Dragon Quest game series for over 30 years, and the
album serves as a collection of refashioned classical guitar arrangements of several compositions from the series. The well-performed, punctilious arrangements on this recording are quite varied in terms of both
style and import and, as a program, make for an enjoyable listen even for an audience unfamiliar with Sugiyama's original settings.
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David Pedrick
Fernando Perez "Japanese Traditional Music for Guitar" 2020
Unless you are born into the Japanese culture, the music of the koto and shamisen may sound unnatural and discordant. But with an open mind, the Occidental ear can find beauty and mystery in these angular melodies.
Guitarist Fernando Perez has not only an open mind, but a very rare ability to immerse himself in the study, intricacies and total comprehension of not just Japanese music, but of other world music including Persian,
North Indian, Brazilian and Celtic. He has mastered the very difficult microtonal and pentatonic scales, slurs, trills and unusual cadences of traditional Japanese music and adapted them to nylon-string guitar
in this thoughtful and beautiful recording. I'm aware of no other guitar collection like this which is so faithful to these traditions, while being simultaneously virtuosic.
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Alan Fark
Phil Schappert "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back" 2021
When retired ecologist, plant-insect interaction expert, and nature photographer Phil Schappert isn't chasing butterflies, he can usually be found wrapped around his Lowden O23c or Larrivée J09 composing energetic
and rhythmic acoustic tunes. His compositions are often resonant, penetrating and always rhythmic in nature. Unencumbered by ostentatious solos or dynamics, it is the rhythm that drives Schappert's fretwork and
compositions. The rhythmical hooks are plentiful and superbly executed, "A King Of The World" and "Over The Edge" are two of my favorite examples. His softer side shines through on the delicately engaging
"(The World) Outside My Window" and the melodic "The Year That Never Was / Circular Reasoning." Schappert plays all 16 tracks solo on this, his second release. Almost 60 minutes in length, Two Steps Forward,
One Step Back is a journey brimming with textures and musical ideas that are often quite fluid. The phrases ebb, flow and build musical bridges, which transporting the listener to a resplendent sonic landscape.
Should you find yourself near Halifax, Nova Scotia, undoubtedly on a quaint corner, you willfind Schappert creating lovely rhythms on his own or playing with Papilio, a neo-traditional acoustic trio.
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James Filkins
Walter Strauss "For Melody" 2022
With the pandemic making it impossible to tour, guitarist Walter Strauss was inspired to explore what was essential in his music. His answer is For Melody, a journey that draws from his collaborations with practitioners
of stringed instruments of other cultures, particularly West Africa. Whether the foundational tunes begin in West Africa, Scotland, or Spain, Strauss transforms them into something strikingly original. While he
includes a few covers such as a jazzy syncopated rendition of Paul Simon's "Born at the Right Time" and a bluesy take on Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic," Strauss's exceptional playing and sense of color and
texture shine brightest on his own compositions and traditionals. On "Christmas Day I'da Mornin" (traditional, Shetland) his guitar mimics a fiddle, while on the gorgeous "Fabara," he displays fleet-fingered
runs and an astounding plucking technique that mimics the sound of a balaton, a wood and gourd xylophone. On "Bruce's Chimes" his chiming harmonics are as clear and sparkling as the dew, while the spectacular
"Zamora," though written for collaboration with a West African kora player, has a bluesy/classical/flamenco vibe, with astonishing right hand plucking on cascading notes and tremolo. For Melody includes achingly
beautiful pieces that make clear that whatever style of music Strauss puts his fingers to, he plays with verve, passion, and astonishing virtuosity.
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Céline Keating
Ben Lahring "Driftwood" 2022
On this latest recording of music for classical guitar, Canada-based Ben Lahring offers some sweet morsels of his tone and touch. Six of the pieces are compositions by Lahring, one by the renowned Liona Boyd
("Lullaby for my Love"), and only one classical guitar standard - "El Testament D'Amelia," following the Miguel Llobet arrangement, but deliberately. Some of the highlights of the CD: the sanguine and pensive
"Bound by Shadows" composed by William Beauvais; Lahring's own 3-part suite: "Firstborn of the Dead: the garden, the curse, and the promise." The suite flows through these themes, as Lahring weaves textures rich
in color, most notably in "the curse." "The promise" is full of hope and brightness, as the curse has been broken. The title track "Driftwood" captures the meandering, floating piece of wood as it is carried along in
the current, using a droning bass line throughout. There are no sparks of pyrotechnics in Lahring's playing, but he is in command of his fingerboard at all times. All in all, the 11 pieces form a fine collection of
delightful listening.
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Kirk Albrecht
Joe McMurray "Riding the Wave" 2022
From the opening number, "First Smile", multi-instrumentalist Joe McMurray exudes a welcoming optimism often associated with Hawaii, his adopted home. He has a knack for catchy melodic motifs that shift subtly across chord
changes, and likewise for interesting rhythmic variations. Solo fingerstyle guitar standouts are "Coziest Waltz", "Second Chances", "Cascades" and "Deep End," the latter of which recalls the 1960s jazz/blues hits,
"Watermelon Man" and "Green Onions". These and other solo tracks are "guitaristic" in the sense that McMurray employs chord shapes and rhythms commonly heard in guitar-driven pop. "North Shore," "Leahi Love Song" and
"Under the Monkeypod" have him doubling, in thoughtful exchanges between ukulele and bass guitar, and are all strong in conception and execution (bonus versions of these three tracks with solo ukulele are included).
McMurray should attract a lot of listeners with this set.
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Patrick Ragains