January/February, 2019
Alberto Lombardi, "The Fermi Paradox," 2018
No, he is not related to the famous American football coach Vince Lombardi of Green Bay Packers fame. And he is not related to the great guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, though at times he sure sounds like Emmanuel in style
and skill. That is no idle comparison; like Emmanuel, he is a thumb-picker, who can lay down blistering single note runs, and change tempos on the fly with nothing lost. In this latest recording, Alberto Lombardi again
displays his prodigious chops and inventive arranging skills on The Fermi Paradox. If you know his name, it might be from this website - Minor 7th had reviewed Lombardi before – see "Birds" and the DVD "Fingerpicking
Adventures" in the January 2017 issue. This CD is really 3 parts – beginning and end pieces featuring a few Lombardi originals, a group called "With the Beatles" with brief takes on three Beatles' classics, and arrangements of
four jazz standards, humorously grouped as "No Jazz Please." And in the middle is the title cut, "The Fermi Paradox," Lombardi's steel-string exploration of the paradox of being so small yet so significant in a vast
universe (named for Italian scientist Enrico Fermi). The playing throughout is engaging, crisp, and full of life. On the Beatles' tunes ("Penny Lane," "Help," "Yesterday") Lombardi allows the melody to drive his
playing, and doesn't embellish far outside the box, but stays true to the genius of Lennon/McCartney. The jazz set – "Stella by Starlight," "All of Me," "On Green Dolphin Street," and "Blue Moon" – uses effective
chordal comping to lay the bed for his forays into some tantalizing solos. These are really good solo fingerstyle arrangements of tunes that could be stale because they have been recorded so many times, but Lombardi's
deft fingers make them a delight for the ears. He even gets funky with the Herbie Hancock song, "Cantaloupe Island," with some overdriven electric guitar running over the acoustic chords. It's an eclectic mix of
well-known songs and some originals, and it hangs together because Alberto Lombardi has the skill to pull it off. Recommended listening!
Collin Hill, "String Stories," 2018
With a playing and compositional style that stretches from the delicately dulcet, "Autumn Afternoon," to the robustly invigorating, "Celtic Street," Collin Hill's debut fingerstyle CD String Stories announces the arrival
of this 20 year old instrumentalist to the acoustic guitar world with little fanfare or promotional hyperbole. Unlike so many artists today who are crowned before they earn the accolades that accompany their arrival on the
scene, a search of the web reveals a scant presence of Hill or his first release. Being a social media dinosaur, my guess is that his promotion may be stronger on Spotify and Instagram, yet his unassuming promotional style is as
refreshing as his music. His YouTube channel does offer a few opportunities to see his guitar and violin skills. Violin was his first instrument, giving way to the acoustic guitar. Although, I'll bet a CD featuring
compositions that feature his skill with both instruments will come our way in the not too distant future. The compositions on String Stories are as pleasing as his distinctive fretwork. All nine tracks cover a lot
of sonic terrain. Perhaps no better example is track #8, "Taking Off," in which Hill mixes arpeggios, various Travis style rhythms with sweet melodic turns and appropriately placed speedy runs before resolving
with subtle eloquence. Other favorites include "One Life" with its old world classic feel, reminiscent of Franco Morone and Peppino D'Agostino. Tunes like "Inspired" and "Celtic Street" definitely channel a bit of
Tommy Emmanuel, by Hill's own admission his biggest influence, but are clearly Hill stretching out and changing things up... not simply emulating. The tempo and structural changes in "Celtic Street" alone are worth
the purchase price of this CD. The final track, "Tommy's Tune," is much more than a tribute; Yes, It's played on a Maton guitar (Hill's main axe is a 808TE), nonetheless it is a sweetly played and composed sonic
tribute through which Hill stands on the strings of a generational talent and gives us a glimpse of perhaps a new standard bearer.
Parker Hastings, "Breezin' Through Life," 2017
Parker Hastings breezes through a dozen tracks — including three of his own — like a musical chameleon on his most recent collection. Hastings is a thumb-picking, fingerstyle guitarist, and was just age 17, when
he recorded Breezin' Through Life, which in my book qualifies him as a bona fide phenom. Born and raised in central Kentucky, he took up guitar at age 6, but, as the story goes, he saw Tommy Emmanuel in concert at
age 8, and his life's path was revealed. Young Hastings is a member of the National Thumbpicker's Hall of Fame after garnering several of its top awards in the past five years. Hastings shows a deft touch throughout,
equally at ease with the uptempo, Chet Atkins-style "Chicken Hawk" or the reflective "Flowers for Ayako." The one constant throughout this squeaky clean collection is Hastings' unerring focus on melody. His fine guitar work
propels the sense of the songs without any undisciplined fretboard histrionics or meanderings. That he is able to work up pleasant arrangements of tunes as varied as Jimmy Roger's "Muleskinner Blues," the disco-y "I Will
Survive/Fly," Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky," and the folk anthem "500 Miles from Home" is remarkable. Though most of the CD is instrumental, Hastings contributes vocals on a couple of numbers, and acquits himself well.
He occasionally enlists Todd Parks on bass, Chris Brown on drums, and Will Barrow on keys for a fuller soundscape. If there is a shortcoming, it's that the collection seems more designed as self-advertisement
for the varied skills of our young phenom rather than as a canvas for him to fill. But there's no need to rush that aspect of this developing artist, who must know that marketing his work will allow him to pursue his craft.
Hastings in 2018 moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University in order to study the business of music. If his early work is any indication, his career trajectory will probably be meteoric. One hopes, however, he can keep
his passion for composing and playing well-stoked. His apparent work ethic and sheer talent form a rare combination. So, while this CD is all a bit frothy (clearly, by design), just sit back and enjoy a young guy who is very,
very good at his craft.
Tim Sparks & James Buckley, "Jukebox Dreamin'," 2018
Guitarist Tim Sparks has been in the vanguard of acoustic fingerstyle guitarists for several decades. He's integrated Eastern European musical influences into his playing, scored and performed "The Nutcracker" for
solo guitar, and has substantial chops as a blues fingerpicker. Here he teams up with upright bassist James Buckley, whom Erin Roof has called "the hardest-working musician in the Twin Cities." They recorded this album
of pop standards and two originals in one day, and the results defied my expectations. Improvisation is the order of the day here, as Sparks and Buckley use each tune as a jumping off point for harmonic and melodic
explorations. They start with Paul Simon's "Homeward Bound," in which Sparks states the melody and chorus, then launches an extemporaneous musical conversation with Buckley. This dialogue defines the album, rather
than the song selections. Throughout the album, Sparks's guitar is warmly amplified. He tends to play in the middle-to-upper ranges of the guitar, alternating between single-string lines and jazzy chords, the latter of
which he employs tastefully when comping behind Buckley, whose tone has a perfect, unamplified presence. Standouts for me are the title track (a laid-back jazz waltz), Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," and a second
original, "If It Ain't Blue, Don't Fix It," a minor blues. The duo's reworking of John Lennon's "Imagine" is unexpected and stunning. They also tackle Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever," interspersing parts from
the Beatles' various recorded versions with improvised passages in a way that both honors and presents a new vision of the song. Country music gets ample attention with Floyd Cramer's "Last Date," Don Henley and
Glen Frey's "Lyin' Eyes," and Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried." The set ends with a take on Chris Connell's "Black Hole Sun" that is both moody and energetic. On Jukebox Dreamin', Tim Sparks and James Buckley display
inventiveness and musical empathy in equal measure. As an inspiration to musicians, they demonstrate how to tip the balance toward creativity when playing familiar material.
Eric Bibb, "Global Griot," 2018
From the first song, "Gathering of the Tribes," on his double CD of originals and traditionals, Eric Bibb announces a ambitious and profound project. Griot (in Western Africa) refers to a member of a
caste responsible for maintaining an oral record of tribal history in the form of music, poetry, and storytelling. Bibb, with a background of blues and folk music, brings together fellow musicians from
around the world (West African singer and master of the kora, Solo Cissokho; slide guitarist Staffan Astner, World Music star Habib Koité; singer Ulrika Bibb among them). Bibb is equally adept on banjo and
guitar, and the richness of the album rests on a marvelous mix of instruments - piano, harmonica, vibraphone, horns, and strings (resonator, slide, bass, banjo and the spectacular kora, a 22-stringed harp).
Songs range from "Mami Wata/Sebastian's Tune," with its African rhythms and instrumentation, and "A Room for You," with Drissa Dembele on balafon, to the deceptive simplicity of "Mole in the Ground," and "Spirit Day,"
with an interplay of Bibb's resonator and the spiraling cascading notes of the kora. But Global Griot is something more: an overtly political and spiritual cry for justice and racial equality ("Race & Equality"), hope,
and celebration. Lyrics are so strong it's hard not to quote at length. In "We Don't Care," Bibb sings: "We want the cool running shoes, don't care who made them…we want the cheap gasoline, get in the car and go, don't
care what the world agreed on, in Kyoto." Several songs have overt references to the current U.S. president: On the funky "What's He Gonna Say Today," we get "I wonder if we'll wake up … to find our freedom gone."
Movingly, Bibb sings "Send Me Your Jesus," "Let God," and several other heartfelt songs with a spiritual essence. In this remarkable album Eric Bibb emphasizes his message of celebration and harmony through the
collaborative spirit of the music making itself, fully evident on the traditionals that end the album, "Michael Row Da Boat Ashore" and "Needed Time." Global Griot is in every way a perfect album for these times.
©
Kirk Albrecht
Buy it at Amazon.com
Listen to "Penny Lane"
©
James Filkins
Buy it at Amazon.com
Listen to "Celtic Street"
Listen to Collin Hill at our podcast 
©
Fred Kraus
Buy it at Amazon.com
Listen to "Breezin' Through Life"
Listen to Parker Hastings at our podcast
©
Patrick Ragains
Tim Sparks & James Buckley's Bandcamp page
Buy it at iTunes
Listen to "If It Ain't Blue Don't Fix It"
©
Céline Keating
Buy it at Amazon.com
Listen to "A Room For You"
