By: Brad Conroy
International Guitar Night
International Guitar Night IV is a collaboration that features the acoustic guitar stylings of Brian Gore (founder), Lulo Reinhardt, Stephen Bennett, and Itamar Erez. Coming together from the four corners of the globe, each of these performers brings a unique and diverse sound alongside a wide range of influences from Spanish, Latin, Gypsy, and Rock. The album is a collection of performances from their 2009 North American tour, and this recording delivers the goods for anyone who loves the sound of the acoustic guitar.
“La Juderia,” the CD’s opener, is an original composition by Itamar Erez and performed in duet with Stephen Bennett. The tune begins with a melody and accompaniment texture which has a Spanish feel to it. Erez and Bennett perform with grace and precision, with a connection that can be heard when they fire off the unison line right before the solos, and throughout the piece.
“Omar,” a solo piece by Erez, is performed in a modern, classical-flamenco style. It has a catchy melody and at times an ostinato bass part that keeps the piece driving along. Not short on picado (thumb stroke) scale lines and rasgueado chords, Erez’s chops and compositional talents shine on this piece.
“The Long Walk Home” is an original composition by Brian Gore that is very reminiscent of the way Michael Hedges sounded on his album Breakfast in the Field. Gore plays with grace and passion on this acoustic guitar masterpiece, while he taps on the guitar and keeps the melody and chords going, which adds a deep, personal element to his solo-guitar work.
“Tears” is a tune by Lulo Reinhardt which is performed in duo with Bennett, and is very much in the gypsy-jazz style of the famous Django Reinhardt. This tune features some nice comping with incredibly virtuosic and melodic soloing over it. The amount of chops that these guys possess is apparent as the weave in and out of the chord changes with ease, playing off each other and exchanging solo ideas in an effortless way.
There are many great moments on International Guitar Night Vol. 4
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