Andre Marins – Internal Dive

Who? Andre Marins began studying classical guitar at eleven, and went on to study Jazz improvisation. This album is a fusion.

Any good? Freight train rhythms abound in opener “Avant Groove”, “Circles of Cotton” creates a melodic line over a repeated arpeggiated pattern, and “Grooving in Blue” will have you reaching for your axe to copy what’s going on. Marins is a technical master of his instrument and this is a good album to listen to when you’re in technical mode – after a day spent training paralegals in classroom, it certainly worked for me. “D Prelude” is the most immediately accessible track and shows off his classical skills. Marins uses repeated patterns a lot, and all of a sudden will surprise you with scale runs played at speeds you wouldn’t believe possible. There’s intelligent use of silence between patterns and strummed lines too, especially in “Internal Dive,” the title track and the longest offered here, as well as plenty of unexpected changes of direction.

Try before you buy? There’s more music and video over at www.andremarins.com

Cash in your pocket? Head off to CDBaby – linked from the website.