Jan Jankowski – Tunes for Solo Guitar

Earth is shrinking as we watch. Through the magic of the Internet, it’s become possible to hear music being made all over the world. For the listener, the possibilities can become overwhelming. For the songwriter or musician, even more possibilities are created.

Take Tunes for Solo Guitar by Jan Jankowski. Here are thirteen wonderfully crafted tracks of Jan playing his guitar like a magician whose can blur the borders of traditional genres. From the not-quite traditional Spanish guitar stylings of the opening song, Jusek, to the melding of classical, blues and ragtime in Double Bends, the romping penultimate number, he provides a wide pallet of music to wander through and wonder at. The sweet romantic mood of Courting Kath gives way to the shimmering Celtic flavor of Seal Harbor / Jesseb through the Bog. The moodiness of The Trials of Saint Knab can best be described, if possible, as a medieval song being played by an acoustic guitarist from the psychedelic era of the sixties. And there’s more than a hint of Hawaiian slack key in Zosha i Hannia.

Just studying the intricate, careful way Jan lays out the final number, Monty Norman’s James Bond Theme, taking the simple guitar line and providing all the orchestration surrounding it (horns included) on a single guitar for this incredible arrangement is enough to make you want to listen to the CD all over again.

The album is available at CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/janjankowski

Peace