Steven King - Acoustic Swing

You take an outstanding fingerstyle guitarist, give him 18 swinging jazz classics from Birdland to Four Brothers and then lock him up in a studio for a while. The recipe for a truly exquisite, gourmet CD can be this simple, which is no wonder since Steven King is not only an amazing sorcerer on the guitar but also a first-class arranger with an extraordinary sense for the sonority of this instrument. The listener often thinks he is hearing at least two guitars and a bass on Acoustic Swing, yet it is always "just" Steven King playing solo. At the same time, the technically brilliant fireworks is never just dazzling or even meant to be purely an end in itself - the composition, melody and harmonic idea always stand in the foreground. Although Acoustic Swing lives from breathless astonishment about the "unheard-of" versatility of the acoustic guitar, even more amazing is the fresh and pristine effect of the 18 classics as King interprets them.