Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Prester John: Duet Jams for Acoustic Guitar and Mandolin


Prester John is Shawn Persinger on acoustic guitar and David Miller on the mandolin. Together they create music that shades into territory that encompasses a jazz hybrid coming from the acoustic-folk-country end, like Tony Rice, Bela Fleck and some of Jerry Garcia's latter enclaves have done, but with a different take on the possibilities.

Desire for A Straight Line (Innova 774) pairs the two on 16 numbers, a few very short, the rest of them longer. The head compositions are sophisticated, well put-together, and composed by Persinger. There's a touch of the fusion-meets-bluegrass sort of notey-ness here and there, but not as show-offy as it is integral to the pieces involved. In the end you get some very lovely, well-played music.

It's a music of acoustic brightness, with plenty for the guitar and mandolin enthusiast to savor, dig into and appreciate. Kudos.

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