Andrew Cheshire - acoustic guitar
Recorded 2/8/01
Cover Art: Andrew Cheshire
***************************************************************
Andrew Cheshire's Guitar Noir reveals its mood in the title. The album contains 14 dark and moody solo acoustic guitar pieces, each excellently performed and warmly recorded. Ideal for the background of a gritty Nashville detective thriller, fans of Bill Frisell and Chet Atkins should take note. - Zac Johnson, All-Music Guide
***************************************************************
ANDREW CHESHIRE takes his acoustic guitar on a solo journey down quiet avenues and through mysterious corridors on the very haunting GUITAR NOIR. His playing rings out with astounding clarity as he pensively dissects each tune with the precision of a surgeon. Despite some recognizable titles, all the songs are his compositions, and he makes a very introspective analysis of a deeper meaning hidden within each of them.
Cheshire is attempting to paint aural pictures through his playing, and the scenes are typically not light of heart. It is not exactly a brooding persona that he suggests, but the seriousness and concentration of his probing casts melancholy shadows across the performance. Through his reflective explorations, he communicates his inner feelings and contemplative mind. The pieces range from short snippets to more elongated communiques, but they all have the common denominator of abstract meditation and reverie threading through them. Cheshire transmits his calming state of mind on the listener, who is able to glide gently into his inner world of ebonized beauty. The descent is quite tranquilizing. - Frank Rubolino, Cadence
***************************************************************
Guitar Noir is a moody little solo guitar soundtrack from the vastly underrated Andrew Cheshire. Cheshire is well known for having an omnivorous appetite for musical genre that is apparent on his five some releases on his record label Joule. Difficult to categorize, Cheshire's playing ranges from Jeff Beck Fusion to Joe Pass Mainstream.
A perfect soundscape for a dense and twisted mystery thriller, Guitar Noir finds Mr. Cheshire investigating the darker side of the solo jazz guitar. His playing is full of nervous scales and arpeggios. It is music typified by tapping one's foot while covertly waiting for the arrival of some mysterious character. Mr. Cheshire's playing is warm, as is the recording, which is made at a comfortable distance. For this critic, Guitar Noir is the most enjoyable of all of Andrew Cheshire recordings, though they are all uniformly fine. - C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.andrewcheshire.comTrack List:
1. Guitar Noir
2. Drama
3. Beating Heart
4. The Riddle
5. Poem
6. The Chase
7. Mysterioso
8. Shadows
9. Catwalk
10. Journey
11. Quiet Rain
12. Introspection
13. Farewell
14. Guitar Noir (Reprise)
Suggested CDs:
Other Genres:
