Album Notes

This is the music I play for myself - pieces that are a joy to play because they bring out the best in the guitar, highlighting the pleasure of playing this wonderful instrument.

Almeida’s Didi and Tárrega’s Capricho Arabe were written by guitarists for guitarists. It’s not just the notes, but where those notes are placed on the guitar that make these pieces so beautiful.

Laurindo Almeida inspired me to take up solo guitar playing and I was thrilled to get to spend some time with him before he passed. I wrote Que Lindo in memory of this warm, innovative and gifted artist.

Sphere was written in response to another hugely influential artist, Thelonious Monk. His classic ‘Round Midnight was the inspiration for this piece.

Carcassi’s Etude No. 3 is technically a beginning-level piece, but it’s one I return to often. Carcassi was another guitarist and composer who understood the guitar’s unique voice.

Debussy’s Syrinx isn’t a guitar piece at all, it’s flute music, but it’s one of my favorite melodies and it lies beautifully on the guitar. Like Picasso, Debussy could create a world with a single, sensuous line.

The Habañera is a melody from Manuel de Falla’s orchestral work El Amor Brujo. I added the brief passage in the middle as a pause between statements of Falla’s beautiful melody.