Album Notes

"David Kraus is a guitarist with sure fingers and an
expressive sense of melodic line. The playing is
refreshingly lyrical and makes one thirst for
a live performance by this ensemble."
Jim Lowe - Times/Argus

"Kraus's music features a mysterious and gorgeous
sonic ambience that transcends genre..."
Chip Wilson -Montpelier Bridge

"Some Sort of Angel brings the fire of a personal vision
to a contemporary acoustic sound."
Karen Brooks - Artist and Illustrator

With a clarity and warmth these words express how I feel about my work, and the love I have for the art of music making. Throughout my experience as a composer and guitarist, I have always found that my thoughts and feelings are more accurately expressed through purely instrumental music, benignly shedding poetic images rather than writing around them.This internal sculpting of time and tone being completely free of external imagery, opens a space into an experience of the perfect abstraction, seen only through the eye of pure imagination. It has always fascinated me since I was very young, and I still sense its magic whenever I touch the fingerboard. About the music here, one very important choice made during the writing was in not using the rhythmic effects traditionally heard in the 'grounding' or 'heavier' feel most commonly associated with instruments found in the percussion family such as trap drums or congas. Except for the simple dumbek introduction to the first tune, the full rhythmic motion is carried by the interplay of complex guitar fingerpickings and bass lines punctuated by vibraphone and mandolin, all of which are inately percussive by design. This kind of rhythm feel lets the sax and flute melodies soar. I want the listener to experience a sense of sailing just above the ground brushing it only occasionally with the finger tips, yet always supported. Impressions of India, Spain, Brazil, American and European Jazz, classical, and particular folk forms, can be heard throughout the musical arrangements though not always explicitly. Imagine a musical suite with the band playing the role of a 'pan-cultural' chamber ensemble. There's a story here in a set of tone poems each moving smoothly one to another,each a unique voice within a greater whole. Oregon, The Paul Winter Consort, Ralph Towner, Carla Bley, Jan Garbarek, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, Francisco Tarrega, Duke Ellington, Philip Glass, Ravi Shankar, and Joni Mitchell are just a few of many who come to mind as influences in my development as an artist, and in the music heard throughout this recording. I hope you will enjoy listening to this music as much as I enjoyed making it.