Album Notes

With the release of Vertical Eden, Los Angeles-based guitarist/composer David Pritchard continues his unique exploration of original music for multiple acoustic guitars. The result is a richly textured sound that adds violin, bass and percussion to achieve a spellbinding and, often, unexpected listening experience.

On some tracks, David has overdubbed all the acoustic guitar parts; on others he is joined by guitarists Ken Rosser and Kevin Tiernan, both members of his guitar ensemble. As a unit, the guitar ensemble brings a magical energy to Pritchard’s compositions. Other tracks are enriched by the talents of violinist Harry Scorzo, percussionist Christopher Garcia, and bassist Erik Kertes.

Vertical Eden, the title track, features a recurring, plaintive melody supported by a tapestry of multiple guitars. Bright Depths Revisited, a reworking of one of David’s jazz compositions from his days at Inner City Records, features solos by himself, Ken Rosser, and Erik Kertes. Deliver Us combines elements of bluegrass and Indian music in a collage of fast lines and complex arpeggios. Garden of Time and Winged Footprints are two contrasting pieces for violins and guitars. The former is contrapuntal and pulse driven while Winged Footprints offers long floating melodic lines supported by complex multi-metered layers of acoustic guitars. Harry Scorso contributes two violin parts on both tracks. The guitar quartet Ark Sakura and the solo piece Clockwork 3 are contemporary classical guitar pieces. The Absence of Presence and Cathedrals in the Rain both feature a wide, expansive, and cinematic feel that is synonymous with David’s music.


David’s jazz-fusion roots inform many of the pieces on Velocity. David was a founding member of the fusion group Contraband and has performed with Gary Burton and ex-Mother of Invention Don Preston. He recorded two jazz fusion LP’s for Inner City records (due for re-release on CD in 2008) which also featured Patrice Rushen, Chester Thompson, and Freddie Hubbard. His first all acoustic album was Air Patterns, featuring his music for multiple acoustic guitars.