Following up on his ambitious
Eric Dolphy
tribute,
Vic Juris
returns to the basics: a straight-ahead guitar trio, playing all standards and
jazz
classics (save for
Juris
' title track).
Songbook
offers an especially clear and sustained look at the artist's approach to standard harmony. His rhythm section players, bassist
Jay Anderson
and drummer
Jeff Hirshfield
, give him expert support, as they've done over the course of several albums.
sounds decidedly
Metheny
-esque at times, but he makes even the most visited material his own, particularly
"All the Things You Are,"
played as a duo with
Hirshfield
. In a new twist,
plays nylon-string acoustic guitar on
"Luiza"
and
"Nuages,"
the latter a breathtaking duet with
Anderson
. He also offers an unaccompanied steel-string acoustic rendition of
Bill Evans
'
"Time Remembered."
This is certainly one of
' most representative recordings to date. ~ David R. Adler