Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – I’m Beginning To See The Light (1999/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – I’m Beginning To See The Light (1999/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 59:21 minutes | 1,17 GB | Genre: Jazz, Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Acoustic Disc

Picking up where they left off with 1995’s duet recording Tone Poems II, mandolin master David Grisman and guitar great Martin Taylor blithely saunter through a dozen jazz staples. Taylor’s playing boasts a blues-soaked intensity and insouciant fire that isn’t normally associated with the willowy and refined soloist, while Grisman showcases a wide variety of adventurous ideas, but at no time do the issues seem forced. The sympathetic and delicate rhythmic support of bassist Jim Kerwin and drummer George Marsh contributes to the air of easygoing delight. Taylor even picks up the mandolin himself on a hidden “keepsake”.

As one of the prime movers behind the “new acoustic” movement that began gathering speed in the mid-’70s, David Grisman helped usher in a new era of acoustic jazz. With other renegade players like Tony Rice, Richard Greene and Sam Bush, he took an instrument generally associated with bluegrass music (in his case, the mandolin) and turned it to more adventurous uses, often combining the instrumentation and textures of bluegrass with the advanced harmonic structures and rhythms of jazz. He’s never completely turned his back on bluegrass, but his primary focus has been on jazz and jazz-derived styles for some time. I’m Beginning to See the Light is a collection of standards recorded in collaboration with guitarist Martin Taylor, bassist Jim Kerwin and drummer George Marsh. The program is pretty predictable, including “Autumn Leaves,” “Cheek to Cheek,” and “Makin’ Whoopee.” But the mandolin gives the quartet an unusual texture, and Taylor’s playing is always fun to listen to. There’s a pervasive gentleness to the group’s sound that sometimes borders on soporific, but every time you stir yourself to listen closely, you’ll be rewarded. Recommended.

Tracklist:
01. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – I’m Beginning To See The Light (03:59)
02. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Autumn Leaves (04:16)
03. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Do You Know What It Means (To Miss New Orleans?) (05:09)
04. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – East Of The Sun (04:41)
05. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Autumn In New York (04:37)
06. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Makin’ Whoopee (05:42)
07. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Lover Man (05:24)
08. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Exactly Like You (04:03)
09. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Willow Weep For Me (07:01)
10. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – A Foggy Day (04:17)
11. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Cheek To Cheek (05:07)
12. Martin Taylor, David Grisman And Acoustic Jazz Quartet – Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered (04:59)

Personnel:
Acoustic Jazz Quartet:
Martin Taylor – guitar
David Grisman – mandolin
Jim Kerwin – bass
George Marsh – drums

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