Album Review - Guitar & Me from Aleksi Glick

Album:  Guitar & Me
Artist:  Aleksi Glick
Website:  https://www.aleksiglick.com/

Guitar and Me, the debut release from jazz guitarist Aleksi Glick features six original compositions written by him and seven covers.   Glick recorded  the solo arrangements for guitar while in isolation at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.  A mixture of hard bop, blues, improvised jazz, and adult contemporary, the arrangements roll along like a cool breeze ruminating across the aural senses.  His fretwork is nimble and graceful, stringing together a series of soothing and sizzling chord patterns reminiscent of the dexterity and expressive versing of Gene Bertoncini.

Launching the recording with the hard bop grooves propelling "With Ease," Glick's deft performance radiates a modern jazz glint that modulates a bluesy whisper across the title track.  His graceful maneuvers induce a dreamy state that wraps the listener in emulsifying verses.  The misty atmosphere encircling "God Bless the Child," the popular spiritual by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr,. displays Glick's penchant for freestyle ruminations.  His interpretation is completely of his own making.  

Moving along, synth-tinged effects enshrine his guitar arrangement in ghostly figures in the opening of "Darn That Dream" by Jimmy Van Heusen, receding a few bars in as Glick's guitar sketches crimping waves across the melodic progressions.  His reworking of Jerry Garcia's timeless tune "Casey Jones" soaks the folk pop melody in bluesy hues while his reimagination of the nostalgic Irish hymm "Danny Boy," penned by Frederic Weatherly, is fashioned with an upbeat cadence.  

The real sparkler is Glick's original track "Rebirth," which transitions from a soothing serenade to a sprightly flourish.  The song is an homage to Glick's early love of classic rock, and his performance is outstanding.   

He closes the recording with the equally gratifying "Long Black Veil," that displays a soulful versing in his playing as he laments, "On a cold dark night / someone was killed beneath the townhall light / there were a few at the scene / and they all agreed / that the slayer who ran / looked alot like me / the judge said son what is your alibi / if you were somewhere else / then you won't have to die / I said not a word / though it meant my life / for I'd been in the arms of my best friend's wife... Nobody knows / nobody sees / nobody knows but me."  Glick saves his best offering for last.

When left to his own talent, imagination, and devices, Glick truly impresses his audience.  He is a skilled performer in the classics of hard bop and jazz but really excels in blues and Americana-inspired pop/rock.  He rises above his predecessors such as Wes Montgomery, John McLaughlin, and Gene Bertonicini, and paves new roadways for guitar-based arrangements.

Musicians:
Aleksi Glick - guitar