Equally at home whether she's playing The Animals' "The House of the Rising Sun" as part of the "Joan Baez Suite" or the Antonio Vivaldi composition "Concerto in D Major," celebrated classical guitar virtuoso Sharon Isbin has never limited herself to any one particular repertoire, and that's a lucky thing for music lovers of all tastes. Her eclecticism has produced an awful lot of spectacular music that might never otherwise have seen the light of day, and her latest effort, Guitar Passions, in which she joins with some of her guitar playing buddies in a kind of homage to the instrument, is just one more joyful expression of the woman's enviable range. It is a recording, she explains in the liner notes, in which "I pay tribute to my guitar heroes, artists that I admire from the classical, rock and jazz worlds ... It is our shared passion for the guitar and for musical discovery that brings us together."
Joining her on various tracks in this tribute to the guitar are Stanley Jordan, Steve Morse, Romero Lubambo, Nancy Wilson, Steve Vai, Rosa Passos, Guadencio Thiago de Mello and Paul Winter. Sometimes in collaboration, sometimes on her own, Isbin offers twelve tracks inspired by South American and Spanish roots, seven of which are premieres. All in all, it is a collection of a dozen pieces, each one a gem.
That said, if one has to pick out favorites, the world premiere of Laurindo Almeida's arrangement of the absolutely transcendent "Adagio" from what is probably the greatest piece for the classical guitar and certainly the best known, Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez," played by Isbin, Lubambo and Morse, stands out. It is a fusion of classical, jazz and a pinch of rock that is indeed a tribute to the great composer.
Article comments
1 - Bertolt Sobolik
Great review! I interviewed Ms. Isbin about Guitar Passions about a month ago. She is not only an amazing virtuoso, but also an extremely warm and down-to-earth person.