Category Archives: Articles

Review / Interview : Eric Carbonara “The Paradise Abyss” LP (Nada Sound Studio, 2010)

Philadelphia based guitarist Eric Carbonara achieves a rare state of beauty with his third full length release, The Paradise Abyss. With his 34 year-old handmade spruce and cypress flamenco guitar, Carbonara has created an album where technique and feel harmonize perfectly with composition. Listening to this record gave me the kind of feeling I usually only get from instrumental records from the finest gypsy flamenco players… or say, from the music of Ornette Coleman! This is the kind of feeling that transcends time and reveals the true spirit of it’s inspired maker. The Spanish call this Duende, and when listening to The Paradise Abyss, I could feel it’s presence!

The album begins with the composition “Abortion of Autumn”, a piece elegantly expressed through the use of flamenco and classical techniques, Carbonara’s skilled use of tonal colours conjuring a scene of natural warmth and beauty. On “Draw Me Out From My True Self”, aggressive rasquedo technique gives way to another gorgeous melodic progression. “Dawn Never Dusk” begins with a slightly dark melody that exudes a deep, contemplative feeling, which eventually flows into a cascading waterfall of plucked notes, shifting to blissful calm before ending in a light dance. Both “Gaggle to Jolly” and “Dance of the Sinister Nymph” are driving, spirited pieces, full of Andalusian dynamics and colour. “Charles Smokes a Cigarette” lands squarely in Davy Graham territory with it’s moody jazz-blues feel. The record finishes with the composition “Infinite Breath of Lady Greenland”, a simply stated, picturesque folk melody that reveals infinite intent with circular picking patterns that seem to dance into the heavens.

To get more insight about this album, I interviewed Eric during the month of November.

W&W : How would you describe the evolution of your playing and composition as it relates to The Paradise Abyss?

The Paradise Abyss is much more composed than [previous album]Exodus Bulldornadius… there’s still a good bit of improvised bits throughout Paradise, but during the writing of this album, I was much more aware of what I was doing, that I was writing autobiographical narratives… that I was telling a story, with every note being a word. Exodus felt way more cathartic as just raw expression, while Paradise feels more like i was thinking before speaking. During Paradise, I often felt conflicted when a composition started to become something that wasn’t in harmony with the truth of what the story was about… I was even a little worried that I would start to make life decisions based on a subconscious desire to have the songs sound sadder and more evil! Continue reading →

Martin Guitars Working On John Renbourn Signature Model

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This is not my own scoop, but a re-blogging of a recent article by Marshall Newman. It’s interesting, considering that Renbourn has never been known to play a Martin… but then again, as my friend Steve commented, “Linda Ronstadt has a signature model Martin, and she’s never even played guitar!” In any event, sounds like it’s going to be a fine instrument! Martin doesn’t seem to have made a formal announcement yet, but Newman’s article let’s us know what’s in store:

John Renbourn’s musical influences range from folk, blues and jazz to early music and classical, and all – separately and in combination – have found a place in t he rich musical landscape he has created during his long career. One of the world’s most brilliant fingerstyle guitarists, Renbourn has dazzled, confounded and inspired, whether solo, paired with Bert Jansch or Stefan Grossman or as a member of Pentangle, and he continues to create music of uncommon beauty and depth.

Over the years, John Renbourn’s acoustic guitar preference has evolved; beginning with a round-hole archtop, he moved to round and square-shouldered dreadnoughts, and eventually settled on orchestra models from both American and European builders. So joining forces with C.F. Martin & Co. – which originated the orchestra model in 1929 – to create the Martin OM John Renbourn Custom Signature Edition is the natural culmination of a lifelong quest.

“I am over the moon about this guitar,” Renbourn commented. “The goal is to combine the best of American and European lutherie; a guitar that has design features that recall the European influence on early Martins, but with all the innovative qualities that Martin has developed since. My own priority is simple – I am after the very best tonal quality and balance.” On both objectives, the Martin OM John Renbourn Custom Signature Edition succeeds spectacularly. Continue reading →

Interview : Goran Ivanovic

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by David Leicht

I was fortunate to catch up recently with Goran Ivanovic, of the brilliant Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo. We touched on a number of topics, including their exciting, eponymous album, which I would strongly recommend to any fan of contemporary guitar music.

W&W: When and how did you guys meet?

It was about five or six years ago in Chicago. We both used to play at the Hothouse, which was a world music place, one of the first in the city. Their booking agent decided to do a show with both of our groups.¹ We’d sort of heard of one another, through the newspaper, but had never actually met or heard each other’s music. We met up after the show and, after that, began to hang out, spending time as buddies, playing pool and ping-pong. Eventually, we started arranging and composing music together, then playing shows, and booked our first tour in Colorado and Arizona. The response was fantastic. We recorded our debut CD and the response was overwhelming. We decided to take it on the road full-time, give our bands a little break. I think we’ve been on the road now for three or four months straight.

W&W: Given the way your collaboration evolved, was it natural to present the new work as guitar duets, rather than forming a group?

Yes, absolutely. Sometimes people ask “why not add a bass player or drummer?” We have those groups already, what would be the point? I think Chopin once said, “the only thing that’s more beautiful than solo guitar is two guitars.” (laughter) We like playing around with the limitations of the instrument. Continue reading →

Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo, Live In Pittsburgh

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Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing an amazing guitar duo for the first time… Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic hail from Chicago, and they describe themselves thusly :

“A guitar duo that not only celebrate the tradition of guitar performance of the old and the current rapport, but also as composers they are a part of a movement in the states whose aim is to build the new repertoire for the next generation of guitar players.”

The only thing that I knew about the duo going into the show was that Ivanovic leads the Balkan jazz-fusion group Eastern Blok, and that I could expect “Lotsa notes”. No doubt, there were many, many notes! Continue reading →

Raymond Morin – Summer 2010 Tour Journal

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FINGERSTYLE GUITAR, FOLK, BLUES & BEYOND