Acoustic guitars dominate these two releases, with each one taking a different route.
New Latitude consists of Dave Erickson and Jim Car, both of whom play guitar while Jim also tackles the bass. Guests Eduardo Bijoux barbosa/b, David Young/dr-perc and Deon Kuhl/dr add to the mix of sounds that emphasize the upbeat and bright. A mix of what used to be called “World Music” or “New Age,” depending on the intensity of the beat, is featured hear, with crisp and clean picking heard on the folksy “New Day” and the graceful “No Matter What.” Hints of Metheny-esque sounds sneak up on the pickings of “14 & Green” while the strings chime like drops of water on “Fleeting Passage.” The most assertive sounds come with Young hitting a bit harder on the drums on “ Seven Falls” but the disc closes on a lullaby of a tune with “Best of Times.” Windham Hill, anyone?
Meanwhile the duo of Kanan Kamitsubo on the piano along with Sasha Markovic/g-b-perc feature a rotating crop of strings, reeds and percussion on this mix of originals and 70s rockers that go acoustic. Sounds south of the Mason-Dixon Line have a war elegance with gentle piano and string picking as on the lovely “North” or “Sound of M.” Hints of Stephen Foster ooze in on “Kai” and the lyrical “Blossom” while flamenco mixes with the House of the Rising Son on an intriguing “Mio.” Then, we get to a couple rockers go to the back porch with Wen Chang’s violin melding well with the team on a glorious take of British blueser Free’s “Wishing Well,” only to be topped by a lute intro to Deep Purple’s “Burn” that will make you wonder why no one’s ever dared this tightrope walk before. What a treat!