Florida-based guitarist Randy Bernsen plays “smooth” guitar in the good way, meaning clean, clear and clever, and with muscles flexed in the process. He’s honed his chops with the likes of Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, Peter Erskine and Bob James, so he knows his way around both grooves and melodies, as this album with the likes of all stars Jimmy Haslip/b, Bob Franceschini/sax, Bob Mintzer/sax, Uzi Nizri/org-p, Derek Sims/tp and Dan Davis/tp testifies.
His style and sound is reminiscent of Earl Klugh, patient, pretty and melodic, but with a dash more of adventure, as on the lyrical “With You Always” and the lush, relaxed and patient “Shepherd’s Heart”. Plugged in, Bernsen and Haslip dig into a rocking fusion’d “Still Life” , and Bernsen has the Bunsen burning on the get down shuffle of “Billy Gates Blues” with Nizri’s humming Hammond. There’s some tasty R&B with punchy horns on the funk fest of “Prodigal Son” and Bernsen glistens like a church stained glass window on the reflective “Abba Father”. Fancy frets.