In 1996,
CRI
released
New York Guitars
, a compilation of guitar pieces recorded by members of the New York-based "downtown" school of composers, many of whom eschew the academically derived notion of stylistic barriers and follow their muse wherever it takes them. Curiously, although
contained a lot of promise, for some reason the
collection was not very compelling, and although it remains an important document of its time and place, in retrospect it is kind of a relic. At first glance one might take
Marco Cappelli
's
Extreme Guitar Project
, issued on
Mode Records
a full decade later, as "Son of
" -- but it isn't. Curated by
and produced by
Elliott Sharp
,
is not an ad hoc collection of tapes made in the home studios of composers but works commissioned by guitarist
Cappelli
to play on his modified guitar. This instrument pits the standard
classical
six strings against an additional rank of eight to ten sympathetic strings in addition to the possibility of
electronics
.
has based himself in New York since 2003 and built up a rapport with the city's composers; he has also taken the
(nicknamed "
EGP
") on tour and has played it in Europe as well as in the United States.
's commissions seem to have brought some of the best out of these composers, a good many of whom are expert guitar players, such as
Sharp
. Yet not all of them are --
Ikue Mori
, whose graceful and mysterious
"Bird Chant"
is a highlight on this album, is best known as a drummer.
's contribution,
"Amygdala,"
is a piece built out of thunderous tapping that sounds like a bullet train racing through a tunnel. The sympathetic strings are used fully in
Nick Didkovsky
"A Bright Moon Makes a Little Daytime,"
built up out of short pieces, as is his wont.
Didkovsky
's is the only name here that coincidentally also appeared on
; the propulsively rhythmic and dazzlingly multi-layered first movement of his mini-suite seems to be about the best thing he's ever done.
Annie Gosfield
"Marked by a Hat"
is scored for the open strings of
's instrument, and suggests a ghostly crossbreed between a Chinese pipa and one of
Harry Partch
's oddly tuned kitharas. There are many exciting high spots to point out on
, but it is not fair to spoil the fun by giving it all away.
Although each composer supplies a short note about his or her work, there is very little of the "how we did it" kind of information to be found here. Clearly
is the fulcrum around which
turns, and the technical realization of these pieces on an instrument he invented is more his business than it is of listeners or any of the composers. In his note,
mentions
's "viewpoint honed in geographical distance," and this element seems critical in the success of
-- a fair number of recordings of "downtown" music unwittingly give outsiders the impression that New York composers seem not to realize that there is a world outside of New York.
manages to sidestep this potential trapping, and as a result it is about the best general guide to "downtown" music that has come along thus far. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis