With the death of , was well situated to take the mercurial maestro's place as the most idiosyncratic acoustic guitarist around. 2005's , however, is the first album on which truly lets all of his influences and musical interests find free expression. ' first entirely instrumental album, is 16 tracks long, evenly split between originals and covers. It's not just the variety of sources tapped for these covers -- from 's to through a version of the Broadway that seems to take its cues from ' contemplative take on the tune -- it's the way that brings elements of music, , the Great American Songbook, and modern to his -based musical style no matter what he's playing. Though his style isn't as personal and inimitable as 's, a tall order for any instrumentalist, is well on his way to creating a similarly impressive body of work. ~ Stewart Mason