KEN BONFIELD
American Baroque: Steel String Surprise
Loud Dust Recordings (2006)

If you consider yourself a lover of acoustic guitar instrumentals and you haven’t heard Ken Bonfield’s music yet, you’re missing out. Bonfield is one of the best guitarists recording today, possessed of technical chops, sincerity and passion, and a poet’s sense of beauty in his composing. If he’s escaped your detection so far, you’ll be glad to know that here is an album which will serve as a great introduction to his musical gifts. While this is not a career retrospective, per se, since the songs are only from his three most recent releases (Kadotume, Dancing with Shadows, and Harbor Town), the seventeen selections on American Baroque: Steel Spring Surprise still serve as an excellent appetizer, if you will, to the main course of the many fine recordings this artist has released over the last eleven years. All the tracks here have been remastered by David Glasser, and one song, “Steel String Surprise,” was re-recorded by Bonfield especially for this CD. Even though I have all of Ken Bonfield’s releases, I have to say that Glasser’s remastering reveals all kinds of details on songs that I thought I knew by heart. Even if you’re not a completist and already own some of the originals, you’re still in for a treat.

Bonfield frequently surrounds himself with excellent talent, and here he is joined on various tracks by violinists Joe Ebel and Jerry Goodman (the latter on one track), bassist/ super-session player Michael Manring, and tabla player extraordinaire Ty Burhoe, as well as a few other musicians. A lot of the selections feature one or more accompanists, so if you’re looking for a solo guitar recording, look elsewhere. Instead, what American Baroque delivers is an exceptional collection of tunes featuring artists who are truly simpatico with each other (especially Ebel and Manring, both of whom have been recording with Bonfield for years).

“Renaissance” opens the album on a sprightly note, with adroit finger work by Bonfield as he flies through the lively tune with joy and good cheer. Counterpointing this is the next cut, “Sunday Morning,” featuring violinist Ebel’s first appearance. The pace here is relaxed and pastoral, with a hint of languid repose. Shifting gears again, “Kadotume,” literally leaps out at you, with Bonfield’s fiery energetic guitar work and Ebel keeping pace right alongside him.

Later tracks include the pensive and somber “And Now?” which expertly conveys (via its slowly unwinding melancholy) the open-ended mood of the title’s question, the lovely melodicsim of “Summer Rain,” veering from gentle and soothing to a subdued sense of urgency, the playful yet subtle “Floating” (one of absolute favorites Bonfield tunes, and one of the best ever in the acoustic guitar subgenre), and the cinematic drama of “Centerline,” which brings to mind visions of the open spaces of the American Southwest. Showing that he can stand all by his lonesome self with equally satisfying results, Bonfield goes solo on “Steel String Surprise,” and the bouncy liveliness of the song is bound to make you tap your toes.

What sets Ken apart from the other talented acoustic guitarists out there is his unostentatious playing even when he really lets it fly. His music just always “sounds right,” and he gets those around him to play with the same unforced naturalness, no matter the tone or mood of the song itself. I remember first hearing his music back in 1997 when I reviewed Mystic Morning. I realized then his special talent and have kept a keen eye trained on him ever since. Ten years later and he still impresses me with his skill, artistry, and his tireless dedication to making music which is always accessible yet never mundane. I highly recommend American Baroque: Steel String Surprise as one of the best examples of guitar-led ensemble music around.

Bill Binkelman
New Age Reporter

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