Customer Reviews

Tanz

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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As far as I'm concerned, this was my favorite album of 2000 -- and I buy 7-10 CDs a week.

Subtle, lovely, swinging, profound, utterly fresh, dark, unclicheed, poignant music. It's rooted in Jewish melodies, but you don't have to be Jewish to dig this record. If the acoustic meditations of Ralph Towner, Michael Hedges, John Abercrombie -- or David Crosby! -- speak to you, pick up this record. It's a revelation.

This recording follows close on the heels of Neshamah - Sparks' exploration of traditional Jewish music. This time around, he has enlisted the help of two veterans of John Zorn's Masada: Greg Cohen on bass, and Cyro Baptista on percussion. Simply put, the recording is wonderful. Sparks is at home with all meters and tempos and has a rare facility with unusual time signatures. His tone on the guitar is rich and his technique is astounding. There is gorgeous interplay between the three musicians. This music is complex, thoughtful, and full of life.

First there was Pierre Bensusan, then I discovered Phill Keaggy, now the Holy Guitartrinity is complete! Tim Sparks proves that listening to one single guitar (with a minimum of guest instrumentalist)can be a wonderfull experience. The album gets better and better. He doesn't show off, he is just that good. Actually you don't here the guitar after a while, just music, music deep rooted in different cultures. Togheter with Nice Feelings (Bensusan) and Beyond Nature (Keaggy) is Tanz a pearl for the acoustic guitar listener; buy it.