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Music > DVD Audio > William Ackerman - In Search of the Turtle's Navel (1990) Retail CD
added on May 8, 2007, at 23:40 by katmandu

This is Will Ackerman's first album, and sometimes, in some ways, I think it's one of his best. Keep in mind that this is a younger, brasher Ackerman, not very far at all from the modern fingerpicking traditions of John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Leo Kottke. Rhythm, pattern, and melody line, played with the vigor of a good steel string. This album makes the connection between the west coast style and the more polished and controlled musician of the Windham Hill years. Ackerman gives himself away in his titles - Like 'Pink Chiffon Tricycle Queen', 'Slow Motion Roast Beef Restaurant Seduction', and 'What the Buzzard Told Suzanne.' This isn't about meditating to guitar music, it's about playing, listening, and appreciating the find work of a player/composer who went on to make a very significant mark in new age and jazz music. Some of these pieces, like processional, will reappear in different forms as Ackerman develops as a performer. Here it displays considerable muscle and surface tension. Later it will become more contemplative and inward bound. These early albums reveal the soloist side of the musician. In later years he will become more interested in cooperative efforts. None of it any less than great, by I keep coming back to the simple presentation he uses here, where he doesn't need to modulate the strength of his presentation. Of course, you can start anywhere with Will Ackerman and be satisfied, but tracking down his old work it a chance for a great treat.

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