The Santa Rita Connection
Few
guitarists achieve the kind of fingerstyle perfection Pete
Huttlinger does on this outstanding solo effort. Whether he's
flying through the complex changes he's devised for Gershwin's
"I Got Rhythm" or gently rhapsodizing on his own
"McGuire's Landing" and "Goodbye Chester,"
he's in total command of his Collings OM1-A. With stunning
arrangements of "Sunny" and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition,"
where he plays the bass line, horn parts and melody simultaneously
without breaking a sweat, Huttlinger continues mining the
rich vein of Top 40 Covers he began on 2002's Naked Pop. But
he's also composed several great tunes, including "Hortensia,"
"Tommy in the Morning," (written for Tommy Emmanuel),
and "Darcy's Guitar," one of the simplest and prettiest
melodies in his repertoire. Titled after the "patron
saint of impossible dreams" (according to the liner notes),
The Santa Rita Connection is a dream to listen to. - Jim Ohlschmidt