John Shannon: A Day In Tarifa

Pittsburgh guitarist John Shannon began playing at age six, was performing around his hometown by his high school years, and has been recording with a variety of acoustic, rock and film music projects since 2008. A Day in Tarifa is his debut jazz album, and it lands firmly in the tradition, with a diverse and beguiling set of original tunes performed by an outstanding trio including Cliff Barnes on organ and James Johnson III on drums. The song titles and running order suggest a journey from the titular municipality in southern Spain ("A Day in Tarifa," "Golden Wave," "Sunrise"), with a stopover in the south of France ("Marseille," "Star Travel"), towards Shannon's Pennsylvania hometown ("Four One Two," "Liberty Bridge," "Allegheny Current"). The record provides a stylistic guitar travelogue as well, encompassing some smooth jazz notes, traditional swinging grooves, moody atmospherics, and updated modern takes on the classic guitar/organ/drums trio. It is a refreshing jazz debut that repays repeated listens.

The title track opens with dreamy arpeggios and an overdubbed, chorused guitar line before settling into a straight-beat, smooth jazz groove that would sound just right on the radio. It successfully evokes Tarifa, which Shannon notes is "the windsurfing capitol of the world." Judging the record on the basis of this tune would be a mistake, however, as "Golden Wave" and "Sunrise" soon take the music in a different direction, one reminiscent of the many classic guitar albums put out by ECM Records. Barnes' organ playing is especially wonderful here, switching between quiet atmospheric moodiness and percussive soloing underpinned by Johnson's versatile swing. Mention should be made of the excellent sound engineering, which captures every nuance of the trio with Johnson's beautiful cymbal tones a standout.

"Marseille"'s stop-start drum groove and muted guitar melody are absolutely hypnotic, and Shannon and Barnes complement each other perfectly. While the organist solos, the guitarist provides soft swirling chords and arpeggios; as Shannon takes the solo spot, Barnes creates a dreamy organ pad and syncopated bass line underneath. The flight home begins with "Star Travel," featuring one of Shannon's best guitar melodies driven along by Johnson's funky snare brush stylings. The guitarist's solo goes fluidly in some very interesting directions on this standout tune. Back home in Pittsburgh, "Four One Two" (the city's area code) recalls the classic octave swing and organ trio sound of Wes Montgomery. The lengthy "Shadow Catcher" is another highlight, with Johnson setting up an impeccable swing on brushes over which Barnes plays a groovy walking bass line. This is the bed for Shannon's memorable theme and expansive, nimble solo, followed by similarly excellent work by Barnes. "Allegheny Current" provides another swinging vintage-styled workout before the record comes to a close with "Slipstream," a 6/8 groover over which Shannon spools out a solo that ties the album's stylistic panorama together.

A Day in Tarifa is a superb jazz debut for stylistic magpie John Shannon that deserves a wide hearing.