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Tom McMahon: Small Talk

by John Kelman
October 3, 2004

The Baliset, as Tom McMahon explains on the cover of his d'but recording, Small Talk , --is a unique eleven-string instrument that is played by tapping the strings against the frets. The large range of the Baliset--over five octaves--fills out the trio, as bass and treble parts are played simultaneously." Like artists including Charlie Hunter with his eight-string hybrid and Tony Levin with his Stick, McMahon's instrument requires a certain independence of thought, a certain pianistic approach that most string ...