Dan Zimmerman: Drifting Home

Dan Zimmerman is a veteran guitarist who is well versed in a lot of styles having played with soul, jazz, rock and Latin musicians over a 20-year plus career. His new solo CD, Drifting Home, covers a lot of ground ranging from grinding blues-rock to acoustic classical melodies.

Several tunes here have him sounding like a spiritual heir to the late master of roadhouse guitar playing, Danny Gatton. "The Hangman" features him winding up wobbly chords along a lurching beat in the company of organ and trumpet in what sounds like a Southwestern cousin to "Harlem Nocturne." On "Mosquitoes" he drops bits of sustain-heavy picking into a spacious dub rhythm set by his rhythm section, bassist Brendan Statom and drummer Luchito Munoz. "Erasure" has shimmering washes of guitar playing into a sinister theme that could have come from a 60's spy movie while "Home" is a relaxed meander for guitar and organ with a nice solo spot for Statom's bass.

Zimmerman shows his prowess on acoustic guitar on tracks such as "Kim's Song" which has a simple, pretty melody like a Pat Metheny composition and "The Two Cats" where he carefully plays a baroque Spanish melody before Jonathan Dane's trumpet comes in, adding forlorn body to the music. "Nate's Plate" is a slice of laid back country funk with Zimmerman chipping out springy, twisty notes like John Scofield while "Drifting Away" is a slow, delicate melody wrapped in keyboard ambiance that allows the guitarist space for a lovely moaning solo. It leads nicely into the dreamy, delay-laced washes of the closing "Ghosts."

Dan Zimmerman has picked up a lot of skills in his travels. He is adept at doing chicken-picking funk, twang heavy country and rock and fragile acoustic melodies. He uses all those abilities here to make a varied and enjoyable CD.