Ronny Wiesauer: Figures and Shapes

Amidst his occasional outings with combinations of other players, Ronny Wiesauer keeps drifting back to a personal niche that is reliably comfortable and comforting. When settled in alone with a guitar, he spins pastoral meditations with the easy-flowing smoothness of a daydream—this is contemplative territory sometimes reminiscent of Ralph Towner or Pat Metheny, though without making those nods terribly obvious. Jazzy modes pop up in spots like the light jaunty "Strolling," but the more frequent tinges come from his classical background, not just in an elegaic Domenico Scarlatti sonata at the close, but a characteristic refinement that runs through the otherwise-original program.

If these pieces are daydreams, they flow from real life as well, with all the honesty that entails; in this case, the meditative tone of 2023's September (Self Produced) shifts into plaintive and sometimes somber. "West Wind" feels like an impressionistic meditation on nature, sweeping in at a trot before whipping up a quick mini-storm and subsiding just as quickly. Things seem to turn more personal from there. The likes of "Farewell" and "Remembrance" are full of sad yearning, balanced with moments less downbeat but just as pretty. The centerpiece "Song for a Movie" feels just as emotional as a credits reel deserves, with its wistfulness giving way to a beautiful heartland calm.

While Wiesauer's string of solo recordings sit in similar territory, each has its particular feel shaped by the circumstances of the time. Figures & Shapes turns out to be the most directly emotional of the catalogue to date—the plucking of nylon feels more deliberate, the fingers leave space in the slow strums, the notes hang in the air a little extra thoughtfully—embracing the sadder shades while keeping their own kind of inner peace at the center.