Ted Quinlan: Streetscape

Quinlan's wide canvas is well marked, and his approach not only reflects influences that include Wes Montgomery, Ed Bickert and Pat Metheny, but also his own muse which gives the music his individuality.

Quinlan is clean and crisp, and his explorations open a wide panorama into which he instills a range of moods. While the emphasis is on contemporary styling, there is a nod to mainstream jazz with a tinge of country music that adds to the appeal.

Funk is parlayed into a catchy rhythm that latches on to the mood of a "Block Party." Quinlan extends that pale, bending his strings, adding jazz harmony and swinging along. It is quite a synthesis of the way in which he can define and manifest a composition into a striking piece of work.

An acoustic guitar and a country sound illustrate the mellow musings of "Go West." Quinlan enunciates the melody with an open ambience that lets it breathe and through repeated motifs that make it throb. The acoustic "Crowchild" chimes in on a softer, shaded platform, the melody glowing in the sun of its captivating melody. Bassist Keiran Overs and drummer Ted Warren take it to the next plateau with an intimately woven dialogue that is as cool as it is irresistible.

Warren and Overs are instinctive in their engagements with Quinlan to create a vantage point of discourse. Space and interjection are used judiciously to give this trio's music a pertinent presence throughout.